Transcriber’s Notes
This book contains both Footnotes and Endnotes. The Footnote numbers
and their references are numbered 1-72 and are enclosed in [square
brackets]; the Endnote numbers and their references are numbered
101-142 and are enclosed in (parentheses).
Superscripts on page 80 are indicated by a caret symbol: ^l and ^t.
Other Notes will be found after the Index.
GENERAL WASHINGTON’S SPIES
_On Long Island and
In New York_
LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OFFICERS
President B. Herbert Smith
First Vice-President Guy Du Val
Second Vice-President William H. Cary
Corresponding Secretary Norman Taylor
Recording Secretary Richards M. Cahoone
Treasurer John D. Talmage
Assistant Treasurer Guy Du Val
Librarian Miss Edna Huntington
DIRECTORS
Joseph Dana Allen, Litt.D.
Hon. George E. Brower
Richards M. Cahoone
William H. Cary
Francis D. Dodge, Ph.D.
Guy Du Val
Rev. Phillips Packer Elliott
Lewis W. Francis
George Hewlett
David H. Lanman
A. Augustus Low
Evelyn Pierrepont Luquer
D. Irving Mead
Walter M. Meserole
Hon. Howard Pervear Nash
Frederic C. Paffard, M.D.
William A. Robbins
Arnold W. Sherman
B. Herbert Smith
John D. Talmage
Norman Taylor
Edwin H. Thatcher
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
B. Herbert Smith, _Chairman_
Joseph Dana Allen
Richards M. Cahoone
William H. Cary
Guy Du Val
Lewis W. Francis
William A. Robbins
John D. Talmage
Norman Taylor
COUNCILORS
_Kings County_
Miss Jessie A. Addoms, J.D.
Mrs. Samuel K. Frost
Rev. John H. Lathrop, D.D.
Lester D. Mapes
Frank L. Van Cleef
Wheeler N. Voorhees
_Nassau County_
George D. A. Combes
Courtney R. Hall, Ph.D.
Henry Hicks
Jesse Merritt
Rt. Rev. Ernest M. Stires, D.D.
_Suffolk County_
Mrs. J. D. Cockcroft
Perry Duryea
Ralph G. Duvall
Morton Pennypacker
Wallace Reid
Mrs. Joseph H. Willets
_Queens County_
William G. Clossen
Arthur White
[Illustration:
Painted by John Ward Dunsmore. (Used by permission of the Title
Guarantee & Trust Co.)
GENERAL WASHINGTON’S COUNCIL OF WAR AFTER THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND
In the Philip Livingston house, later known as the Teunis Joralemon
House, east side of Hicks St., Brooklyn.
In the picture are General Washington, Samuel Parsons, Joseph Spencer,
Thomas Mifflin, John Morin Scott, Alexander McDougall, Israel Putnam,
Peleg Wadsworth and John Fellows.]
GENERAL
WASHINGTON’S
SPIES
_On Long Island and
In New York_
_BY MORTON PENNYPACKER_
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
_Published by the Long Island Historical Society_
PIERREPONT STREET CORNER CLINTON STREET
_1939_
COPYRIGHT, 1939, BY
MORTON PENNYPACKER
EAST HAMPTON, L. I.
PRINTED BY
COUNTRY LIFE PRESS CORPORATION
GARDEN CITY, N. Y.
PREFATORY NOTE TO “THE TWO SPIES, NATHAN HALE AND ROBERT TOWNSEND.”
_It is nearly one hundred and ten years since America’s first great
novel was written, it being James Fenimore Cooper’s second book. With
“The Spy” for title, it was hailed with unprecedented enthusiasm.
There can be no question but what Governor John Jay’s recital of
the work of the spies made a deep impression upon Cooper, but years
passed before he attempted to record it permanently. Meanwhile, he had
many opportunities to converse with others who were more intimately
connected with the Secret Service work than he ever realized. Elizabeth
Floyd was his mother-in-law, and the visits to members of her family
on Long Island were frequent. Two years preceding the publication of
“The Spy,” he became temporarily a resident of Sag Harbor, although
still retaining his home in Westchester County. It is not, therefore,
surprising to discover that so much that he has placed in Westchester
County actually happened on Long Island._
_To Cooper “The Spy” must have been a disappointment, particularly
after Enoch Crosby had been exploited. Crosby did not conform to his
ideal, but the spies of Washington did. When Tallmadge wished to
send Long Island assistance in October, 1780, Townsend’s reply, as
will be found in these pages, was, “I do not choose that the person
you mention, or any other of his character, should call on me.” When
Abraham Woodhull discovered our country’s need for ready money, he
used his own for incidental expenses of the Secret Service, such as
repairs to their four whaleboats and feed for the horses, and never
complained, although more than seven years of peace passed before our
government reimbursed him. It is inspiring to a greater patriotism to
discover the type of men that these pages reveal._
_The story of Nathan Hale will commend itself for brevity. No
statements at the present day known to be incorrect are even quoted
therein. The hitherto unpublished statement regarding his capture is on
the authority of Robert Townsend, whom General Washington says he found
always reliable. This might have been known seventy years ago had not
Henry Onderdonk added confusing details that discredited it._
_An elaborate chapter was in preparation detailing the scientifically
