The Culper Spy Ring
Revolutionary War Heritage Trail
General George Washington created a domestic network of spies, appointing Major Benjamin Tallmadge of Setauket as the head of the Long Island based Culper Spy Ring. Tallmadge appealed to Robert Townsend, a Manhattan merchant, to join him as a spy by collecting vital information about British movements in New York City.
The Townsends’ large Oyster Bay home, now known as Raynham Hall Museum, was being used as a British headquarters. Using the code name Samuel Culper, Jr., Townsend wrote coded messages to Washington, Tallmadge and the other members of the Culper Spy Ring to convey the information he gathered.
George Washington wrote the following about Culper Jr.: “His accounts are intelligent, clear and satisfactory . . . I rely upon his intelligence.” Through their brave, risky and well executed efforts, they were able to quickly gather and relay secret information which enabled George Washington to make informed decisions.
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Next to a map of the Culper Spy Ring depicting Manhattan, Queens County on Long Island, Long Island Sound, coastal Connecticut and Westchester County:
1. New York City: Robert Townsend, alias Culper, Jr., gathered information about British troop movements.
2. Oyster Bay: The Townsends’ home was headquarters for the Queen’s Rangers.
3. Setauket: Austin Roe visited Townsend to gather intelligence and forwarded it to Abraham Woodhull.
4. Connecticut: Caleb Brewer picked up coded messages from Woodhull, and ferried them across the Sound to Major Benjamin Tallmadge.
5. Westchester County: Tallmadge delivered these messages from the Culper Spy Ring to General Washington.
Marker is on W Main Street, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
