Henry Osmers was born in Brooklyn, New York and has been associated with the Montauk Point Lighthouse since 2001 as tour director, historian, and assistant director of site management. He is also the author of “On Eagle’s Beak: A History of the Montauk Point Lighthouse,” “Living on the Edge: Life at the Montauk Point Lighthouse 1930-1945,” “They Were All Strangers: The Wreck of the John Milton at Montauk, New York,” and “American Gibraltar: Montauk and the Wars of America.” Henry and his family reside in Shirley, New York.
A Legacy of Valor
A History of Lifesaving and Shipwrecks at Montauk, New York
by Henry D. Osmers
A Legacy of Valor
A History of Lifesaving and Shipwrecks at Montauk, New York
by Henry D. Osmers
Published Nov 14, 2016
195 Pages
Genre: HISTORY / United States / State & Local / Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
Book Details
“You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.”
Long before it became the resort and fishing community of today, Montauk was a lonely, barren, desolate peninsula where few dared tread. From the middle of the 17th century to the early 20th century, Montauk served as pastureland for thousands of cattle, sheep and horses from farms “up island.” In the mid-1800s, lifesaving stations were built at Montauk and other locations along the shores of Long Island. Here, in the face of cruel and harsh weather conditions, crews of hearty, brave men headed out to sea to save those in peril from shipwrecks. This book is the story of the U. S. Life Saving Service, its activities at Montauk, and an account of more than 100 shipwrecks that took place there over a period spanning more than 300 years.
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