11 SPIES!
The First Spy on Long Island
by Mary Lares
The spy ring of Long Island during the American Revolution is something that not many people know much about. This ring was made of a number of men who worked to gather information and intel from the British troops to relay to George Washington. In the war, Long Island was one of the very first areas that was taken by the British redcoats. It was also occupied the longest; the last troops once the war was won left the new United States from Long Island. So, many people wondered, how was it that these patriots were able to win a war so stacked in the favor of the enemy?
The Culper spy ring of Long Island had an incredible effect on the plans and successes of the patriots. However, the entire ring would not have been possible if Nathan Hale had not been asked by Washington himself in 1776 to cross into enemy territory as the first spy on Long Island. Nathan Hale was tasked with going through Manhattan and onto Long Island to find out when the British was going to take New York City. However, as he made his way through Manhattan, it became apparent very quickly that the city had already fallen to the British troops. In fact, the city had fallen under British control a month before Hale was even recruited by Washington.
It was thought that, on his return through, he never made it past Flushing in Queens County. However, in 2011, a journal was found in a home on Long Island that he actually did make his way through Queens, and he was not caught until he had reached New York City. British Major Robert Rogers, by deceiving Hale during his stay at a local tavern, got Hale to admit to him being a spy. Nathan Hale was hung to death in New York City on September 22, 1776.
Though he was caught and never able to relay his intel gathered to General Washington, his role in the Revolutionary War is still imperative. Hale was the first spy for the American Colonies and was able to start a whole profession and ring: even if he never lived to see it. Even today, there is still a stature of Nathan Hale outside of the CIA headquarters building. This is one of the few landmarks commemorating Hale and his service. Though he was buried in an unmarked grave and, therefore, is missing even a headstone, Hale is not a forgotten number amongst the masses of this War.
Connections in the Culper Spy Ring
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History of the Life of the U.S. Spy
by Mary Lares
The spy ring of Long Island during the American Revolution is something that not many people know much about. This ring was made of a number of men who worked to gather information and intel from the British troops to relay to George Washington. In the war, Long Island was one of the very first areas that was taken by the British redcoats. It was also occupied the longest; the last troops once the war was won left the new United States from Long Island. So, many people wondered, how was it that these patriots were able to win a war so stacked in the favor of the enemy?
The Culper spy ring of Long Island had an incredible effect on the plans and successes of the patriots. However, the entire ring would not have been possible if Nathan Hale had not been asked by Washington himself in 1776 to cross into enemy territory as the first spy on Long Island. Nathan Hale was tasked with going through Manhattan and onto Long Island to find out when the British was going to take New York City. However, as he made his way through Manhattan, it became apparent very quickly that the city had already fallen to the British troops. In fact, the city had fallen under British control a month before Hale was even recruited by Washington.
It was thought that, on his return through, he never made it past Flushing in Queens County. However, in 2011, a journal was found in a home on Long Island that he actually did make his way through Queens, and he was not caught until he had reached New York City. British Major Robert Rogers, by deceiving Hale during his stay at a local tavern, got Hale to admit to him being a spy. Nathan Hale was hung to death in New York City on September 22, 1776.
Though he was caught and never able to relay his intel gathered to General Washington, his role in the Revolutionary War is still imperative. Hale was the first spy for the American Colonies and was able to start a whole profession and ring: even if he never lived to see it. Even today, there is still a stature of Nathan Hale outside of the CIA headquarters building. This is one of the few landmarks commemorating Hale and his service. Though he was buried in an unmarked grave and, therefore, is missing even a headstone, Hale is not a forgotten number amongst the masses of this War.
by Sam Katz
As we listened to the guide at the Three Village Historical Society describe the history of the Revolutionary War, and Long Island’s part in it, one of the motifs that kept coming up over and over again was the idea of connections. The whole visit was about spies, and how they were used by the Colonists during the occupation of NYC and Long Island by the British (picture 3) . Chance, necessity, and ingenuity, along with personal connections, were critical to the story of spies during the American Revolution.
The first main element of connection we discussed was the interpersonal connections between the people involved. Nathan Hale, famous as America’s first failed spy, knew Benjamin Tallmadge, Washington’s future spymaster, because they went to school at Yale together. They entered at ages 14 and 15, and both graduated 4 years later at 18 and 19, only a few years before the start of the war. After teaching for a while, they were both thrust into the American Revolution. Tallmadge joined the war as a dragoon officer in the Battle of Boston, and he was promoted by the death of a superior to where he was in Washington briefing rooms. Tallmadge was appointed under a spymaster who disliked spying and retired, and all of a sudden, Tallmadge was a Major, reporting directly to Washington and commanding the entire Long Island espionage operation. Washington, having no children of his own, took a liking to the young Tallmadge, strengthening their connection.
