While I am caught in the middle of a war I hope will be over soon, I can only hope we are on the side of right and good. Introducing the Topic Index page (Just in time for the Season 3Premiere! One day, Ensign Baker told Abraham's wife Mary about the time when he caught Abraham and Anna having sex on the table of Abraham's house after Anna informed him of her former slave's willingness to spy on Major John Andre for them while sent to him after the Dunmore Proclamation (which effectively made American slaves into British soldiers for the men, or British servants for the women and children). Before Simcoe could fire back, Woodhull and Anna Strong arrived and ended the fight, with Anna telling Simcoe that the men were fighting for their honor, not hers, and telling them that they could both leave. In 1778, he was . Your email address will not be published. Once they were several years old, boys and girls would then make the transition to outfits that were miniature versions of mens and womens adult clothing. Abraham Woodhull is the American's lone productive spy in 1777 New York, but did we see a glimpse of his bloody fate? This week I was reviewing Muster, Payrolls and List of Effectives for Capt Gross Scruggs company of the Fifth Virginia. [11], He died in Setauket on January 23, 1826, and is buried in the Setauket Presbyterian Church and Burial Ground. Abraham's wife Mary convinced him that he had to shoot the courier, Corporal Eastin (the man who had been sent to escort Woodhull to New York previously), and not kill Hewlett as he had planned to do. Woodhull served as a lieutenant in the Suffolk County militia for a short period of time in the fall of 1775 but resigned after a few months. [15] Tallmadge assigned Townsend the alias Samuel Culper Junior.. The redcoats informed Woodhull that single persons could no longer travel to New York, stepping up security against patriot infiltrators. In addition, Abrahams cousin, Nathaniel Woodhull, a general in the Continental Army, had perished in the Battle of Long Island in 1776. Both of those can help give you the context to figure out words and phrases that seem unintelligable. [23] Woodhulls expense report submitted in July was the final curtain on his clandestine service.[24]. The loss of his cousin deeply affected Woodhull, who was a somewhat introspective, sensitive character, and he secretly hated the British for what he believed was his cousins unnecessarily brutal demise. The ink was a solution developed by John Jays brother, Sir James Jay. The house was burned to the ground, and the family moved into Whitehall. He was killed by a Queen's Ranger during an exchange trading himself and Abe for Caleb Brewster. Hewlett allowed him to do so, so the British guard would have to keep a distance from him in order for him to carry out his act. [11][12] Mary died in 1806,[11] and he married Lydia Terry in 1824. Abraham Woodhull, spy for General George Washington, nearly got himself hanged on one of his first missions. Description: The old Abraham Woodhull House at Setauket. When I came home after seeing Ben, I sat down and watched you playing on the floor near the fireplace. Abraham Woodhull followed his fathers footsteps and became a magistrate, and was appointed First Judge of Suffolk County in 1799. Required fields are marked *. Abraham Woodhull (October 7, 1750 January 23, 1826) was a leading member of the Culper Spy Ring in New York City and Setauket, New York, during the American Revolutionary War. 72years (17401812)Anna Strong / Age at death. Also, his cousin, Continental Brigadier-General Nathaniel Woodhull, died at the battle of Long Island in 1776. That is why I am doing this, Sprout. Abraham Woodhull Courier route to and from General Washington's Headquarters Courier route across Long Island Sound Courier route from New York City to Setauket Route used by Culper Ring members to send intelligence from New York City to General Washington's headquarters in downstate New York and New Jersey. (Dont believe me? Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Death 2 Characters met Caleb succeeded in doing this while Abraham was away, as Robert witnessed Simcoe's rangers beat up his father and burn down his stables when he asked for money in exchange for giving his cavalry to the rangers. Townsend then decided he was through with espionage. