Yankee Doodle Goes to Sea

In "Yankee Doodle Goes to Sea", historian and musician Stephen Sanfilippo brings this maritime history to life through authentic songs from the era. Selections include “The Hancock,” recounting America’s first naval victory on the high seas; “The Yankee Privateer,” telling of bold captures of British merchant ships; “The Brave Town of Machias,” celebrating a Maine community’s resistance to British forces; and “The Ballad of General Woodhull,” a detailed passionate ballad.

This family-friendly concert is offered at no cost with donations gratefully appreciated.

About the presenter

Sanfilippo has been researching and performing songs of the maritime trades since 1973. He received his Ph.D. in History from Stony Brook University, his dissertation, “Whalemen’s Song: Lyrics and Masculinity in the Sag Harbor Whale Fishery, 1840 – 1850.”. Stephen has performed from Canada to the Eastern Caribbean, mainly in Washington County, Maine, and in Long Island where he is originally from. For many years he taught courses in maritime history through historic songs of the sea. He and his wife Susan, herself a maritime historian and educator, publish an e-newsletter, Seasongs: from Sunrise to Sunrise.