The Oyster Bay Historical Society celebrated the designation of the Earle-Wightman House, its headquarters, for becoming part of the New York State Revolutionary War Heritage Trail with a lecture at the Oyster Bay Community Center on the American Revolution in Oyster Bay, on Sunday March 30. The house received the historic designation because during the Revolutionary War British soldiers were quartered there. The building not at 20 Summit Street was moved from its former location in what is now the parking lot of the Oyster Bay Fire Company # 1, on South Street, that is situated at the foot of Fort Hill, from which the British soldiers watched and protected Oyster Bay Harbor from patriot whaleboat raids, coming from Connecticut.

The house joins four such sites in Nassau County: Rock Hall Museum in Lawrence; the Earle-Wightman house in Oyster Bay; Raynham Hall Museum in Oyster Bay; and the Sands-Willets House in Port Washington. In Suffolk County there are three more sites listed on the NYS Heritage Trail: the William Floyd Estate in Mastic Beach; the Stony Brook Grist Mill in Stony Brook and the Joseph Lloyd Manor House in Lloyd Harbor.

"It is a statewide trail," said OBHS Director Tom Kuehhas, "from the old Fort Niagara in the west, near Lake Ontario; to Crown Point north of Fort Ticonderoga; to the William Floyd House, (he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence,) the furthest east site and there are a few sites in Brooklyn."

The March 30 afternoon event opened with board president Maureen Monck inviting people to become members of the historical society. She said people have the wrong impression of the group. She said, you don't need a letter of reference, as in joining a country club; it is not a group of blue-haired ladies having tea; it is not a group of scholarly types discussing history; but it is a group of people involved in the community. "Today it is a very vibrant community organization with interesting activities revolving around what should and shouldn't be here," she said.

They have an archive with materials from the late 17th century - their earliest document is from 1694, the deed from Anthony Wright selling 61 acres to his brother Gideon. There is a library with maps, books, all sorts of documents, as well as a great collection of books on and by Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president; thousands of photographs; as well as their collection of artifacts.

Ms. Monck called Mr. Kuehhas, "the face of the Oyster Bay Historical Society." With a master's degree in American History, he specializes in the Revolutionary period, and she said, "he can answer any of your questions." She encouraged listeners at the Oyster Bay Community Center to feel free to ask questions as he talked about outfitting a Revolutionary War soldier - and they did.

"I'm going to start off with a bang - with a musket," began Mr. Kuehhas. He described the musket as having a smooth round barrel not like the present grooved interior that allows a bullet to be aimed accurately. Instead the Revolutionary War soldiers on both sides were able to line up facing each other - shoot off their rifles - and not expect many injuries. "It was very difficult to actually hit what they were aiming at," he said. That's why the British soldiers were able to stand there in their bright red coats, looking like targets.

Mr. Kuehhas described the difficulty of loading the rifle, with bullets the American soldier most likely made himself. The British had standard Brown Bess guns, but the colonists often had whatever they were using at home. Therefore each man was responsible for melting lead, pouring it into a mold, snapping off the excess lead from the mold and storing the balls for use, ready for the next battle.

Mr. Kuehhas demonstrated the way using the gun turned many actions into commonplace phrases like: "a flash in the pan" referring to a spark that ignited the gun powder; and "keep your powder dry" or it won't ignite. The cartridges were kept in a wooden block stored inside a leather container with a large overhanging flap - to help "keep the powder dry".

The soldiers used the lead to make - lead pencils - and lead dice. When they ran out of bullets, those items were handy to recycle back into bullets, he said.

Mr. Kuehhas showed how a bayonette was able to be attached to the musket. He said they were for attack or defense and added that soldiers faced with a group of fighters with their bayonettes out would rather run than face the dangerous barrage. The fixed bayonettes were a method of psychological warfare, he said.

Mr. Kuehhas said not all soldiers had muskets; some had rifles and some had pistols, but he decried the scenes in movies of riders on horseback shooting pistols. Aiming a pistol when riding on horseback didn't make for accuracy, he said.

He showed a full complement of replica items the soldiers would carry; water canteens - wooden for the Americans from their great store of lumber; and tin (with a woolen cover) for the British. The soldiers carried their own tin mess cup and spoon. Forks were not that popular at that time, he said.

American soldiers were given a three-day ration of flour for their food - that was stored in a haversack. They cooked it as a paste, on a flat rock and called it Fire Cake. He said it was neither nutritious nor tasty.

As for foraging for food, he said the American soldiers didn't want to antagonize the settlers. Another aspect of the problem of supplies was that the British soldiers could pay in gold while the Americans had worthless Continental currency. "Which one do you think the settlers would prefer," he asked.

He showed a knapsack that the men used to carry their clothes in - which became a pillow at night. They were given a coarse gray woolen blanket which they used in all weather. They were given mittens but he said, "Try to load a musket wearing mittens." He said that when the troops were in Valley Forge, the men gave their blankets to the sentries to keep them from freezing to death, and for themselves, they huddled around the fire for warmth.