planned investigation that made certain the identity of Robert Townsend
as the “Culper Junior” of the American Revolution, when it was observed
that the material collected and here published evinced that beyond
comment. Therefore, no documents are here offered to prove what
obviously is a fact._
_Many startling revelations will be discovered by the careful reader
of these pages. Some of them will be observed only after referring to
the secret code printed among the Notes. The return of Major André
after he had been started on his way to freedom is timely as well as
interesting, for we are this fall celebrating the one hundred and
fiftieth anniversary of his execution. A strange hesitancy to-day, as
during the life of Major Tallmadge, may necessitate patient waiting for
more intimate details that will be merely stronger confirmation of this
interesting fact._
_Where letters from either of the Culpers have been condensed for the
sake of brevity, a figure within parentheses has been used to indicate
that the same letter will be found among the Notes beginning on page
232. A more perfect analysis is thus assured to the student of history._
_Acknowledgment is due for assistance to so many, particularly among
the heads of the larger public libraries and historical societies,
that it becomes impracticable to name them individually. They have
shown a uniform enthusiasm and untiring effort that makes the present
publication possible._
MORTON PENNYPACKER
_Kew Gardens, L.I._
_September, 1930._
CONTENTS
FOREWORD 1
NATHAN HALE 19
GENERAL WASHINGTON’S SPIES 30
SECRET SERVICE SECRETS 60
TOWNSEND’S PERSONALITY 102
SPIES AND SPIES 112
JOHN ANDRÉ AND ARNOLD’S TREASON 120
ARNOLD AND ANDRÉ MEET 144
EYEWITNESSES EXPLAIN ANDRÉ’S CAPTURE 160
AFTERMATH 184
CODES AND CAMOUFLAGE 209
A CREW THAT DOUBLE CROSSED 219
NOTES AND AMPLIFICATION 232
INDEX 289
ILLUSTRATIONS
COUNCIL OF WAR, BROOKLYN, AUGUST
29th, 1776 Frontispiece
_From a painting by John Ward Dunsmore_
Showing Generals George Washington, Samuel Parsons,
Joseph Spencer, Thomas Mifflin, John Morin Scott,
Alexander McDougall, Israel Putnam, Peleg Wadsworth
and John Fellows.
FACING PAGE
MAJOR TALLMADGE AND GROUP OF
AMERICAN GENERALS 32
Philip Schuyler, Marquis de LaFayette, Nathaniel
Green, George Clinton, Robert Howe, Israel Putnam,
John Lamb and William Heath.
JOHN JAY’S LETTER TO WASHINGTON 52
Introducing the mode of secret correspondence invented
by his brother James.
WRAPPER ENCLOSING URGENT MESSAGES 82
This is in the handwriting of Abraham Woodhull, made
directly from the original without reduction.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON’S LETTER TO LAFAYETTE 84
Showing how quickly messages from the Culpers were
forwarded through Lafayette to the French fleet.
HOUSES ONCE OCCUPIED BY WASHINGTON’S
SPIES 102
Raynham Hall, Oyster Bay, L. I. Home of Culper Junior
and his sister Sarah Townsend. These contemporary
silhouettes give their only known likenesses.
Lower left--Present-day home of the Colonial Dames
of America. Built by one of Washington’s spies. (See
p. 10 in this volume, and Iconography of Manhattan,
vol. 6, p. 79.) Lower right--Culper Senior’s home at
Setauket. His three great-great-grandchildren in the
foreground.
J. L. GARDINER EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
RECORD 115
His record made near 150 years ago, of a whispered conversation
with Clinton, Major André and Col. Simcoe
that had been overheard by a servant.
A BENEDICT ARNOLD CODE LETTER 126
Advising the British commander that he has accepted the
command of West Point and will betray it.
COL. SIMCOE AND PROMINENT BRITISH
OFFICERS 136
Lord Cornwallis, Major John André, Sir Henry Clinton,
Admiral Arbuthnot, General John Burgoyne, General
Riedesel and Lord Rawdon.
THE CAPTURE OF MAJOR ANDRÉ 160
_Engraved from a painting by J. Halpin_
ALEXANDER HAMILTON’S NOTE 178
Informing General Washington that he was too late to
have Arnold recalled.
WASHINGTON’S LETTER 192
Thanking those who engaged in the capture of Fort St.
George near Mastic, Long Island.
WASHINGTON IN NEW YORK, 1783 206
_From a painting by J. R. Chapin_
There is a story, perhaps true but lacking satisfactory
proof, that one of the mounted figures at the right of the
picture is there to represent Major Tallmadge and the
other, one of his Dragoons; and that the man this way
from him with hat in air is Robert Townsend, otherwise
Culper Junior.
MASKED LETTER USED BY BRITISH 208
Sir Henry Clinton thus informed Burgoyne that there
would be no British army to meet him at Albany.
ROBERT MORRIS’ LETTER TO WASHINGTON
216
His Quaker friends approved the work of the Culpers,
and he could get money for them when it was refused for
other purposes.
CODE USED BY WASHINGTON’S SPIES 218
This was prepared by Major Tallmadge and used by the
Culpers, Senior and Junior.
HANDWRITING THAT DISCOVERED ROBERT
TOWNSEND TO BE GENERAL WASHINGTON’S
CULPER JUNIOR 232
PORTRAITS ON JACKET.
