His wife knew that he was only saying this so that he could continue spying in New York, so she decided to intervene, and Major Hewlett settled the argument by granting Woodhull an armed escort into the city at all times. That he has gone so far beyond his promise makes me rather uneasy on his account.[17] And the ever-frugal general often testily reminded his spies not to waste the expensive disappearing ink and to find ways to communicate their intelligence faster. [14] Like Woodhull, Townsend played the part of a devoted Loyalist but he was a secret Patriot who had served briefly as a commissary to General Nathaniel Woodhull, Abrahams cousin. Aliased Samuel Culper, Jr., Townsend gave Woodhull a reliable source within the city itself, and made his job much easier. When I came home after seeing Ben, I sat down and watched you playing on the floor near the fireplace. Anna remained alone on the family farm during the American Revolution, where she assisted with General Washington's Culper Spy Ring. Woodhull somehow successfully answered the soldiers questions but the encounter still shook him to his bones. He did not immediately take up arms or begin spying, however, and was more placid than some of his friends, who joined the Continental Army at the outset of the war. He attempted to stay out of the war, and he smuggled cabbage for his family after their harvest in the autumn of 1776 proved to be insufficient due to maggots eating up his crops. In late July the agents reported that the British knew about the expected fleet and were moving naval forces to counter a planned French attack on Rhode Island. So, perhaps there are some parts of the Culper Ring, we will never know, Your email address will not be published. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); "TURN to a Historian" is an independent blog for people searching for historically-accurate information and analysis about "TURN: Washington's Spies", AMC's fictionalized television drama about Revolutionary War spies. I believe it should be http://www.spycurious.tumblr.com, Many thanks for bringing that to my attention, Shea! Eventually, Rogers lured out the killer by playing the retreat signal on the drums, which is what the killer used to signal Joyce to have a tryst with them, as revealed in a letter that Anna Strong had found in Joyce's belongings in his room in her house. The killer was discovered to be loyalist John Robeson, and Rogers decided to use a dead redcoat as a scapegoat while employing Robeson as his eyes and ears in Setauket. With all due respect to Mary Woodhull, . Old Abraham Woodhull Home, Seatuket - Queens Public Library From Brewster, the intelligence would be passed on to Major Tallmadge, then to General Washingtons desk. Abraham Woodhull was born to Richard Woodhull and . By the end of October he recruited his brother-in-law Amos Underhill, owner of a Manhattan boarding house, to gather information from his British Army lodgers. [9][10], Woodhull married his friend Mary Smith in 1781 and had three children with her. Abraham's own family is also quite fictionalized in the show; he was unmarried during most of the war, and did not wed Mary Smith until 1781. I have a family photo of my grandmother and her siblings in the early 20th century, and her youngest brother is in a gown. Abraham socialized with Andre and the British officers before he snuck into an officer's room where Anna was about to lay with the officer and steal his book (which contained coded messages). More on the way soon! Best Known For: Abraham Woodhull was a member of the Culper Spy Ring, which provided information to George Washington during the American Revolution. [16] Washington to Tallmadge, October 6 1779, Writings of George Washington, Vol. Gen. Charles Scott, added their own comments and couriers then sped the messages to Washington at Continental Army headquarters in New Jersey. Caleb Brewster joined what is today the Coast Guard in 1793, retired in 1816, and died in 1827. [19] Culper to John Bolton, July 20, 1780, GW Papers, accessed April 20 2014 via http://memory.loc.gov; Rose, Washingtons Spies, 189-192. It is a choice that comes at a heavy price. Abraham Woodhull/Parents Linda Baumgarten of Colonial Williamsburg writes: The time when a little boy went from skirts to pants, which was called, breeching, occurred anytime from age three to seven and was symbolic of his first step toward becoming a little man.'. The war finally ended in 1783, with the Continental Army victorious thanks to assistance from the French. Wikipedia. After collecting the messages, Woodhull waited for signals from his neighbor and fellow conspirator, Anna Strong, who communicated by hanging specific laundry out on her line. Washington sent another vial of ink.[12]. Woodhull and Tallmadge deserve to be honored and taught. American Revolution: Spies - Ducksters Tallmadge wrote Washington on October 11, 1780 that Arnold knew not a single link in the chain of my correspondence, but that the Culper operatives were too apprehensive of danger to give their immediate usual intelligence.[20] Woodhull and Townsend laid low but returned to providing information. Schellhammer, Michael. In addition, the Culper Ring likely helped prevent a British attack against French forces that had arrived in Rhode Island to assist the colonists. Highwaymen on the road near the town of Huntington robbed him of all of his money in early April 1779, and Woodhull told Tallmadge that he felt a life of anxiety to be within . Are there transcriptions at any other accessible digital websites? Abraham Woodhull is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor. [8] His plan was to travel to Manhattan, ostensibly to visit his married sister, Mary Underhill, and her husband, Amos, at their boarding house. . Possibly after testing his old friends allegiance, Tallmadge probably dropped his bomb; it was he who secured his early release from Governor Trumbull, and would Woodhull be willing to spy for the American cause? A farmer and the son of a local Patriot judge, Abraham Woodhull joined the Culper ring