Author Talk with Bill Bleyer: George Washington's Long Island Spy Ring

As part of our events commemorating the 250th anniversary of the UNITED STATES, the BAYSIDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY is pleased to welcome AUTHOR, historian, and Long ISLAND NATIVE BILL BLEYER FOR A PRESENTATION ON HIS COMPELLING BOOK, _George Washington's Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide_. A Q&A and book signing will follow the presentation. ABOUT THE BOOK: 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. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bill Bleyer was a prize-winning staff writer for Newsday, the Long Island daily newspaper, for thirty-three years before retiring in 2014. He is co-author of Long Island and the Civil War, published in 2015 by The History Press, and has been published in Civil War News, Naval History, Sea History, Lighthouse Digest, the New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, the Toronto Star and others. Bleyer graduated from Hofstra University and earned a master's in urban studies at Queens College of CUNY. Admission is $10.00 for BHS members and $15.00 for non-members. Purchase tickets at www.baysidehistorical.org/events-1/author-talk-with-bill-bleyer-george-washingtons-long-island-spy-ring.