General Washington, Major Tallmadge, John Paulding,
Nathan Hale, James Rivington, Sarah Townsend, Robert
Townsend, alias Culper Junior.
_On backstrap of jacket_, Washington in 1772.
FOREWORD
Certainly there are but few Americans to whom the name of Nathan Hale
is not as familiar as a household word. Everybody has heard of that
Martyr Spy and almost everybody knows his life story. A graduate of
Yale College in 1773 he became a school teacher[1] and more, a patriot,
in every sense the word implies. He enjoyed his work as a pedagogue but
his country’s call was irresistible. Soon he was captain of a Company
and on Long Island he received from the British his Baptism of fire.
Then illness caused him to wonder if after all to him would come the
privilege of rendering worth while service. Can it not be said he
hoped, or better he prayed that he might be useful, and then, sooner
than he expected, he was called to render an unusual service. There was
no reckless haste in his decision. He considered well the hazard of the
work he had been asked to do. It was more than to report the position
of the British Army. It was to discover their intentions, and to report
his findings to General Washington.--A week later he was dead--and
not a line from him had reached the Commander in Chief. His work was a
magnificent failure but the spirit that prompted him to undertake it
entitled him to the everlasting glory which is his.
Hale’s was an unnecessary sacrifice that more careful planning might
have prevented, but as yet there was no time for organized effort,
and for some months no better method was devised than to entrust some
officer to get what was needed, either by the capture of prisoners
or by sending a trusted man into the enemy’s camp. Upon these latter
occasions individuals were met with who seemed anxious to be of
service. Among them were two men later to be known as Culper Junior
and Senior. Certain officers, particularly General Chas. Scott, became
popular with General Washington because of their ability to locate
these men and to get from them intelligence that could be relied upon.
It will be seen that they later formed the Secret Service Bureau that
was so helpful to General Washington all through the Revolutionary War.
This organized service differed from that of Hale’s time in that it
became a business with the men who conducted it, and enabled them
usually to have some one who could get the information when they
feared they were suspected or for any other reason they believed it
too hazardous to undertake themselves. It is remarkable that although
their lives were every moment in danger so carefully were their secrets
guarded that not only to the end of the war but for a hundred and
fifty years thereafter, in spite of frequent efforts to discover their
identity the real men were never suspected. Primarily this was due to
the caution of the men themselves, each declaring that if to any one
other than those of their own selection they should learn that their
names were known they would leave the service and never return; but
it was also due to the care of General Washington in exacting from
all who knew them the most solemn pledge that not to any one at any
time or under any circumstances would they reveal their identity. It
is interesting at this day to observe the fear they had that their
handwriting might betray them, and to note that although they practiced
several styles of writing with the intention of concealing their real
hand nevertheless it was finally this that first enabled positive
identification. It will also be discovered that although those in the
Secret Service requested that the letters they were sending for General
Washington should be destroyed the majority of them were preserved
by him, and that on the contrary with one exception the letters from
General Washington to the Culpers were promptly destroyed by them in
order that they should not be betrayed thereby if searched. That the
contents of so many of the letters to the members of the Secret Service
from General Washington is known is due to his system of saving copies
of them and these as a rule are in the handwriting of the General
himself.
Long before the Culpers were requested to do their own writing both
furnished intelligence, and it is not possible to say which was first
so engaged. Culper Senior had made his fourteenth written report when
Culper Junior’s first was sent, but most of Senior’s information was
furnished by Junior, and probably Scott had it from him before Senior
had attempted it. Their work did not end with the closing days of
1783 but General Washington’s temporary retirement occasioned them
to look to others who may have been less careful in preserving the
records. After the war Culper Senior was from 1799 to 1810 First
Judge of Suffolk County but Junior never accepted any important
political position, although Oliver Templeton, a leader among the
business men of the day, wrote to Culper’s brother when in 1789 it
was announced that his father had been made a member of the Council of
Appointment, saying: “I am informed your father is one of the Council
of Appointment. For God’s sake if that is the case, write your father
immediately not to forget his sons. I am afraid for the opportunity he
may have too much modesty.... Your Brother Robert is fitted for any
office.” He wielded an influence however that was almost uncanny. No
one knew the real patriots in the City of New York at the close of the
war as he did and much that seemed mysterious at the time can be traced
to him, for besides Washington and Tallmadge, Alexander Hamilton,
Richard Varick and several others were familiar with his handwriting
and gave weight to his suggestions and opinions.
Publication of “The Two Spies, Nathan Hale and Robert Townsend”[2] by
Houghton Mifflin Company in 1930 revealed for the first time the names
of those in the secret service employed by General Washington. It was
discovered that Culper Senior was Abraham Woodhull[3] of Setauket, Long
Island, and that Culper Junior was Robert Townsend of Oyster Bay. It
was Robert Townsend who remained in New York City from the beginning
of the war until and after its close. Culper Junior was the man whose
identity every historian from Judge William Smith to those at the
present day was trying to discover. Smith was a co-worker with him and
at times they would both hand communications to James Rivington for his
newspaper at the same moment, but Smith never guessed that Townsend was
General Washington’s Culper Junior. Jared Sparks later went to the
greatest pains to try to identify him, begging those who he knew could
tell him if they would, but no one at any time was willing to break the
pledge by revealing his identity. To prevent any misunderstanding as to
Rivington’s part in the Secret Service a brief sketch of him here seems
necessary.