Tallmadge would soon suggest that instead of sending spies out of Manhattan northward, where they were going through the woods into American territory and under heavy suspicion by the British, they should go out of Tallmadge’s hometown: Setauket. Tallmadge used his connections in that area to set up a route for getting information out of the city. This required many code names (picture 1) and involved a man on the ground in NYC named Townsend, a farmer, and a pub owner named Roe (picture 5), who knew Anna Smith Strong and her husband, who ran Brookhaven. Tallmadge also had contact with a whale ship captain based out of the Setauket port who would take the messages across the Long Island Sound to Fairfield, Connecticut, where they could be delivered to Washington. This came together in the route you can see the guide discussing in picture 4, out from the city, through the woods to Setauket, and up to Connecticut. They wrote back and forth in coded messages constantly (picture 2) and all this helped sow the seeds for the American victory, as the use of espionage was partially responsible for the British not attacking the French when they came to our aid.
As we listened, the guide just kept bringing up more and more connections, for instance, to Benedict Arnold and how John Jay and his brother created the invisible ink the Culper ring used. To learn more about the ink, check out Vandana’s post this week, which goes into much greater detail. All told, though, you can see how these many connections made a spy network like this possible at all.
As we listened to the guide at the Three Village Historical Society describe the history of the Revolutionary War, and Long Island’s part in it, one of the motifs that kept coming up over and over again was the idea of connections. The whole visit was about spies, and how they were used by the Colonists during the occupation of NYC and Long Island by the British (picture 3) . Chance, necessity, and ingenuity, along with personal connections, were critical to the story of spies during the American Revolution.
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| Picture 3: The group is listening to the guide tell us about the American Revolutionary War spies. Fun fact, the spyglass on the table is actually a functioning piece that clearly magnifies distant objects! |
The first main element of connection we discussed was the interpersonal connections between the people involved. Nathan Hale, famous as America’s first failed spy, knew Benjamin Tallmadge, Washington’s future spymaster, because they went to school at Yale together. They entered at ages 14 and 15, and both graduated 4 years later at 18 and 19, only a few years before the start of the war. After teaching for a while, they were both thrust into the American Revolution. Tallmadge joined the war as a dragoon officer in the Battle of Boston, and he was promoted by the death of a superior to where he was in Washington briefing rooms. Tallmadge was appointed under a spymaster who disliked spying and retired, and all of a sudden, Tallmadge was a Major, reporting directly to Washington and commanding the entire Long Island espionage operation. Washington, having no children of his own, took a liking to the young Tallmadge, strengthening their connection.
Tallmadge would soon suggest that instead of sending spies out of Manhattan northward, where they were going through the woods into American territory and under heavy suspicion by the British, they should go out of Tallmadge’s hometown: Setauket. Tallmadge used his connections in that area to set up a route for getting information out of the city. This required many code names (picture 1) and involved a man on the ground in NYC named Townsend, a farmer, and a pub owner named Roe (picture 5), who knew Anna Smith Strong and her husband, who ran Brookhaven. Tallmadge also had contact with a whale ship captain based out of the Setauket port who would take the messages across the Long Island Sound to Fairfield, Connecticut, where they could be delivered to Washington. This came together in the route you can see the guide discussing in picture 4, out from the city, through the woods to Setauket, and up to Connecticut. They wrote back and forth in coded messages constantly (picture 2) and all this helped sow the seeds for the American victory, as the use of espionage was partially responsible for the British not attacking the French when they came to our aid.
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| Picture 1: This is a list of everyone who is connected to the Culper spy ring. It was called that because of the aliases “Samuel Culper sr.” and “Samuel Culper jr.” that you can see they used. |
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| Picture 5: This is a tavern sign, meant to evoke the aesthetic of Roe’s Tavern. I personally find the rule about no more than five people in a bed quite funny. Five is already so many for one bed, were people having drastically more than that so much that they had to make a rule!? |
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| Picture 4: The guide is gesturing to the invisible ink letters posted on the wall. The map of the ring’s path from the city to Connecticut can be seen just behind him. |
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| Picture 2: Many things were written in code in this ring. It is thought that one coded phrase from Woodhull may have been referring to Anna Smith Strong and her invaluable contributions to the ring. |
As we listened, the guide just kept bringing up more and more connections, for instance, to Benedict Arnold and how John Jay and his brother created the invisible ink the Culper ring used. To learn more about the ink, check out Vandana’s post this week, which goes into much greater detail. All told, though, you can see how these many connections made a spy network like this possible at all.
by Abbie Belknap
Well, hopefully, you can. Code’s have been used for many years as a way to conceal information from outsiders. To me, a code was something that me and my best friend would use to write notes to each other in class back in elementary school. Except, we would use code words, in the 1770s they used numbers. Spies would use sets of 2-3 numbers to depict specific words as well as a different alphabet. For example, 711 meant General Washington and 73 meant camp. Numbers were only really used for important words and not for every word like one would originally think.