Weather was one of the reasons why General George Washington's attack on Trenton, New Jersey was a success. On Christmas night he led the army across the Delaware River in large 30-foot long boats, and attacked the Hessian soldiers on Dec. 26. Mr. Kuehhas said the attack was unique in that the Hessians didn't expect an attack of that magnitude that late in the year.

There were a lot of things happening at that time that came together to help the attack. Mr. Kuehhas said, "There was a storm raging and the Hessians sent out patrols but they didn't go as far as they would have because of the storm. Another element in the attack was that unbeknownst to Washington, a scouting group of Americans shot up a sentry post. Washington ran into a group of about 30 Americans coming back from the attack. He asked, 'What were you doing there? You could have ruined everything.' But it had the opposite effect. The Hessians thought that was the attack and didn't expect anything else to happen."

Mr. Kuehhas said, the armies of the period were not geared for war in winter. He showed a red knitted cap with the words "liberty or death" knitted in the design. It was worn by the American men.

Mr. Kuehhas showed a fancy coat in blue with red and white accents, that was called a Lottery coat because the supply of uniforms was always a problem and the soldiers got the coats only through a lottery system.

The wool coats were all-weather gear for the troops. They rolled down the cuffs in winter and crossed and buttoned the lapels to keep warm. In summer, they turned back the cuffs and hooked back the skirts of the coats. Soldiers both froze to death and died of heart stroke as a result.

Mr. Kuehhas showed a long sash that was for officers. It was a badge of rank and it was also said to be a stretcher for the officer if he was hit.

Men from 16 to 60 were liable to serve in the army. Boys as young as 12 were fifers and drummers, but they too could be shot, considering the vagaries of aiming the guns used at the time.

During the lecture, a young man in the audience asked several good questions that Mr. Kuehhas answered. He later asked the lad, Willet Meyer, 6, to come up and be outfitted as a Revolutionary War soldier. Mr. Kuehhas put the gear on the willing young man, to the delight of the audience.

Mr. Kuehhas said the men signed up for three years service in the war, and when the war kept on going - there were problems. Finally, they were allowed to leave after three years service. During 1780 and 1781 there were mutinies because of the men having to serve longer than three years.

Mr. Kuehhas said the war years were hard on Long Islanders. Occupied by the British, the area was stripped of firewood for the English. They also took the hay and straw. "Long Island was the bread basket and wood pile for the British," he said. The first growth timber was cut down in Cove Neck; orchards were cut down for fortifications, and so the face of Long Island changed.

He said after the war many patriots returned from living in Connecticut during the war to find their farms in shambles. They were trashed during the war by occupiers.

The British controlled the waters around Long Island but the patriots found ways of getting across and raiding the area. He told a tale of men coming across the Sound to Port Jefferson, going diagonally across the island to Massapequa where they captured and kidnapped Judge Thomas Jones to bring him back and exchange him for a prisoner captured by the British.

Someone asked about the legend of Yellow Cote Road, but Mr. Kuehhas asked what those legends were. A lady suggested it meant "turn coat." Elizabeth Roosevelt said it was a sandy road - and therefore was called Yellow Cote Road to denote that condition.

The clock ended the discussion with everyone still interested in hearing more about the American Revolutionary War and Oyster Bay. The group walked over to the Earle-Wightman House at 20 Summit Street to see the new exhibit.

Local artist Mort Kunstler has given a special perk to the OBHS. He has given them 60 giclee prints of his famous oil painting "The World Turned Upside Down." It is on show as part of the exhibit. One of those prints sold for $2,900 at the recent Raynham Hall Museum gala auction event.

You may purchase one of the prints for the truly bargain price of $575. There are 60 left of the original printing of 100, said exhibit curator Yvonne Noonan Cifarelli.

The Earle-Wightman House has become a part of the New York State Revolutionary War Heritage trail, one of a half-dozen historic trails in the state. A series of thematic Heritage Trails have been established in New York State to connect historic sites and museums and preserve, interpret and promote the rich and diverse history of this state. Heritage Trails is a program of the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The Revolutionary War Heritage Trail links significant historic sites to reveal New York's decisive role in America's fight for independence. The stories behind the forts, battlefields, colonial estates, farmhouses, and urban mansions bring to life the rich Revolutionary War history of New York State. You can visit and experience the historic sites along the Revolutionary War Heritage Trail and learn how the Revolution was decided on New York soil.

The Heritage Trails series includes: the Revolutionary War, Underground Railroad, Theodore Roosevelt, Women's Achievement, French and Indian War; Underwater (a program in the works).

This year in honor of the approaching 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth in 1809, the New York State Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and Heritage New York will celebrate Lincoln's impact on this great state with an exhibit at the state capitol in Albany and a Commemorative Marker Program to celebrate his visits here. Candidate Lincoln was propelled onto the national stage when he gave his famous speech at Cooper Union in New York City. Learn about his travels and appearances in New York State as campaigner, President-elect and President, including his final trip home on the funeral train that traversed the state. You can visit them on the Internet at www.heritageny.gov/home.cfm