James Rivington was the son of Charles and Eleanor Rivington. He was
born in 1724. Was twice married, his second wife being Elizabeth Van
Horne of New York, by whom he had two sons and a daughter. A brother
was John, with whom he was in partnership in the publishing business in
London until 1756, when he joined James Fletcher, son of the bookseller
of Oxford. Their most successful venture was Smollett’s History of
England, upon which they cleared ten thousand pounds, the largest
profit then known to have been made on any single work. A growing
love for horse-racing and gambling possessed him until most of his
money was gone. He then came to America and settled as a bookseller
in Philadelphia in 1760. The following year he opened a book store at
the lower end of Wall Street in New York. Then in 1762 he commenced
bookselling in Boston, where he failed. In 1764 he was in Bermuda,
where he opened a printing office for a short time. He soon returned
to New York where in April, 1773, he began “Rivington’s New York
Gazetteer.” By 1775 the matter he permitted to appear in the Gazetteer
was so offensive to the Sons of Liberty that on May 10th his office and
home were mobbed and he with Miles Cooper was obliged to seek refuge
on a British man-of-war in the harbor. Although his plant was damaged
his assistants were able to continue the paper whilst he petitioned the
Continental Congress, saying:
“It is his wish and ambition to be an useful member of society.
Although an Englishman by birth, he is an American by choice, and he
is desirous of devoting his life in the business of his profession,
to the service of the Country he has adopted for his own. He lately
employed no less than sixteen workmen, at near one thousand pounds
annually: and his consumption of printing paper, the manufacture of
Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay, has amounted
nearly to that sum. His extensive foreign correspondence, his large
acquaintance in Europe and America, and the manner of his education,
are circumstances which, he conceives, have not improperly qualified
him for the situation in which he wishes to continue, and in which he
will exert every endeavour to be useful.”
However, before the close of the year, on November 23d, 1775, his
plant was again mobbed. This time under Colonel Sears’s directions the
presses were ruined and the type all carried away to later be melted
into bullets. Rivington then went to England, but returned to New York
in 1777, now as the king’s printer with a Royal commission and a grant
of £100. per annum. He brought with him new machinery and type and
began republishing his paper on October 4th of that year. He also had
received commissions from several publishers to supply them with the
news of British activities in this country. Several have stated that
Rivington was permitted to remain in New York after the close of the
Revolution; for example, in the news from Springfield, Mass., published
in the Salem (Mass.) Gazette, December 25th, 1783, it was reported as
“an undoubted fact Mr. Rivington, publisher, of New York was, as soon
as our troops entered the city, protected in person, and property,
by a guard and that he will be allowed to reside in the country, for
reasons best known to the great men at helm.” But most have neglected
to show that his treatment was worse than exile. A rival publisher in
his issue of January 1st, 1784, says: “Yesterday Rivington, who has had
the audacity to continue his obnoxious publications was waited on by
General John Lamb, Colonel Willett and Colonel Sears, and forbid the
prosecution of any further business in this city, in consequence of
which, he has discharged his hands, and obeyed the order. To the joy of
every one in the United States, Jemmy Rivington’s political existence
terminated last Wednesday, the 31st ulto. [1783].”
Personal injury was soon to be added to insult, for on the 11th of the
same month Nicholas Cruger gave him a violent beating, claiming he
had suffered in prison during the war because of statements made by
Rivington’s paper.
Rivington had a caller in 1794 in the person of Henry Wansey, who
wrote in his Journal: “June 23d, I dined with James Rivington, the
bookseller, formerly of St. Pauls Churchyard; he is still a cheerful
old man, and enquired of me for Mr. Collins, and Mr. Baston, and many
of his quandam acquaintances in England. During the time the British
kept possession of New York, he printed a newspaper for them, and
opened a kind of coffee-house for the officers; his house was a great
place of resort; he made a great deal of money during that period,
though many of the officers quitted it considerably in arrears to him.”
A record exists in a letter written on May 8th, 1797, showing that
Rivington was then in jail for debts contracted by others but which he
was held responsible for. On the fourth of July, 1802, he breathed his
last, at the age of 78, and was buried in the cemetery of the New Dutch
Church.
After discovering that the chiefs of General Washington’s spies were
Robert Townsend and Abraham Woodhull the problem was still to be
solved how these two men could so frequently meet without attracting
suspicion. For many months it seemed beyond solution. Townsend’s books
showed that he changed his boarding place usually after a year’s stay
but this could be attributed to no more than a precautionary measure.
However when the account books of Woodhull were compared with those
of Townsend it was noticed that both men carried ledger accounts with
these landlords. The first for example was Amos Underhill.[4] There
seemed nothing significant in the name until the family genealogies
were searched. Then it was discovered that on March 21, 1774, Amos
Underhill had married Mary Woodhull. Mary Woodhull was the sister of
Abraham Woodhull. The matter was solved! Townsend was an incidental
roomer at the Underhills’ and Woodhull was a frequent caller on his
sister and brother in law. Culper Senior and Junior could therefore
be with each other whenever necessary without attracting the least
suspicion.
Townsend next boarded with Jacob Seaman, who was married to Margaret
Birdsall. This Margaret was the daughter of Col. Benjamin Birdsall who
furnished our Gen. George Clinton with much valuable information.
