Long Island Sound and our nation’s history
Connecticut historian Richard Radune has penned a non-fiction account of the influence that Long Island Sound and its myriad harbors, coves and navigable rivers had on American history from 1750 to 1820.“Sound Rising: Long Island Sound at the Forefront of America’s Struggle for Independence” (2011, Research in Time Publications, $20 paperback, 308 pages) chronicles how the Sound was at the forefront of U.S. trade with the West Indies and how its attributes helped thwart British efforts to enforce trade restrictions and collect taxes.
This heavily researched tome relates the Sound’s involvement in rampant smuggling, the Revolutionary War, the Undeclared War with France and the War of 1812. Included are passages on naval vessels, privateers and whaleboat raiders swarming out of Sound ports to interdict British supplies and force major changes in the enemy’s strategic war plans. www.researchintime.com
This article originally appeared in the August 2011 issue.