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Health & Fitness

Long Island's Revolutionary Past

The Fourth of July is the perfect time to sit back, relax and reflect on why America is still, 237 years later, a wonderful place.  Few may realize how our nation’s colonial history surrounds us in unexpected places - in some cases even in our own backyard!

Long Island's Revolutionary War history is rich. We are where Nathan Hale, who proclaimed “"I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country”  landed from his Long Island Sound crossing  (which appropriately is named Halesite, in the Town of Huntington). The Battle of Setauket raged on Long Island’s North Shore, and to this day the Church has the marks from the musket balls fired that day in its bell tower. In East Northport, farmers criticized England’s unfair taxation, and like all Suffolk County farmers, had their cattle seized by the British.

Next time you’re driving through Smithtown, picture Ruth Blydenburgh shooing away British Troops that were occupying the village looking for beer and food. Later on, in 1790, Washington visited Blydenburgh’s to rest. In Bay Shore, Sagtikos Manor was used as a British armed forces headquarters during the Battle of Long Island. There are multiple sites in many of the older communities on Long Island where George Washington has been known to spend the night.

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Be sure to use the July 4th weekend to reflect on what our nation has accomplished, and what we can achieve in the future.

From the staff of Teachers Federal Credit Union, have a happy Independence Day!

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