Townsend and Woodhull found it necessary to personally scout for
information at its source (see Woodhull’s letter dated Oct. 31, 1778).
Their system also included a score of the most respectable citizens
who were never seen anywhere in situations the least suspicious, but
each employed trusted friends who regularly corresponded with them and
the items they secured were promptly communicated to either Townsend
or Woodhull. Much in these letters might be called camouflage. They
usually began with some expression such as “We have no news” and then
followed the style suggested by General Washington in several of his
communications. Sometimes the information was promptly forwarded, the
following letter being an example:
_My dear Friend_:
We all arrived here yesterday at three o’clock after a passage
of 2 hours. The kindness of yourself and wife and the pleasure
I found at your house are strongly fixed on my mind, and make
me desirous of contributing any thing to the information,
amusement &c. of yourself and friends. I enclose a paper which
will give you all the news that is yet published about Charles
Town. Tomorrow a hand bill will come out with the Capitulation.
Yesterday most of the troops here, Staten Island &c. were
embarked in Sloops &c. to the number, it is said, of 7 or 8
thousand, and proceeding up the Kills, landed about sunset near
Elizabeth Town, and immediately began their march to attack
Washington in his camp at Morris Town. At five o’clock this
morning the troops had got to Springfield, 8 miles short of the
place without much opposition, but since, much firing has been
heard. Brigadier Genl. Sterling[5] was wounded in the thigh by
a random shot at Elizabeth Town last evening and is brought
back but the British met with no other loss there.
A vessel is just arrived from St. Kits but brings no news
except that the fleets were within sight of each other and
another action expected. The British had been reinforced with
three sail.
My Respects to C. Wistar and family. I am sorry katy’s
indisposition prevented her coming with us. I shall send the
nickanees by Tommy. I am affectionately &c.
WILLIAM T. ROBINSON.
7 June, 1780.
Culper Senior had the contents of the above letter on its way to
Washington three days later; see his letter of June 10, 1780, on p. 79.
A shorter but no less important letter reads:
New York, 31st December, 1779.
_My good Friend_:
When I left you at D. Bowne’s, I galloped directly to the
Ferry the nearest way without stopping, and arrived there in
two hours and twenty five minutes, and had there been a boat
ready I might, if I chose it, have gone to meeting here in the
afternoon, but you will readily imagine that I was more intent
on procuring a good dinner, which I did at Brooklyn and got
over before sundown....
We have no news--besides what the enclosed papers contain. The
Southern Fleet, consisting of 150 sail, went out of the Hook at
two o’clock on Sunday and ’tis feared that they have suffered
in the dreadful storm that followed soon after. The fleet for
Europe sailed the thursday before.
This goes by Hick’s boat to Great Neck, to the care of Richard
Thorne. I also send a small paper bundle containing a Book for
Eliza and a pair of skates for my friend Harry--of which I
beg their acceptance. My respects and best wishes attend Mrs.
Lawrence and the family and our two friends over the ICE. I am
affectionately yours,
WM. T. ROBINSON.
_Another Robinson letter will be found in the notes (125)._
It may interest some to know that this Wm. T. Robinson once owned
the property 421 E. 61st Street, New York, now owned and occupied by
the Colonial Dames of America. His helpful intelligence reached the
spies through Joseph Lawrence of Bayside, L. I. The original documents
were preserved in a manner so similar to all the rest of the Culper
Jr. material as to be remarkable. The wife of Joseph Lawrence was
Phebe and there were not so many that knew her maiden name, but it
was Townsend and she was the daughter of the Fourth Henry Townsend.
They were married in 1764 when he was 23. Their son Effingham married
Anne Townsend daughter of Solomon Townsend who was Robert Townsend’s
brother. A daughter of Anne and Effingham twenty three years after
her mother’s death had occasion to go through the homestead and there
under the eaves in the garret at the stone house she found (in 1868)
this interesting correspondence that had evidently been placed there by
her grandparents and had remained unobserved for nearly a century. It
reached the Long Island Collection in East Hampton a few months ago,
having been carefully preserved but without critical examination during
the past seventy years.
John Bolton was the assumed name of the man who stood between the
Culpers and General Washington. With the occasional exception of a
letter to General Washington all from the Culpers were addressed to Mr.
John Bolton, the name assumed by Major Benjamin Tallmadge in the secret
service work. Major Tallmadge did not try to conceal his identity after
the war. Caleb Brewster always permitted his own name to be used.
With his trusty gun and sword he defended it, although the British at
one time offered a large reward for his capture. Austin Roe, also of
Setauket, was the chief messenger. He was given no other name, but was
known by a number, which was 724. Jonas Hawkins was another messenger,
and there were several more that could be depended upon if required,
but Austin Roe became so expert in the service as to eclipse the
rest. One who can realize what he had to contend with must view with
amazement the work of Austin Roe. Across the Sound General Washington
had Dragoons posted, three every fifteen miles apart, to carry the
messages to him, whilst on the Long Island side Austin Roe rode the
fifty-five miles from Setauket to New York and the same distance back,
through the enemy’s country, unattended. True, officers in British
uniforms had permitted him to arrange for relays of horses which he
could exchange along the way as required, but nevertheless it was a
remarkable feat and should yet be recognised as such.
