Rev 250

Abigail Adams: Legacy and Liberty
2026-08-22 17:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Rocky Hill Meeting House, 4 Old Portsmouth Road, Amesbury, MA, 01913, United States
Celebrate the spirit of independence with Abigail Adams: Liberty and Legacy at the historic Rocky Hill Meeting House! In this engaging performance, local actor Sheryl Faye brings to life one of America’s most influential women—a revolutionary, mother, and advocate for women’s rights. Set in the eighteenth-century Rocky Hill Meeting House, this program explores Adams’s intelligence, courage, and her enduring call to “remember the ladies.” Join us for an inspiring program honoring her legacy and the revolutionary ideals that shaped a new nation.
Members $15; Nonmembers $25
CLICK HERE to purchase tickets
Please call (617) 994-5955 for more information.
Abigail Adams will be portrayed by Sheryl Faye.
This program is funded in part by a grant from the Amesbury Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Revolutionary Leader – Colonel John Glover & his Crucial Leadership in 1776
2026-08-26 19:00 - 20:30 | Abbot Public Library, 3 Brook Road, Marblehead, MA, 01945, United States
John Glover is justly the most famous and celebrated of Marblehead’s hundreds of Revolutionary servicemen due to his capable and resolute leadership of his intrepid and unflinching Continental Army regiment during the war’s first year and a half, through December 1776, while he was a Colonel. Although the numbers of his soldiers were somewhat in flux as hundreds would leave to serve as captains and crews on privateer vessels, nearly 600 men and teenaged boys served in the rebel Patriot army in June 1775. This talk will primarily discuss Colonel Glover’s time as commander of that so-called “Marblehead Regiment” (1775 – 76). But it will focus on the pivotal last four months of 1776 –– from the crucial evacuation of Long Island that saved Commander-in-Chief George Washington’s entire army of 9,000 men and equipment, to the pivotal December Crossing of the Delaware River in lashing sleet (and back again, in worsened conditions, with two grueling nine-mile marches in between), which saved the war effort itself.
Afterward, most of Col. Glover’s remaining men returned home, and would join their mates in privateering –– to Glover’s frustration, though a handful of stalwart officers stayed in the army with him. Colonel Glover was promoted to General in Feb. 1777, and served throughout the rest of the war’s 7 long years. He retired from service in 1782, as hostilities on the N. American continent finally ended.
Larry Sands is the captain of Glover’s Marblehead Regiment, a reenactment unit established in 1974. A member for over 35 years, he has filled all leadership roles and has participated in reenactments of every engagement in which the original regiment served.

Captain Nicholson Broughton, First Captain of the Privateer Hannah
2026-09-02 19:00 - 20:30 | Abbot Public Library, 3 Brook Road, Marblehead, MA, 01945, United States
Captain Nicholson Broughton earned honor as the first commodore of the United States Navy. But he first gained fame as captain of the even more famous schooner Hannah, the “first” official privateer vessel sent out from Marblehead / Beverly waters under a commission from George Washington in service of his Continental Army, on September 2, 1775. Broughton had at first been a captain of one of the ten regiments in Colonel John Glover’s 21st Massachusetts Regiment (as it began in June 1775). In November 1775, Captain Broughton commanded the privateer Hancock, which sailed up to Nova Scotia waters with the schooner Franklin, commanded by Captain John Selman, also of Marblehead, to interrupt the shipping of British armaments to bases in Canada. Finding none, they took matters into their own hands and were court martialed personally by Commander-in-Chief George Washington.
Donald Doliber was appointed as Marblehead’s Town Historian after 24 years as an award-winning history teacher, who was selected as the “Outstanding American History Teacher in the United States” by the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.), followed by 17 years as an assistant high school principal. His ancestors arrived in Marblehead in the 1630s and were fishermen, selectmen, and merchants in the early community, and later, a few served in the Revolutionary War.
This event is presented in collaboration with the Marblehead 250 Committee and Abbot Public Library.
This program is funded in part by a grant from the Marblehead Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Revolutionary War Heroes in Marblehead Cemeteries
2026-10-14 19:00 - 20:30 | Abbot Public Library, 3 Brook Road, Marblehead, MA, 01945, United States
Many men from Marblehead fought in the American Revolution. Most were part of the 14th Continental, known as Glover’s regiment. There were also captains and sailors in Washington’s crucial privateer fleet. Rebels who fought back in other ways, such as serving on Committees and attending the early Continental Congress, were also part of the story. Many never returned home, dying on battlefields or at sea. But those buried in Marblehead’s graveyards help us remember our Town’s role in the nation’s fight for independence. Find out more about who lies where, and about what’s wrong with the 1930 Tercentenary sign at Old Burial Hill.
Pam Peterson is the Chair of Marblehead Historical Commission and served on Marblehead’s Cemetery Commission after 19 years at the Marblehead Museum, first as Director of Education and then as Executive Director, as well as designer of several exhibitions. She is a columnist for the Marblehead ‘Current’ newspaper, and has recently written a book about all of the cemeteries in Marblehead, which also includes stories about some of the people who were interred in them.

