‘Listen, My Children: Vineyard Legends of the Revolutionary War’

by The Martha's Vineyard Times September 2, 2026 1:32 pmSeptember 2, 2026 1:32 pm

The Martha's Vineyard Museum in Vineyard Haven. —Courtesy M.V. Museum

M.V. Museum research librarian Bow Van Riper will take a look at how the stories of Josie’s pig, Mrs. Swasey’s buried silver, and Capt. Smith’s phantom regiment reflect the ways we remember history.

Every war creates its own legends. Some are stories of actual events that never made it into the history books, or “improved” through generations of retellings. Legends of the Vineyard during the Revolution center on the courage, resolution, and ingenuity of Islanders in the face of British threats, and celebrates the virtues that enabled the Thirteen Colonies to win Independence.

Sept. 15, 5 to 6 pm. Martha’s Vineyard Museum, 151 Lagoon Pond Road, Vineyard Haven. MVM members, $15; nonmembers, $25. Register at mvmuseum.org/iregistration-10-20-26.

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