* * * * *
Had it been possible to follow a message from New York to Headquarters
in 1781 one might have seen Austin Roe enter a coffee house in the
vicinity of Wall Street. Visibly tired, and probably hungry as well,
for he had just finished a long ride. Few were in the room at that
hour but in the far corner we will observe two British officers in
conversation with a gentleman dressed in the fashion of the day. This
is Mr. Townsend, and the officers are persuading him to visit their
encampment. They have been advised that he is diffident but they
have discovered that preferment comes to those who receive favorable
publicity in the English Magazines as well as in the Royal Gazette.
Mr. Rivington, the king’s printer, had advised them to cultivate Mr.
Townsend’s acquaintance; to keep him posted as to all their activities
if they value publicity such as he may give them; and they exact from
Townsend the promise of an early visit. They do not know that the
Coffee Room was established for that very purpose: that Townsend and
Rivington although silent partners were its financial backers; and that
Rivington wished to establish it in order to provide a place close by
his printing office where British officers would meet and furnish him
with copy for the English Magazines and his own Royal Gazette. Townsend
he found apt, and most willing to run down news that made good copy;
and the fact that Townsend refused to be on his pay roll or to accept
money for his work did not lessen Rivington’s regard for him. That
James Rivington ever imagined Robert Townsend to be in the service of
General Washington there is no evidence to show. In fact it is very
unlikely. Rivington was not the type of man that Townsend would trust
with that secret.
The sight of Roe was sufficient to apprise Townsend that the General
was expecting a message. When he could excuse himself he left the
Coffee Shop and returned to his own rooms, which were nearby. He was
soon followed by Austin Roe, who handed him a letter from Mr. John
Bolton. This read: “I wish you to send by bearer ½ ream letter paper,
same as the last. Mr. Roe will pay for it.” Townsend paid little
attention to this message, but opening a secret closet brought out
a vial of liquid which he proceeded to brush over the letter. Soon
another message appeared on the same sheet of paper. It was from
General Washington requesting certain important information. Meanwhile
Roe had started down the street for the printing office of James
Rivington at the corner of Queen Street facing the North Front of the
Coffee House. Here he purchased a half ream of paper--had it carefully
wrapped and labeled and then started back with it to Townsend’s rooms.
Very carefully it was unwrapped, in order that it could be sealed again
without showing that it had been opened. Townsend then began counting
the sheets until he arrived at a number previously agreed upon. That
sheet was then extracted, and reaching for a vial of a different liquid
he proceeded to write. But only momentarily could the words be seen. As
soon as the stain was dry it disappeared, leaving no hint that it was
there waiting to be developed by the other liquid.
The supper hour was now approaching when the Coffee Room would be
a scene of great gaiety. There would be gathered new arrivals from
abroad, anxious for an introduction, and those expecting soon to leave
would be tendered an affectionate adieu. It was a huge success from the
standpoint of a news gatherer, and would have been worth while even if
it had not been returning the handsome revenue it did at that time.
So thought Rivington. Doubtless Townsend from the standpoint of a Spy
thought the same, but unlike Rivington he kept his own counsel. It
should not be presumed that all could be gotten in this fashion. There
were reports from at least a dozen to be checked over, and out of the
way places to be visited. When all had been summed up Townsend finished
his letter and returned it to its proper place in the package of letter
paper. Austin Roe packed his saddle bags with a variety of articles
needed by those at the east end of the Island, and carefully stowed
among the things was this half ream of paper for Mr. John Bolton. In
the late forenoon he set off, crossing the Brooklyn ferry and from
there heading either for Jamaica or Flushing he soon was well on his
way. There were times when he met with trouble along the road but upon
this occasion we presume that he reached Setauket without incident, and
just in time to give attention to his cattle, which were kept pastured
in a field belonging to Abraham Woodhull. It might have been a matter
of suspicion had he always left a package with Woodhull, therefore a
box in the field was resorted to on this as upon many occasions, and
straightway home Roe drove the cows. Later Woodhull, passing through
the field, transferred the contents of the box to a bag he was carrying
and soon the intelligence for General Washington was in his private
room. Other messages to accompany those just arrived were now prepared
by Woodhull, who we will not forget always signed himself Culper Senior
in this correspondence.
Caleb Brewster was waiting with his boats to convey these messages
across the Sound. Woodhull knew he was waiting but had not seen him.
He had observed the black petticoat which was the signal of his arrival
hanging on the line across the creek on Strong’s Neck. He knew where
the boats were hid, too, although there were six landing places, but
he had observed hanging with the clothes on the line near half a mile
away four handkerchiefs. Just as one, two, three, five or six hanging
there at one time indicated certain landing places Woodhull knew that
four indicated the Neck, and there when the messages were ready he
took them.[6] It was long a question as to who it was that used this
clothes line signal to guide the delivery of the messages to Brewster
who was to carry them across the sound on their way to Washington’s
headquarters. Finally a clue was found among the papers of the Floyd
family and when this was compared with the Woodhull account book it
was discovered that the signals were arranged by no less a personage
than the wife of Judge Selah Strong. Anna Smith was her maiden name.
