The Talented Major Tallmadge: Presentation by Richard F. Welch

Part of the Bayside Historical Society's Author Talk at the Castle series, this program welcomes historian Richard F. Welch for an exploration of the life and Revolutionary War service of Benjamin Tallmadge — Setauket native, military commander, spymaster, and trusted aide to George Washington.

Tallmadge distinguished himself as a commander of dragoons, a skilled intelligence and counterintelligence officer, and a coordinator of combined land-and-sea operations. He fought at the Battles of Long Island, White Plains, and Germantown; protected Patriot communities in Westchester from British and Loyalist raids; and led expeditions against British positions on Long Island from bases in Connecticut. He also oversaw Washington's most active espionage network in New York and played a pivotal role in exposing the Arnold-André conspiracy to surrender West Point to the British.

Welch holds a doctorate in history from Stony Brook University and taught American history at Long Island University and Farmingdale State College. He served as editor of the Long Island Forum from 1991 to 2014 and is the author of seven books, most recently Long Island's Gold Coast Warriors: The North Shore Elite and World War One (2021).

Free; reservations required | 718-352-1548