Rabbi David Meyer A Jewish Hero in Glover’s Marblehead Regiment
2026-10-28 19:00 - 20:30 | Abbot Hall, 188 Washington Street, Marblehead, MA, 01970, United States
Through the remarkable story of Abraham Solomon of Glover’s Marblehead Regiment, Rabbi David Meyer illuminates the often-overlooked role of Jews in the American Revolution and their early struggle for religious liberty and civic equality. Blending history, humor, and heartfelt storytelling, he reveals how Jewish patriots helped shape a nation founded on freedom. This presentation invites the audience to reflect on how honoring the past can inspire pride, identity, and connection in the present.
Rabbi David J. Meyer is rabbi emeritus of Temple Emanu-El in Marblehead. In his retirement, he has enjoyed learning about and portraying the only known Jewish soldier in Colonel John Glover’s Revolutionary War Regiment (1775 – 76).

Revolutionary Reward – General John Glover and his Farm House in his Retirement
2026-11-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Goldthwait Reservation, Phillips Street, Marblehead, MA, 01945, United States
This presentation will focus on General Glover’s post-Revolutionary years, when he restarted his business operations and purchased a farm in 1781, the year he remarried after his wife died in 1778 in the middle of the war, and a year before he retired from his eight long years of service. Updates about the state of the c.1730-50s farmhouse and its preservation will be included. Nancy Schultz is Chair of Swampscott’s Historical Commission. For the past 3 years, she has pressed tirelessly for the preservation of General Glover’s Farm House, after a long career as an Englishman.
Nancy Schultz is Chair of Swampscott’s Historical Commission. For the past 3 years she has pressed tirelessly for the preservation of General Glover’s Farm House, after a long career as an English professor at Salem State College then University.

Music of a New Nation
2026-11-14 14:00 - 15:30 | Swett-Ilsley House, 4 High Road, Newbury, MA, United States
Concert at “Swett’s Tavern”: Ampersand Presents Music of a New Nation
Enjoy Ampersand’s special American Revolution–era program, Music of the New Nation, set within the historic Swett-Illsley House, once a bustling colonial tavern. For this special evening, we will transform the house into Swett’s Tavern, featuring period-inspired pub snacks and beer. The immersive performance explores life on the home front and the experiences of everyday people as they faced the struggle for independence. The program features songs reflecting the early stirrings of revolution, the lives of colonists from varied walks of life, and the voices of soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Highlights include a fiddle tune composed by an enslaved person, as well as protest songs written during the Revolution. This engaging trio performs on guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, hammered dulcimer, cello, and penny whistles, weaving rich vocal harmonies with a palpable joy in sharing this historic music with modern audiences.
Members $40. This is a members-only performance.
CLICK HERE to learn more
Please call (617) 994-5955 for more information.
