Southold Historical Museum is happy to offer the second installment in the Lighthouse Lecture Series at Horton Point Lighthouse, “Little Known Aspects of Long Island’s Maritime History” on July 9th at 2 pm. The lecture by Bill Bleyer will examine Long Island wartime maritime history beginning with the country’s first amphibious landing on Plum Island, the British blockade including the wreck of HMS Culloden, and the Meigs and other whaleboat raids; submarine warfare and the wreck of the British 22-gun sloop-of-war Sylph during the War of 1812; Confederate raiders capturing Union shipping just offshore during the Civil War; the sinking of the only American capital warship in World War I off Fire Island; and U-boats dropping off spies and attacking commercial vessels during World War II. As you can imagine, fans of Long Island maritime history, and those less familiar, won’t want to miss Bill Bleyer’s talk as he leaves audiences with a wealth of stories and facts to share with others. The Horton Point Lighthouse lawn offers an intimate and inspiring setting for visitors to come and relax, listen, and learn.
Bill Bleyer was a prizewinning staff writer for Newsday for 33 years specializing in history and maritime issues before retiring in 2014 to write books and freelance for the newspaper and magazines. He is co-author, with Harrison Hunt, of Long Island and the Civil War (The History Press, 2015). He is the author of Sagamore Hill: Theodore Roosevelt’s Summer White House (The History Press, 2016); Fire Island Lighthouse: Long Island’s Welcoming Beacon (The History Press, 2017), and Long Island and the Sea: A Maritime History, (The History Press 2019); and George Washington’s Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide (The History Press, 2021). The Hofstra University graduate has taught economics and journalism there and history at Webb Institute, the naval architecture college in Glen Cove
Southold Historical Museum’s Lighthouse Lectures Series is generously sponsored by Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital. All lectures are free. Attendees are asked to bring their own lawn chair. Donations are gladly accepted.
For more information on this event or any other museum programs, please call (631) 765-5500 or email info@southoldhistorical.org.