Joanne S. Grasso Livres

"After being elected president, George Washington set out to tour the new nation, which was desperate for a unifying symbol. He spent five days on Long Island in April 1790, an area recovering from seven years of devastating British occupation. Washington saw it all, from Brooklyn to Patchogue to Setauket and back. He was honored at each stop and wrote extensive diary entries about his impressions of the carriage stops for food, overnight stays at taverns and private homes, as well as his vision for the future of the region. Author Dr. Joanne S. Grasso traces this momentous journey"--Back cover.

The American Revolution sharply divided families and towns on Long Island. Washington's defeat at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776 started seven years of British occupation. Patriot sympathizers were subject to loyalty oaths, theft of property and the quartering of soldiers in their homes. Those who crossed the British were jailed on prison ships in Wallabout Bay in Brooklyn, where an estimated eleven thousand people died of disease and starvation. Some fought back with acts of sabotage and espionage. Washington's famed Culper spy ring in Oyster Bay, Setauket and other areas successfully tracked British movements. Dr. Joanne S. Grasso explores the story of an island at war.