Episode 170: The Culper Spy Ring with Bill Bleyer

The Long Island History Project

Today we welcome back former Newsday reporter Bill Bleyer. Bill is an author and historian with a number of Long Island-related history books to his credit and today we dive into his work on the Culper Spy Ring.

Published in 2021, George Washington's Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide is an analysis of the Culper Spy Ring. In it, Bleyer synthesizes what is known and has been written about the Ring. He incorporates and evaluates primary sources such as the 194 extant letters regarding the spy ring as well as the works of Morton Pennypacker, Alexander Rose, Brian Kilmeade and others to tease out fact from fiction from downright fabrication. The book also includes a comprehensive guide to sites on Long Island related to the Culper Spy Ring story.

Further Research

• Bill Bleyer History Lectures (Facebook)
  • George Washington's Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide

• Raynham Hall Museum

• Three Village Historical Society

• George Washington Letters (SBU Special Collections & Archives)

• Drowned Meadow Cottage Museum (Instagram)

• Tri-Spy Tours

• Audio Footnotes
  • Past Culper Spy and Revolutionary War episodes
  • 2017 Bill Bleyer interview