Description

The story handed down through the centuries is that when Col. William Ledyard surrendered to the British at Fort Griswold on Sept. 6, 1781, the British killed him by running him through with his own sword. Lecturer John Steward will discuss “The Death of Lt. Col. Ledyard” and explore the murky details of that controversial story, what happened at the fort that day and how the tale of Ledyard’s death has become an urban legendin spite of questionable evidence. John Steward has been writing a column called Tossing Lines for The Day paper’s Times editions for 12 years. Having grown up on Fort Griswold, John turned his focus toward local history, mainly the fort and the life and death of Colonel William Ledyard, about which he’s written over 20 columns. John continues to research and write with an eye toward new, human perspectives on local history, and has presented programs on Colonel Ledyard to several organizations and schools. 

MRHS membership meetings are held in the Parish Hall of the Mystic Congregational Church, with doors opening at 7:00pm for refreshments and the program beginning at 7:30pm. All membership meeting programs are free for MRHS members and are open to the public with a suggested donation of $5. See the schedule below for upcoming membership meetings. For more information, please contact MRHS at info@mystichistory.org or call 860-536-4779 during office hours.