in November of 1778. The rumor fell upon the ears of a certain Queens Rangers captain by the name of John Graves Simcoe. The evacuating British were forced to make the trip to New York by land due to the threat of French naval attack, giving General Washington an opportunity to strike a crippling blow. Watching you fall and get up over and over again swelled my heart with pride and joy. Woodhull would copy what information he could gather onto paper, and on his way back home to Setauket, he would hide the information in a prearranged location, a hidden cove on Long Island Sound. While he was a staunch loyalist, his son Abraham Woodhull would become the leader of the pro-patriot Culper Ring . The task fell to his intelligence aide, Major Benjamin Tallmadge, to begin recruiting spies. So interesting. Washington was annoyed; Woodhull had always made a fuss about payment during the war, but Washington saw fit to reward him for his invaluable service. He died a lonely man in 1838. The Culper Ring was a successful operation that provided Washington with valuable information on the British Army headquartered in New York from October 1778 to the end of the war. Also, his cousin, Continental Brigadier-General Nathaniel Woodhull, died at the battle of Long Island in 1776. [3], Woodhull returned to Setauket and began his spying in October. Ken, I absolutely agree with your outlook. In the spring of 1780 the strain of spying was wearing on both Woodhull and Townsend, and Tallmadge told Washington that Townsend had become less active, and even Culper Senior grows timid and thinks that intercourse had better be dropped for the present.[18] Washington agreed to shut the Culper Ring down, only to reactivate it in July to gain information that would support operations of another French fleet expected later that summer. For boys, this was often a celebrated childhood milestone. His position as a merchant in New York City put him in an excellent position to learn British plans from his Crown business contacts. He had an older brother, Thomas.In his youth, Abe made friends with Caleb Brewster and Benjamin Tallmadge. Ive noticed that every time the kid is supposed to make a sound it is superimposed when his face is off screen. It was believed that Nathaniel Woodhull had been captured and brutalized by the British, and died a miserable death. [11], He died in Setauket on January 23, 1826, and is buried in the Setauket Presbyterian Church and Burial Ground. I concur great article. Basing his operation in his British-occupied hometown of Setauket, New York, Woodhull enlists the aid of local tavern keeper Anna Strong to ferry crucial intelligence to their friends in the Continental Army, Caleb Brewster and Benjamin Tallmadge, who in turn bring the intelligence to General George Washington himself. After the United States gained independence, Woodhull served as a magistrate, as had his father before him, and served as a judge in Suffolk County, New York. He married Mary Smith on 24 November 1781, in New York County, New York, United States. Woodhulls marriage to Mary Smith in November may have reinforced his decision; as a family man, he had more to lose than his own life. Even if they decide to spare my life and send me to a prison ship, I would still leave you, your mother, my father, and our entire family disgraced. A recovering Judge Woodhull accepted Abraham's offer to prosecute the accused in his stead, as Abraham wanted to lose on purpose; this would show the townspeople that Simcoe was the man responible. . If you are interested in working with us or have a great story, please get in touch. Abraham Woodhull (1750-1826) FamilySearch Woodhull was secretly engaged to Anna Strong in 1773 before his brother Thomas, a soldier in the British Army, was killed while quelling a protest at King's College and his father decided to marry him to his brother's fiancee Mary, leading to Abraham and Anna parting. Free shipping for many products! All Rights Reserved. These agents reported on British activity from their homes in New York City, on Long Island, New York, and in Connecticut. His father was a judge, and he was a cousin of Nathaniel Woodhull, leader of a New York Patriot . The incident struck fear into Townsends heart, as it demonstrated just how easy it was to be captured. American Spies of the Revolution - George Washington's Mount Vernon Anna left with him, ostensibly to petition for Selah Strong's release from the HMS Jersey; Abraham would supposedly sell some cauliflower to the British. These negotiations made Woodhull proud of his son, but Abraham was disappointed when his father and Colonel Cook began to discuss dividing Selah Strong's lands while he was in prison, with Colonel Cook being promised some cauliflower by Woodhull. In this case, I could understand the rationale behind breeching little Thomas several years early in TURN. Working together, Woodhull and Townsend warned Washington about British activities as the 1779 campaign developed and they discovered British plans to wreck American finances by counterfeiting Continental currency. Another of Tallmadges operatives was Caleb Brewster, a Continental artillery lieutenant and skilled mariner stationed on the Connecticut coast who previously supplied Washington with naval intelligence. And dont worry well be discussing plenty of military details here on the blog soon enough. Is this just presumed to be legend or myth now? Who was Abraham Woodhall? Im sure you know that the value of intelligence is often intangible, and therefore not always apparant until viewed with the benefit of hindsight. Did Abraham Woodhull have a son named Thomas? Cant find his name in the cast credits either odd. Abraham pulled his gun and asked Baker not to arrest him, but Baker said that he would not be a traitor like Abraham. Fueled by a strong desire to avenge his cousins allegedly brutal murder, Woodhull threw himself into his new job with a passion. Lydia Darragh - Lydia spied on British officers who met in her home to discuss battle plans.

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