Revolutionary Portsmouth Lecture Series: The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of John Paul Jones @ SB

Revolutionary Portsmouth Lecture Series: The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of John Paul Jones @ SB

by | Jun 22, 2026

The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of John Paul Jones Thursday, August 6, 2026, 5:30–6:30 PM

“Revolutionary Portsmouth” Joint Lecture Series:

The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of John Paul Jones
Thursday, August 6, 2026, 5:30–6:30 p.m.
Strawbery Banke Museum, 14 Hancock Street, Portsmouth

Dr. Gerald Ward examines how John Paul Jones has been remembered and reinterpreted over time, tracing the evolving narratives that have shaped his legacy across generations. This talk explores how historical figures are continually reframed, revealing as much about changing American values and memory as about Jones himself.

Dr. Gerald W. R. Ward is curator of the Portsmouth Historical Society and editor of its Portsmouth Marine Society Press. He previously served as Katharine Lane Weems Senior Curator of American Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A graduate of Harvard College with a doctorate from Boston University, he has published widely on American art and material culture and currently teaches at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

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Revolutionary Portsmouth Exhibition. At the John Paul Jones House. Portsmouth NH, May 22-October 30.
Learn about our "Revolutionary Portsmouth" exhibition

This event is part of a joint lecture series with Strawbery Banke Museum

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Revolutionary Portsmouth Lecture Series “In Search of Private Yankee Doodle” at Strawbery Banke

Revolutionary Portsmouth Lecture Series “In Search of Private Yankee Doodle” at Strawbery Banke

by | May 13, 2026

In Search of Private Yankee Doodle Friday, May 29, 2026, 6-7 PM at Strawbery Banke Museum

“Revolutionary Portsmouth” Joint Lecture Series:

In Search of “Private Yankee Doodle”: Discovering the Material World of a Revolutionary War Soldier
Friday, May 29, 2026, 6–7 PM
Strawbery Banke Museum, 14 Hancock Street, Portsmouth

Dr. Philip Mead explores the lived experiences of enlisted soldiers in the American Revolution through the writings and material world of Joseph Plumb Martin. Enlisting at just 16, Martin served seven years in the Continental Army under George Washington, leaving behind one of the most detailed firsthand accounts of the war from the perspective of an ordinary soldier. Drawing on Martin’s memoir alongside surviving objects and documents, Mead examines the motivations, hardships, and lasting impact of military service, revealing how one man’s story reflects broader questions about sacrifice, identity, and democratic ideals in the early American republic.

Dr. Philip Mead holds a Ph.D. in early American history from Harvard University. From 2014 to 2023, he served as the founding Chief Historian and Curator of the Museum of the American Revolution. He recently served as guest lead curator of The Declaration’s Journey (2025–2027), marking the 250th anniversary of 1776. His work focuses on the material culture and lived experiences of the Revolutionary era.

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Book Signing: EM Ippolito The Tears of Other People

Book Signing: EM Ippolito The Tears of Other People

by | Jul 11, 2025

Ippolito Book Signing 8.25

Join us for a book signing with author E.M. Ippolito.

Get a chance to hear from and speak with the author of The Tears of Other People.

Books will be available for sale in the gift shop. Admission is free, no RSVP required.

EM Ippolito Author Image

About the Author:

Evie (E. M. Ippolito) was raised a settler on unceded Abenaki-Pennacook land in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She is a trans writer of fiction and nonfiction living in Brooklyn, Lenapehoking, where she pursues a degree in library information science.

About the Book:

The Tears of Other People is an attempt by author E. M. Ippolito to make sense of her alienation from her hometown of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Both local history and personal memoir, the book explores the history of discriminatory programs on the New Hampshire seacoast, from gentrification to European colonization, charting personal and political connections across decades of urban change. Dispossession has an infamous history on the beautiful Portsmouth waterfront, where in the 1960s a colonial museum called Strawbery Banke displaced the working-class neighborhood of Puddle Dock.