Lehman on “The Burning of New London” in Essex, Connecticut, 11 Jan.

I had a fine time speaking to the Essex Historical Society and guests in Connecticut last Sunday, and that Sestercentennial series of programs will continue this weekend.

On Sunday, 11 January, Eric D. Lehman will speak to the society on “The Burning of New London,” perhaps the most famous fight inside Connecticut during the Revolutionary War.

Lehman, author of Homegrown Terror: Benedict Arnold and the Burning of New London, will discuss the life of the complicated Connecticut native who led the September 6, 1781, attack on his home state. A force of 1,600 British soldiers and Loyalists captured Fort Griswold and burned down the town of New London. This dramatic story sheds light on the ethics of the dawning nation and the way colonial America responded to betrayal and terror.

Lehman is a professor of English at the University of Bridgeport and the author or editor of 22 books, including New England Nature, A History of Connecticut Food, and the award-winning Becoming Tom Thumb.

All the society’s Winter Lecture Series talks are free and open to the public in Hamilton Hall at the Essex Meadows community, 30 Bokum Road in Essex. Doors open at 3 P.M., with the talk scheduled to begin at 3:30. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, and the society asks attendees to register in advance.