Under orders from General George Washington in the summer of 1778 the Culper Spy Ring was organized by American Major (later Colonel) Benjamin Tallmadge. It was during British occupation of New York City at the height of the American Revolutionary War. The "Culper" name was suggested by Washington who devised it from Culpeper County, Virginia. The two main members of the Ring, Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend, used the aliases "Samuel Culper, Sr." and "Samuel Culper, Jr." respectively. Tallmadge was in direct contact with and control of the Ring but Washington often directed its operations. Tallmadge was referred to by the alias of "John Bolton."
The Ring's task was to send messages to General Washington about the activities of the British Army in New York City, the British headquarters and base of operations. Abraham Woodhull, in Setauket, would pass his information to Caleb Brewster. Brewster would pick up messages at one of six secluded coves near Setauket and, with his rotating whaleboat crews, take them across the Sound to Tallmadge at Fairfield, Connecticut. Tallmadge would then take them to Washington's headquarters. In December 1778, Tallmadge set up couriers Jonas Hawkins and then in the early summer Austin Roe, who would take messages the 55 miles between New York City and Setauket for Woodhull to pass to Brewster.
The members of the Ring operated mostly in New York City, Long Island, and Connecticut. The Ring's covert operations started in about late October 1778 and continued through the British evacuation of New York in 1783.
The Culper Ring provided valuable information to General Washington including:
The British planned a surprise attack on the newly allied French forces under Lieutenant General Rochambeau at Newport, Rhode Island before the French could fully recover and set up defenses after their arduous sea journey to America;
that the British planned to counterfeit American currency on the actual paper used for the Continental dollars, prompting the Continental Congress to retire the bills;
That British Major General William Tryon's raid in Connecticut in July 1779 was a diversion to induce Washington to divide his forces so British Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton could attack them piecemeal;
That a high ranking American officer, soon shown to be American Major General Benedict Arnold, had been plotting with British Major John Andre to surrender the garrison and turn over the vitally important American fort at West Point, New York to the British.
HISTORICAL NOTE:
- Tallmadge served at Washington's headquarters from March 1781 until the Continental Army was disbanded in November 1783. He was breveted to the rank of lieutenant colonel on September 30, 1783.
- Tallmadge was an Original Member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati.
- Tallmadge Hall at Fort Huachuca, Arizona—the home of U.S. Army military intelligence—is named in honor of Tallmadge and his distinguished leadership role in the service of Continental Army intelligence.
- The existence of the Culper Spy Ring was unknown until the 1930’s when Robert Townsend's identity as "Culper, Jr." was discovered. It was the examination of old letters written by Townsend that historian Morton Pennypacker noticed the resemblance of the handwritten letters written by Robert Townsend and letters written by "Samuel Culper, Jr." in George Washington's collection.
Culper Spy Ring - Long Island page -1