LI During the American Revolution: Battle of LI and British Occupation, presented by Bill Bleyer

Join historian and author Bill Bleyer as we celebrate America 250! Long Island was the last place occupied by the British during the American Revolution, with the Battle of Long Island being the largest battle that took place during the war. Learn about the defeat that could have spelled the end of the Continental Army in 1776 and the subsequent British occupation and hardships it caused for Long Island residents until the end of the conflict in 1783.

Bill Bleyer was a prize-winning staff reporter for Newsday, the Long Island daily newspaper, for thirty-three years before he retired in 2014 to write books and freelance for the newspaper and magazines. He is the coauthor, with Harrison Hunt, of Long Island and the Civil War. He is also the author of Sagamore Hill: Theodore Roosevelt’s Summer White House, Fire Island Lighthouse: Long Island’s Welcoming Beacon, Long Island and the Sea: A Maritime History, George Washington’s Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide, The Sinking of the Steamboat Lexington on Long Island Sound, and The Roosevelts in New York City.

The lecture will be at the Great Neck Library Main Branch, located at 159 Bayview Avenue, Great Neck, on Monday, July 13, at 7:00 p.m. Registration is not required and open to all; seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please call Great Neck Library at (516) 466-8055 or email adultprogramming@greatnecklibrary.org.

Image source: The Battle of Long Island, a National Guard Heritage Painting by 21st century artist Domenick D'Andrea that was created for the National Guard Bureau. The painting depicts the Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776. Source courtesy of The National Guard's Flickr and Wikimedia Commons.