Book Talk: "The Revolutionary War on Cape Cod and the Islands" with Tom Dresser

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome local historian Tom Dresser for a discussion about Martha’s Vineyard’s role in the American Revolution as portrayed in the new book coordinated by the Cape and Islands Historians Committee, The Revolutionary War on Cape Cod and the Islands to which Dresser is a contributor. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, October 14th at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Prepared in time for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, The Revolutionary War on Cape Cod and the Islands brings together under one cover the facts and narratives about often little-known histories of the American Revolution on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, from the period 1761 (end of the French and Indian Wars) to 1783 (Treaty of Paris). Coordinated through the Cape and Islands Historians Committee, the book includes chapters by 24 contributors, including local historians Tom Dresser and Bow Van Riper.  

Book topics include: accounts of the few battles fought on Cape and Islands, privateering, the serious splits between Loyalists and Patriots, British shipwrecks off of Cape Cod which resulted in favorable outcomes for the Patriots, the history of African Americans and Native Americans from the region who served actively in the War, and the stories of 10 important individuals from the region who played important roles in the Revolutionary period. The Revolutionary War on Cape Cod and the Islands was published by West Barnstable Press in August 2025 and is available in bookstores, libraries, and schools across the Cape and Islands.

Tom Dresser came to Martha’s Vineyard in 1995 to visit the woman who would eventually become his wife, Joyce Dresser. Since then he has written dozens of books, booklets, and articles about the history of Martha’s Vineyard. Tom has also worked as a teacher, a school bus driver, a tour bus operator, a walking tour leader, and a speaker on various aspects of island history. 

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.