Revolutionary Privateers at Sea Symposium: Newburyport and the Wider World

From Newburyport wharves, privateers surged into the Atlantic with a single mission: take the fight to British commerce. Armed with letters of marque, these privately owned vessels disrupted enemy supply lines, seized valuable cargo, and brought home provisions, weapons, and even captured vessels that could be refitted into more privateers to help keep the cause alive.

Privateering was a town-wide enterprise. Merchants financed voyages. Carpenters, ropemakers, and sailmakers outfitted vessels. Mariners signed on for a share of prize money. Women kept households, farms, and businesses running, and stocked stores with goods brought in as prizes. When captures returned to port, they could make fortunes. When privateers were lost, it meant tragedy and ruin.

As we mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, join us for a fast-paced, people-centered program that connects Newburyport to the wider Atlantic war and the astonishing records privateers left behind, from logbooks and diaries to prize papers and court documents.

Accessibility note

Due to ongoing work on the Firehouse Center for the Arts elevator, the theater is currently accessible only by stairs. If stairs are a barrier, please select the virtual attendance option, Content will be recorded and posted to our website shortly afterward as well.

It all starts at 8 a.m.!

Settle in with coffee and light refreshments before opening remarks that frame Newburyport’s privateering story within a wider Atlantic war.

Eric Jay Dolin (author and historian) opens the day with a brisk, narrative keynote on how privateers—licensed entrepreneurs of war—made tangible strategic impact when the Continental Navy was small and overstretched. Dolin connects policy, profit, and peril to the lived experience of crews, investors, and coastal communities.

Emily Murphy, Ph.D. (Curator, Salem Maritime National Historical Park & Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site) brings Essex County’s wartime waterfront to life—who financed voyages, who shipped out, what came back as prize, and what disappeared at sea. Expect a grounded look at how privateering reshaped local markets, labor, and daily life ashore.

Abby Schreiber, Ph.D. (Curator, National Museum of the United States Navy) explores the complicated relationship between official naval forces and private enterprise. Where did interests align—and where did they clash? This session follows shipbuilding priorities, supply chains, manpower, discipline, and prize expectations in a fast-moving revolutionary environment.

Enjoy lunch with vegan and gluten-free options, plus an integrated visit at the Custom House Maritime Museum that ties objects and archives to the day’s themes.

Michael P. Dyer (former curator at Mystic Seaport Museum and the New Bedford Whaling Museum) shows how New England design, craftsmanship, and coastal knowledge made privateering possible at scale. From hull forms to rig choices, this session explains why certain vessels could strike quickly, evade pursuit, and thrive in Atlantic and coastal waters.

A rare “close read” of a working maritime document—guided by both seamanship and scholarship. Graham McKay (Executive Director, Lowell’s Boat Shop; boatbuilder, educator, and experienced mariner) and Bethany Groff Dorau (Executive Director, Museum of Old Newbury) use the log of the Newburyport privateer Betsey (National Archives, London) to illuminate a little-known episode in the life of Offin Boardman and reveal what logbooks can tell us about risk, routine, and decision-making at sea.

Amanda Bevan, Ph.D. (Head, Prize Papers Project, The National Archives, UK) takes you inside one of the richest surviving archives of maritime war: captured letters, cargo lists, ship papers, and personal belongings preserved by admiralty courts. Learn how the Prize Papers are being cataloged and opened to researchers—and how Newburyport connections surface in surprising ways across the collection.

A short wrap-up tying the day’s threads together—archives, vessels, people, and the wider world that Newburyport’s privateers sailed into.

All field trips run at the same time. Please choose ONE.

$10 each | Limited capacity (noted below)

Guide: Ghlee Woodworth | Capacity: 25 | Meet: Greenleaf Street gate

Read Newburyport’s Revolution in stone. Meet privateers, patrons, widows, and war-era leaders through symbols, epitaphs, and the stories behind the graves.

Capacity: 25 | Meet: In front of the Firehouse Center for the Arts

A fast-paced walk through the places where privateering was financed, outfitted, celebrated, and mourned—connecting buildings, waterfront, and people.

Capacity: 15 | Meet: 5 Little’s Lane, Newbury (brick porch)

Step into the world of Nathaniel Tracy and Offin Boardman. See how prizes built fortunes, fueled ambition, and left lasting marks on land and legacy.

Capacity: 20 | Meet: 459 Main St., Amesbury

Visit a living boat shop and get up close to an 18th-century-style gig under construction. Tools, timber, technique—and why traditional boatbuilding still matters.

Optional evening event (ticketed separately)

Location: Firehouse Center for the Arts

Songs, stories, and a moving panorama (crankie) celebrate privateering lore with Theater in the Open, The Portermen, theater, and 18th-century tavern tidbits.

Important ticket note: Tavern Night is ticketed separately. Tickets are available only to symposium ticket-holders through February 16 using this link. Any remaining tickets open for stand-alone purchase starting February 16.

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Host or Publisher Museum of Old Newbury