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Although no battles were fought on Long Island, the Civil War deeply affected all of its residents. More than three thousand men-white and black-from current-day Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties answered the call to preserve the Union. While Confederate ships lurked within eight miles of Montauk Point, camps in Mincola and Willets Point trained regiments. Local women raised thousands of dollars for Union hospitals, and Long Island companies manufactured uniforms, drums and medicines for the army. At the same time, a little-remembered draft riot occurred in Jamaica in 18G3. Local authors Harrison Hunt and Bill Bleyer explore this fascinating story, from the 1860 presidential campaign that polarized the region to the wartime experiences of Long Islanders on the battlefield and at home. Book jacket.
In A Farm Family on Long Island's North Fork, Richard A. Wines traces the history of a vital agricultural community on the North Fork of Long Island through the story of the last family to live in the old Homestead at the Hallockville Museum Farm. For well over two centuries, community members were almost all descendants of the same group of seventeenth-century Puritan founders. Yet, despite their shared heritage and complex interrelationships, cultural wars raged. Family members and the community divided bitterly on issue after issue, ranging from whether to allow a melodeon into the church to supporting abolitionism. The community weathered many changes—the Civil War, the emergence of ne...
A trip into the Long Island history of ships, lighthouses, ports, shipbuilders, shipwrecks and much more. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “maritime” as, “on, near or living near the sea”, so you can see that the basic membership requirement to be a part of the story is easily satisfied. Just having an address in either Nassau or Suffolk County pretty much meets the criteria, and then the things that you do with your time can determine how big a role you play in this tale. Own a boat and fish from it? That gives you an even greater claim to being a “nautical” or “maritime” person. Go clamming in the bays, sail in regattas, help clean up a beach, be a member of a yacht club etc.? I think you get the point, and hopefully have by now come to realize that your very existence on Long Island is tied in with the pioneers who taught us how to prosper on this amazing island, and enjoy a lifestyle that is almost unique in the entire United States.
Shocking revelations of a wife’s adultery explode in an incendiary nineteenth-century trial, exposing upper-crust New York society and its secrets. What could possibly go wrong in a wealthy matriarch’s country home when her dilettante son, his restless wife, and his widowed brother live there together? Strong Passions, rooted in the beguiling times of Edith Wharton’s “old New York,” recounts the true story of a tumultuous marriage. In 1862, Mary Strong stunned her husband, Peter, by confessing to a two-year affair with his brother. Peter sued Mary for divorce for adultery—the only grounds in New York—but not before she accused him of forcing her into an abortion and having his ...
In 1778, two years after the British forced the Continental Army out of New York City, George Washington and his subordinates organized a secret spy network to gather intelligence in Manhattan and Long Island. Known today as the "Culper Spy Ring," Patriots like Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend risked their lives to report on British military operations in the region. Vital reports clandestinely traveled from New York City across the East River to Setauket and were rowed on whaleboats across the Long Island Sound to the Connecticut shore. Using ciphers, codes and invisible ink, the spy ring exposed British plans to attack French forces at Newport and a plot to counterfeit American currency. Author Bill Bleyer corrects the record, examines the impact of George Washington's Long Island spy ring and identifies Revolutionary War sites that remain today.
Originally commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt as he built his maritime empire in New York, the Steamboat Lexington eventually became the most prestigious steamship on the heavily trafficked Long Island Sound... But in 1840 a fire broke out on the ship, igniting poorly placed bales of cotton which destroyed the ship in minutes. Emergency rafts sank and rescue boats were unable to reach the ship in time. Only four among the over one hundred and forty on board survived by clinging to bales of cotton. The incident would be the worst maritime disaster in Long Island history. Author Bill Bleyer presents the harrowing story of a ship's journey from glory to tragedy.
No house better reflects the personality and interests of its owner than Theodore Roosevelt's cherished Sagamore Hill. After Roosevelt returned to Oyster Bay following the death of both his beloved wife and mother, he and his second wife, Edith, made the house a home for their growing and rambunctious family. What began as the perfect getaway from unhealthy New York City summers in his grandfather's day became the Summer White House during Roosevelt's presidency. He hosted political guests like Henry Cabot Lodge and cultural luminaries like novelist Edith Wharton. Roosevelt spent his final years happily at Sagamore Hill, and after his death in 1919, the Theodore Roosevelt Association and the National Park Service preserved the house. With previously unpublished photographs and a detailed guide to the house and grounds, historian Bill Bleyer recounts bygone days at Roosevelt's haven.
For more than five centuries, the waterways surrounding Long Island have profoundly shaped its history. Familiar subjects of lighthouses, shipwrecks and whaling are found alongside oft-forgotten oddities such as Pan-American flying boats landing in Manhasset Bay in the early days of transatlantic flight. From the British blockade and skirmishes during the American Revolution to the sinking of merchant vessels by Germany in World War II, the sea brought wars to these shores. By the later part of the 20th century, Gold Coast millionaires commuted in high-speed yachts to Manhattan offices as the island's wealth grew. Historian Bill Bleyer reveals Long Island's nautical bonds from the Native Americans to current efforts to preserve the region's maritime heritage.
The first Fire Island Lighthouse was constructed in 1826 after numerous shipwrecks along the barrier island. A replacement tower built in 1858 incorporated innovations in lighthouse design such as the Fresnel lens. Vessels anchored offshore, known as lightships, augmented the lighthouse for many years. The Coast Guard shut down the site in 1973. Through the efforts of the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society and the National Park Service, the beautiful structure was meticulously restored and the tower relit in 1986. Along with a selection of wonderful color photographs depicting the grandeur of the lighthouse, author Bill Bleyer charts the history of Long Island's cherished Fire Island Lighthouse.
Although no battles were fought on Long Island, the Civil War deeply affected all of its residents. More than three thousand men--white and black--from current-day Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties answered the call to preserve the Union. While Confederate ships lurked within eight miles of Montauk Point, camps in Mineola and Willets Point trained regiments. Local women raised thousands of dollars for Union hospitals, and Long Island companies manufactured uniforms, drums and medicines for the army. At the same time, a little-remembered draft riot occurred in Jamaica in 1863. Local authors Harrison Hunt and Bill Bleyer explore this fascinating story, from the 1860 presidential campaign that polarized the region to the wartime experiences of Long Islanders on the battlefield and at home.