East Hampton - Here in the Hamptons, Memorial Day Weekend notoriously signals the "unofficial kick-off to summer." Main Streets across the South Fork are bustling with shoppers and diners, beaches are packed and parties are prevalent. While the Hamptons have become revered as a posh summer vacation spot and hideaway for the rich and famous, it is arguably its rich military history that makes Memorial Day and 4th of July weekends in the Hamptons so special.

Colonel Jonathan Meigs who led the 1777 attack against the British in what some refer to as the Battle of Sag Harbor. (Courtesy Photo: New York Public Library)

Today, the only active military base in the Hamptons is the 106th Air Rescue Wing at Gabreski Airport, however up until the 1980s the region was home to the United States Navy, United States Army and United States Air Force.

Venture down Main Street in Bridgehampton, and you'll come across a large monument standing in the center of Route 27. Known as the Founders Monument, it was unveiled on July 4, 1910 in honor of the 250th anniversary celebration of the founding of Bridgehampton. It also serves to honor Bridgehampton residents who died in the Revolutionary War, Civil War and War of 1812. In the years since its unveiling, plaques were added to honor soldiers who served in World War I, World War II, The Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War.

The Revolutionary War
On July 4, 1776 the United States declared itself independent of Great Britain. As a result, militias sprung up across the states, and on August 27, 1776, the first major post Independence Day battle took place right here in New York.

Known as the Battle of Long Island or the Battle of Brooklyn, it was the largest battle of the entire war and a major tactical victory for the British. As a result, all of Long Island including East Hampton and Sag Harbor ports fell to the British. British troops set up a garrison and naval blockade to prevent the Port of Sag Harbor from sending and receiving supplies from the American army.

The Gardiner family who owned Gardiners Island sided with the colonists. The British sailed 13 ships into Cherry Harbor, foraged the island and its Manor House, and used the land as hunting preserve. Guests at the Manor during the time included Henry Clinton and John Andre, who would at one-point exchange toasts with Gardiner's son Nathaniel, a surgeon in the New Hampshire Continental Infantry. Later in the war, Nathaniel would attend to Andre after he was caught spying with Benedict Arnold and executed.

The Umbrella House is the oldest house in Sag Harbor. It was hit by canon fire in the war of 1812. (Wikimedia.com/Americasroof)

On May 23, 1777, nearly a year after the Battle of Long Island, the Americans won victory over the British at the Battle of Sag Harbor. American raiders under the direction of Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs attacked a British garrison on what is the present day Old Burying Ground next to the Old Whalers Church. The raiders crossed from Guilford, Connecticut into Southold in 13 whaleboats. They rowed across to North Haven where they hid their boats in the woods and launched a surprise attack on the British, killing six, and taking 90 prisoners. Known as Meig's Raid, General George Washington himself commended Meig's and his men for their efforts.

Throughout the course of the Revolutionary War, the British Navy used East Hampton waters as a means to blockade Connecticut. One of the ships, the HMS Culloden, ran aground in a winter storm on January 24, 1781 off of what we now call Culloden Point in Montauk. The shipwreck was found in the 1970s, the remains of which can be visited at the East Hampton Marine Museum in Amagansett.

The War Of 1812
During the War of 1812, seven British ships and small frigates anchored in Cherry Harbor at Gardiner's Island where they proceeded to conduct raids on American shipping. Crews would go ashore on to Gardiners Island for provisions, and several British military personnel who were killed were buried on the island.

In response to the British fleets harassment of boats entering into Sag Harbor, residents of Sag Harbor maintained a 3,000 man fort on Turkey Hill. On July 11, 1813, British Marines raided the Sag Harbor wharf, but were forced back after American troops set fire to one of the British ships.

The 127th Battle Flag. (Courtesy Photo: NY Military Museum)

The Civil War
The Civil War, the costliest war in U.S. history in terms of loss of life never touched Long Island soil, however the entire Island, and East End in particular, played an important role in fighting for the Union. Over 500,000 New Yorkers served in the Army and Navy during the Civil War, and of these, 53,114 died.

In response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for more troops, many East Enders joined the 127th New York Regiment and began serving on September 10, 1862.

Sag Harbor sailors and vessels played a unique and significant role during the Civil War. The steamer Massachusetts from Sag Harbor served as a transport for Union supply lines. The vessel was chartered by the government in 1861 to ship troops and supplies between Fortress Monroe, Virginia and Annapolis, Maryland.

In December 1861, the U.S. government bought several old whaling vessels from Sag Harbor and New England, including the Timor and Emerald, filled them with rocks, and brought them to Charleston Harbor. The ships were known as the "stone fleet."

The Spanish-American War
In 1898, America took its first foray into international conflict when it entered the Spanish-American War. Though the war lasted only 10 weeks, it had a tremendous impact on the South Fork.

Col. Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War. (Courtesy Photo: United States Library of Congress)

The United States Army built Fort Tyler on Gardiner's Island Point during the Spanish-American War in order to protect Long Island from invasion by sea. After the conquer of Cuba by Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, as well as other American troops, it was time to bring the soldiers home, however there was a problem.

During the course of the conflict, thousands of U.S. soldiers had been exposed to untreatable diseases such as Yellow Fever. They had to be quarantined for fear of widespread epidemic sweeping across the United States. The Army decided to bring the soldiers to Montauk and hold them at Camp Wickoff, which stretched from Montauk Point Light House to the present day Montauk Long Island Railroad Station. Of the 20,000 troops that passed through the camp, the most famous, of course, was Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders.

World War I
During World War I, the E.W. Bliss Company used Sag Harbor to test torpedoes. As a result, Long Wharf was reinforced with concrete and rail spurs. Notable inventor Thomas Alva Edison observed the testing of these torpedoes, which were shipped to and from Sag Harbor on the Long Island Rail Road.

World War II
During the Second World War, a concrete observation tower was erected next to the Montauk Lighthouse, and naval guns were placed in bunkers at Camp Hero. Montauk Manor was used as a dormitory during the war, torpedoes were tested in Lake Montauk, ships were docked on Navy Road, and Lake Montauk was dredged to become Montauk's dock.

On a fogged in night on June 13, 1942, a German U202 submarine team of four led by George John Dasch as part of Operation Pastorius landed on Atlantic Avenue Beach in Amagansett. The team unloaded crates of explosives on the beach that were be used in a two year campaign of terror, espionage and sabotage.

Nazi saboteur trial. (Courtesy Photo: Courtesy of the National Archives/United States Army Signal Corps)

The team was approached by Coast Guardsman John C. Cullen who asked that they identify themselves. Dasch replied that they were fisherman from Southampton, however when one of the other men said something in German, Cullen became suspicious. Dasch's team offered him $300 to keep quiet, and disappeared after Cullen went to find his supervisor.

When Cullen and his superiors arrived, they found German cigarettes on the beach, as well as four crates buried in the sand filled with explosives. Dasch and his team had boarded the Long Island Railroad en route to New York City and were later captured along with four other German agents who came ashore in Florida. Of the two teams, six German agents would be executed.

In the nearly four century history of the Hamptons, local residents have served or played a significant role in every war or conflict America has faced. Hundreds of thousands of families have been impacted by the casualties of wars past. For the past decade since 9/11, many Hamptons residents have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With Memorial Day Weekend behind us already, and summer and Fourth of July right around the corner, let us all take a moment to remember the true reason why we celebrate these holidays in the Hamptons; to honor all those who have fought and died for our country.