The Bayside Historical Society welcomes back author, historian, and Long Island native Bill Bleyer for a presentation on his insightful book, "Long Island and the Civil War," which explores how the American Civil War reshaped Long Island in surprising and profound ways. The program will conclude with a Q&A and book signing.

ABOUT THE BOOK: Although no battles were fought on Long Island, the Civil War deeply affected all of its residents. More than 3,000 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. The book explores 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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 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 (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), Long Island and the Sea: A Maritime History (The History Press, 2019), George Washington’s Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide (The History Press, 2021) and The Sinking of the Steamboat Lexington on Long Island Sound (The History Press, 2023).

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-long-island-and-the-civil-war.

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