Huntington, New York, is coincidentally quite close to where I grew up. And frankly, I had no idea that they could celebrate the way they did on this day in history.

In addition to being its own little town, Huntington was determined not to let the British take any more of Long Island than they already had. They’d gotten word that the inhabitants of New York City had determined not to oppose the British. This kind of makes sense, since there were lots of Loyalists there still. But a man named John Sloss Hobart, who was one of the Sons of Liberty in the area, headed a committee that was designed to secure the disaffected, to remove or destroy any grain, and, if necessary, lay Brooklyn to waste.

This effort ultimately failed, and unfortunately their absence from the Huntington area near the end of August meant that British soldiers were making landfall about 50 miles east of Huntington with no militia to meet them. Since Huntington had the bulk of the militia in the area, the British could act as they wanted, further hastening the fall of Long Island that summer.

Many Patriots had to get out of town, so they headed across the Long Island Sound to Connecticut for the duration.

But for all that, Huntington, NY remains proud of their heritage, and they even took the time this past weekend to reenact the event, demonstrating the firing of weapons, showing off 18th Century crafts and trades, and offering tours of the Arsenal. And yes: they blew up an effigy of King George III. I guess they still know how to party in Huntington.

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