This is the code that Benjamin Tallmadge would use in his letters. Tallmadge was the head of the secret service for Washington.Termed the “Culper Spy Ring”, Tallmadge along with Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend worked together to help gather information on the British army all along New York during the Revolutionary War. These codes would allow letters to be passed along back and forth, and if they were found no information would be spilled to the wrong person.
However, if these documents were intercepted the spies could be identified. A coded letter would quickly identify the individual as a spy, with no way to refute the claim. Spies that were found were hung, so it was imperative that their messages were not found. So they determined other ways to deliver their messages, such as invisible ink.
Well, hopefully, you can. Code’s have been used for many years as a way to conceal information from outsiders. To me, a code was something that me and my best friend would use to write notes to each other in class back in elementary school. Except, we would use code words, in the 1770s they used numbers. Spies would use sets of 2-3 numbers to depict specific words as well as a different alphabet. For example, 711 meant General Washington and 73 meant camp. Numbers were only really used for important words and not for every word like one would originally think.
This is the code that Benjamin Tallmadge would use in his letters. Tallmadge was the head of the secret service for Washington.Termed the “Culper Spy Ring”, Tallmadge along with Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend worked together to help gather information on the British army all along New York during the Revolutionary War. These codes would allow letters to be passed along back and forth, and if they were found no information would be spilled to the wrong person.
However, if these documents were intercepted the spies could be identified. A coded letter would quickly identify the individual as a spy, with no way to refute the claim. Spies that were found were hung, so it was imperative that their messages were not found. So they determined other ways to deliver their messages, such as invisible ink.
The Use of Invisible Ink during the Revolutionary War
by Vandana Menser
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| Image 1: Some of the ways patriot spies during the Revolutionary War kept relayed information back to George Washington’s headquarters, including mention of invisible ink. James Jay invented a special reagent for invisible ink in 1775, which he later gave to his brother John as a gift. John Jay was Washington’s head of intelligence at the time, and passed on the formula to Washington. John Jay would later become a founding father, the second governor of New York, and first chief justice of the United States. |
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| Image 2: A letter from Samuel Culper Sr. (Abraham Woodhull) to fellow member of the Culper Spy ring Caleb Brewster including a message written in invisible ink, blackened by the passage of time. The ink was unique in that it could only be revealed with Jay’s reagent, unlike other traditional invisible inks that could be deciphered with heat, milk, lemon juice, or baking soda. Only owners of the reagent could read the message, even if others knew there was something more to the letter. |
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| Image 3: Two letters now owned by our very own Stony Brook University, still in the collections of the student library today! Both of these letters were written by Washington himself, although his signature is not obvious (hint: you may have to tilt your head). In the letters, Washington gives advice to the spy ring on how to best conceal information, and how he personally would approach things. See the next image for the transcription. |
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| Image 4: Transcription of Washington’s letter. Without specifically saying the words “invisible ink”, he details how information should be written on the “blank leaves” of good quality paper. It is also insisted upon that one must signify through folds or stains that the letter carries an important message, in fear of it being mistaken as something unimportant and potentially ignored. |
History of the Life of the U.S. Spy
by James Callaghan
In movies, books, and television there have always been a few very iconic character types. Those have been ones like pirates, cowboys, or soldiers. Another very popular character type that has been seen throughout entertainment genres has been spies. The ones we see in those formats have always been idealized and made to look very futuristic and like they could be superhuman. What's interesting is that spies very often have been just ordinary people.
Spies were around even for the Revolutionary War and commonly looked like the pictures above. They were usually just ordinary people who were tasked by the military to gain information from the British. Their lives were oftentimes very dangerous because they were going into British controlled areas and either eavesdropping or impersonating. If discovered they would be hung or otherwise put to death by the British. Despite this there were spy rings here in Long Island that were instrumental in helping defeat the British. Without those brave people, it is doubtful that we would have been able to win the war that set the United States on the trajectory that has led us to where we are now.
In movies, books, and television there have always been a few very iconic character types. Those have been ones like pirates, cowboys, or soldiers. Another very popular character type that has been seen throughout entertainment genres has been spies. The ones we see in those formats have always been idealized and made to look very futuristic and like they could be superhuman. What's interesting is that spies very often have been just ordinary people.
Spies were around even for the Revolutionary War and commonly looked like the pictures above. They were usually just ordinary people who were tasked by the military to gain information from the British. Their lives were oftentimes very dangerous because they were going into British controlled areas and either eavesdropping or impersonating. If discovered they would be hung or otherwise put to death by the British. Despite this there were spy rings here in Long Island that were instrumental in helping defeat the British. Without those brave people, it is doubtful that we would have been able to win the war that set the United States on the trajectory that has led us to where we are now.
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