She was born on April 14th, 1740, and married Judge Strong on Nov. 9th,
1760.[7]
Brewster sometimes would capture an enemy crew on the way across, and
sometimes when not well protected they would chase him. Occasionally he
found it necessary to kill some of them. Major Tallmadge was not always
to be found in the same place but kept Brewster sufficiently informed
to be able to steer in the right direction. When to Major Tallmadge the
messages were handed they were again examined, in fact frequently the
stain letters were developed and then forwarded to the nearest Dragoons
posted along the road, from whence they were relayed to Headquarters.
* * * * *
No one will challenge the emphasis put upon the importance of the
Secret Service. Only lack of details has deterred its recognition. As
early as April 1779, Major Tallmadge began by saying: “Some pieces of
useful intelligence respecting the movements of the Enemy in this late
intended Expedition to New London, and which I have reason to believe
in a great measure defeated their intentions, have been communicated
by Culper.” “Of very great importance” Washington considered it, and
so wrote on July 11, 1780 “I rely upon this intelligence,” he wrote at
another time. When G. W. P. Custis, adopted son of General Washington,
was told by friends, who probably over-estimated, that the service had
cost between one thousand and fifteen hundred pounds, he wrote: “It
was a cheap, a dog cheap bargain; for, although gold was precious in
the days of the Continental currency, yet the gold paid for the secret
service was of inestimable value, when it is remembered how much it
contributed to the safety and success of the army of Independence.”
Too much can not be said of the personnel of the service, due largely
to Robert Townsend, whom all the others speak of in the highest terms.
“Nothing could induce me to be here but the earnest desire of Culper
Jur.,” said Woodhull in 1779. “He is the person in whom I have the
greatest confidence,” General Washington wrote of Culper Junior in a
letter to Congress. “This much I can assure you,” says Major Tallmadge,
“he is a Gentleman of business, of Education and honor.” Of him on June
20th, 1779, Woodhull wrote: “He is a person that hath the interest of
our Country at heart and of good reputation, character and family, I
have reason to think his advantages for serving you, and abilities, are
far superior to mine. As long as I am here shall be an assistant and
do all that I can.” Again on February 5th, 1780, General Washington
wrote of Culper Junior: “His accounts are intelligent, clear, and
satisfactory ... I rely upon his intelligence,” and Woodhull echoes
“He’s allowed to be a person of good sense and judgment, and his
firmness and friendship towards our Country I do assure, you need not
doubt. I have known him several years and confident he is a sincere
friend, and hath undertaken it solely for to be some advantage to our
distressed Country.” Then in May, 1781, General Washington recorded:
“Of the Culpers fidelity and ability I entertain the highest opinion.”
In this volume are now collected a majority of the letters still in
existence from spies in the American service during the Revolutionary
War. That General Washington was contented with an occasional report
from other scenes of action evinces the importance he attached to the
territory around New York. That the Spies of Washington are worthy of
important recognition in the annals of the State becomes evident as
their work is examined.
G. M. Pierce, Registrar General of the National Society, D. A. R. in
1918 summed up the Revolutionary Spy in these words: “The man or woman
who enters upon such a career must possess strength of character and be
endowed with all the qualifications of a good soldier and a commanding
officer besides. A soldier must possess bravery and courage, but a
spy must be not only brave and courageous, but must also have what is
called ‘nerve,’ poise, self possession, absolute control of facial
expression, fearlessness, tact and discretion unequalled. For his is
the most hazardous of all undertakings. Discovery means death, the
penalty inflicted alike by all nations.”
FOOTNOTES to “FOREWORD”:
[1] In October, 1773, Nathan Hale began teaching in East Haddam,
Connecticut, but in May, 1774, he took charge of a school in New
London, called the “Union School.” Here he remained until the summer of
1775, when he joined the third company of the 7th Connecticut Regiment,
commanded by Colonel Charles Webb.
[2] “The Two Spies, Nathan Hale and Robert Townsend,” might almost
be called a first edition of this volume, but there being more new
material in this than the entire contents of the first issue, it is
given a new title.
[3] Until this publication the identity of Culper Senior was not
positive. Some said Nathaniel Ruggles was the man; others were correct
in assuming that it was Abraham Woodhull, but others confused matters
by declaring that it was Abraham C. Woodhull, an entirely different
person, although he lived in the same town at the same time.
[4] The above Amos Underhill had brothers, one being Benjamin, whose
wife was the daughter of Sylvanus Townsend. After his death she married
in 1789, John Franklin, son of Thomas. Benjamin’s only son he called
Townsend Underhill, born in 1765. His daughter was Elizabeth. This
Elizabeth Underhill married John Butler Coles. In 1780 he was a clerk
for Thos. Buchanan & Co., and later had his own business at 12 Dock
Street, now Pearl. He was a director of the Bank of New York from 1806
to 1820 and died January 2, 1827, leaving a large estate. His father,
Nathaniel Coles, happy over the return of peace, in 1783 roasted an
entire ox and invited the neighborhood to partake of it. Both Amos and
Benjamin Underhill had business dealings with Robert Townsend.
[5] Sir Thomas Sterling.
