Make Patriots’ Day A New York State Holiday

The famous “Shot heard ’round the world” was fired at the Battle of Lexington in April 1775, a year before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. That day has been recognized in Massachusetts as Patriots’ Day — commonly known as “Marathon Monday” — since 1894, and seven other states have followed suit with the most recent in 2025.

New York should be the next state to recognize Patriots’ Day. That’s what I’ll pursue if elected to the State Assembly.

My district already celebrates a version of the holiday. Since 2015, the Three Village Historical Society has hosted Culper Spy Day, drawing history enthusiasts from across New York to the hamlet of Setauket on Long Island. “It was here that the nation’s first spy ring operated in secrecy,” writes the historical society, “providing General George Washington with critical information that helped turn the tide of the American Revolution.”

Indeed, Setauket native Benjamin Tallmadge was a close friend of Nathan Hale during their time at Yale. Following Hale’s execution by the British for espionage, Tallmadge recruited his neighbor back home, Abraham Woodhull, to lead a new spy ring that helped reveal the treason of Benedict Arnold. Washington himself may have suggested the alias “Culper,” after Culpeper County, Virginia.

It’s a tale portrayed in the hit TV series, “Turn: Washington’s Spies.” Fans of the show will recognize the names Tallmadge and Woodhull, as well as Caleb Brewster and Anna Strong — all real people who lived in Setauket. Margo Arceri, the founder of Culper Spy Day, shared that her tours have exploded in popularity since the AMC drama premiered in 2014. When I visited Woodhull’s grave, it was decorated with numerous rocks, coins, and American flags.

Now Congress has taken notice. Last month, a bipartisan pair of Long Island congressmen introduced legislation to designate a new National Historic Trail connecting key sites used by the spy ring. “As America approaches its 250th birthday,” said Rep. Nick LaLota, “Congress should recognize that without the Culper Spy Ring, General George Washington may never have turned the tide of the Revolution and set the United States on the path to becoming the greatest nation in the world.”

Yet this history is not taught in New York public schools. According to the state’s K-8 Social Studies Framework, “The outcome of the American Revolution was influenced by military strategies, geographic considerations, the involvement of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and other Native American groups in the war, and aid from other nations” — no mention of intelligence. I personally remember learning about the upstate Erie Canal, but not the spy ring in my own backyard.

Patriots’ Day would not only educate our youth; it would stimulate our economy. The Boston Marathon, for example, is estimated to inject approximately $200 million into the Massachusetts economy each year. Why not host a Patriots’ Day Parade in New York? It would be poetic justice to march through the former Loyalist stronghold and British military headquarters.

New York politics has become very negative. Taxes are too high; criminals are being released without bail; antisemitism is off the charts. All of that is true. But we also need a positive vision for our state, and that starts with appreciating our history.

Patriots’ Day is something every New Yorker can get behind. Perhaps even Mayor Mamdani would attend the parade.

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Will Sussman is the Republican and Conservative nominee for New York State Assembly District 4, which includes Setauket and the surrounding region of Suffolk County. Follow him on X @realWillSussman.