Plum Island (New York)

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Aerial view of Plum Island Animal Disease Center.

Plum Island ( 41°10′59″N, 72°11′25″W) is an island in the Town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York in the USA. The island is in Gardiner's Bay, east of Orient Point, off the coast of Long Island.

The Plum Island Animal Disease Center is located on Plum Island. The center conducts research on animal pathogens in order to protect farmers, ranchers, and the national food supply. Due to the nature of the research, access to the island and the research facility is restricted.

On Aug. 11, 1775, General David Wooster dispatched 120 soldiers to the island, then known as Plumb Island, who were immediately fired upon by the British. After firing a single return volley the soldiers retreated back to Long Island. Although no casualties were reported, this brief skirmish is believed to have represented a number of firsts:

This appears to be the first engagement between the Continental Army and the Redcoats during the Revolutionary War.
Cannon fire between the British ship and the American landing craft may have been the war's first naval battle.
This may have represented the first amphibious assault by an American army.

The historic Plum Island Lighthouse is located on the island. The first lighthouse was constructed by order of George Washington in 1789. The lighthouse served to mark the location of turbulent tidal waters and shoals.

From 1899 to 1954 the island was home to Fort Terry, a military installation. The federal government bought part of the island to construct the fort during the Spanish-American War. Its military nature caused its reactivation as an anti-submarine base during World War II. Its last use by the military was a Chemical Corps facility. The Department of Agriculture took over the island in 1954.

The island is now under the control of the Department of Homeland Security.

[edit] Popular culture

Plum Island is a novel by Long Island author Nelson DeMille, who uses the island as one of his settings in the book.
The Silence of the Lambs (1989) mentions "Plum Island" as a possible relocation site for Hannibal Lecter. He derisively refers to it as "Anthrax Island".
Lab 257 is a novel by New York, New York author Michael C. Carroll, The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Germ Laboratory the insidious connections between Plum Island, Lyme disease, and the deadly West Nile virus. The book also probes what's in store for Plum Island's new owner, the Department of Homeland Security, in this age of Bioterrorism.