[6] A somewhat similar method was used on the New England side, at
least in the vicinity of Newport. It is described on page 48 of a
Discourse by Arthur A. Ross, who a hundred years ago was Pastor of
the First Baptist Church there. Mr. Ross says: “During the whole
time the British had possession of the Island, a correspondence was
maintained between certain individuals of the Island and the main
at Little-Compton, so that the American officers were constantly
apprized of the general movements of the enemy, while in possession of
Rhode-Island. This correspondence was maintained by signals given on
the Island, indicating a clear coast, and that a messenger could pass
over in safety, after dark. The first signal was the leaving down of
a certain pair of bars, which, with a spy-glass, could be distinctly
seen from the main. Afterward, for fear of exciting the suspicion of
the enemy, the signal was changed, when an open window of Mr. Peleg
Peckham’s barn, answered the same purpose. A small vault in the ground,
near the shore, and at no great distance from Mr. Peckham’s, covered
with a flat stone, served as a depository of communication.--Here,
letters and papers were regularly deposited and removed, by the
respective individuals engaged in the correspondence.”
[7] Judge Strong was born on Dec. 25th, 1737, and died July 4, 1815.
His parents were Thomas Strong and Susannah Thompson, daughter of
Samuel Thompson and Hannah Brewster. His wife died August 2, 1812. Anna
Strong’s father was William Henry Smith, b. Mar. 13, 1689, Brookhaven
and d. Jan. 27, 1743. Her mother was Margaret Lloyd, granddaughter of
Grizzell Sylvester.
NATHAN HALE
Late in the evening of September 22, 1776, Captain John Montressor,
of the British Engineers, who was serving as aide-de-camp to Lord
Howe, appeared under flag of truce at the American outposts on Harlem
Plains, New York. He bore a letter to General Washington respecting the
exchange of prisoners. General Putnam, Captain Alexander Hamilton, and
Captain William Hull were among those who met him. To them Montressor
verbally gave the information that an American officer, one Captain
Hale, had been executed that morning as a spy. It was startling news,
and to Hull it came like a shock, for Nathan Hale had been his chum at
college[8] and confided to him details of the dangerous mission he had
undertaken. A week later, the sad news reached the home of Hale, and
one of his brothers, Enoch, started for the encampment of Washington’s
army. There Lieutenant-Colonel Webb was induced to visit the British
headquarters under a flag, and he returned with information that
enabled Enoch to record that “Nathan, being suspected by his movements
that he wanted to get out of New York, was taken up and examined by
the general, and, some minutes being found with him, orders were
immediately given that he should be hanged. When at the gallows, he
spoke and told that he was a captain in the Continental army, by name
Nathan Hale.”
Enoch carried this news home, and later his brother John made entry
in the town records of Coventry which reads as follows: “Capt. Nathan
Hale, the son of Deacon Richard Hale, was taken in the City of New
York by the Britons and Executed as a spie some time in the month of
September, A.D. 1776.”
Tench Tilghman, in a letter to William Duer, written ten days after the
announcement of Hale’s execution, betrays the feeling in the American
army. “The General is determined, if he can bring some in his hands
under the denomination of spies, to execute them,” he writes: “General
Howe hanged a Captain of ours belonging to Knowlton’s Rangers who went
into New York to make discoveries. I don’t see why we should not make
retaliation.”
Another letter, written by an American officer in camp at Harlem, is
dated September 26, 1776, and reads: “One Hale, in N.Y. on suspicion
of being a spy, was taken up and dragged without ceremony to the
Execution Post and hung up.” “Yesterday we hanged an officer of the
Provincials who came as a spy,” writes a British officer to friends at
home; and James Drewett, on board the British frigate Mercury at New
York, writes: “On the 22d we hung a man who was sent as spy by Gen.
Washington.”
It was almost five months later when the newspapers began publishing
garbled accounts. The “Conquest of Canaan,” an epic poem, by Timothy
Dwight, probably the first book to mention Hale, was not published
until nearly nine years after his execution, although, strangely
enough, its author had early in 1776 solicited Hale to get subscribers
to it for him.
Hannah Adams was in fact the first historian to record a concise
account of Hale, and her “History of New England,” in which it appears,
was not published until 1799, nearly twenty-three years after the
event. The story in her book reads as follows:
“The retreat from Long Island left the British in full possession.
What would be their future operations remained uncertain. To obtain
information of their situation, their strength and future movements,
was of high importance. For this purpose, general Washington applied
to Colonel Knowlton, who commanded a regiment of light infantry, which
formed the van of the American army, and desired him to adopt some mode
of gaining the necessary information. Colonel Knowlton communicated
this request to Captain Nathan Hale, of Connecticut, who was then a
captain in his regiment.
“This young officer, animated by a sense of duty, and considering
that an opportunity presented itself, by which he might be useful to
his country, at once offered himself a volunteer for this hazardous
service. He passed in disguise to Long Island, examined every part of
the British army, and obtained the best possible information respecting
their situation and future operations.
“In his attempt to return he was apprehended, carried before Sir
William Howe, and the proof of his object was so clear, that he frankly
acknowledged who he was, and what were his views.
“Sir William Howe at once gave an order to the provost marshal to
execute him the next morning. This order was accordingly executed, in
a most unfeeling manner, and by as great a savage as ever disgraced
humanity. A clergyman, whose attendance was desired, was refused
him; a bible for a few moments devotion was not procured, although
he requested it. Letters, which, on the morning of his execution, he
wrote to his mother[9] and other friends, were destroyed; and this very
extraordinary reason given by the provost marshal, ‘that the rebels
should not know they had a man in their army who could die with so much
firmness.’