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Our work has been featured by the New York Times, TIME magazine, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Smithsonian, Mental Floss, NPR, and more. By that time Washington and Tallmadge had developed other agents in New York City and the Culper Rings role diminished. I believe it should be http://www.spycurious.tumblr.com, Many thanks for bringing that to my attention, Shea! Abraham had in fact joined the county militia in 1775 with no apparent objection from his father, but became disenchanted and quit after two months. The two often went to New York together masquerading as husband and wife, and the trick was effective, despite Strong being ten years older than Woodhull. Woodhull passed on information that he had learned from his father's meeting with Major Edmund Hewlett to discuss the exoneration of Abraham from his role as a murder suspect; he had found a letter with a coded message that stated that the British under John Graves Simcoe would raid a patriot safehouse in Meigs Harbor, Connecticut. Abraham Woodhull is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor. Even after resigning he sent seven more letters about British activities. His first intelligence in October addressed British troop strengths and their shortages in provisions. However, the British quickly suspected him of spying; they even went to Setauket to arrest him in June 1779, although he avoided trouble since he wasn't at home. Later that day, Abraham decided to head to King's College to visit the spot where his brother had been killed in a 1773 riot after Woodhull put a Phrygian cap on top of the Liberty Pole there. He was the son of a prominent judge who supported colonial independence. In addition, the Culper Ring likely helped prevent a British attack against French forces that had arrived in Rhode Island to assist the colonists. I fight this fight for you. In late August, Woodhull received an unexpectedly early release from jail by order of Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. I have a family photo of my grandmother and her siblings in the early 20th century, and her youngest brother is in a gown. Later in their encounter, Simcoe challenged him to a duel, and Woodhull decided to accept before Ensign Baker arrived and rescued him from Simcoe and his men. Abraham Woodhull was a member of the Culper Spy Ring, which provided information to George Washington during the American Revolution. Abraham Woodhull was a farmer in the town of Setauket on Long Island's North Shore. memorial page for Abraham Woodhull (7 Oct 1750-23 Jan 1826), Find a Grave . Journal of the American Revolution is the leading source of knowledge about the American Revolution and Founding Era. Woodhull refused to give any names to the Congress, and he found out that his interrogator was Benjamin Tallmadge, another childhood friend who had joined a regiment of Connecticut dragoons in the Continental Army. Major Edmund Hewlett was in fact named Richard Hewlett, and he was actually married during the entirety of the war, and he and his wife had eleven children; there is no evidence of a relationship between him and Anna Strong either. See Todd Andrliks James Rivington: Kings Printer and Patriot Spy? Tuskegee Airman Clarence D. Lester Broke Barriers, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Abraham Woodhull, Birth Year: 1750, Birth date: October 7, 1750, Birth State: New York, Birth City: Setauket, Birth Country: United States. Vad beror finnar p olika stllen? Later in 1776, Richard Woodhull asked his son to come with him to test his bartering skills for a deal with Colonel Jonathan Cook, the head of the commissary in New York City. [8] His plan was to travel to Manhattan, ostensibly to visit his married sister, Mary Underhill, and her husband, Amos, at their boarding house. This entry was posted in clothing, material culture and tagged 18th century clothing, 18th century gowns, Abraham Woodhull, amc turn, historical costuming, Linda Baumgarten, material culture, sprout, Thomas Woodhull, TURN, turn amc, TURN premiere. 16, accessed April 19 2014 via http://etext.virginia.edu. He had recently married Mary Smith, and was afraid of putting his family at undue risk. Rose, Alexander. Nevertheless, he continued to send letters to Washington, informing of anything of importance he came across. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. ), Spy Chat in Fairfield: Revolutionary Spies in CT (Featuring Caleb Brewster and the WhaleboatWars), New Scholarly Roundtable on Historical Accuracy vs. Truth inTURN. I was just wondering. [13] The respite was ill-timed; Woodhull missed most of the signs that the British were beginning an offensive to seize control of the Hudson River, and the campaign of 1779 began with Washington unaware of Clintons plans. The near-miss left him shaken, but he was compelled to find another way to continue spying. [7] Tallmadge then set up a spy network in New York, with Woodhull as the lead agent. Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Death 2 Behind the Scenes 2.1 Appearances Biography Death Thomas Woodhull died in the Battle of Bladensburg during the War of 1812 on August 24, 1814, felled by an British musket. Woodhull prefaced the information with the admonishment that the intelligence contained news of the greatest consequence perhaps that ever happened to your country.. It is a choice that comes at a heavy price. He thus enlisted the aid of Anna Strong, the wife of Selah Strong, a tavern keeper who was jailed aboard a British prison ship when the Culper Ring was formed. Woodhull was one of Washington's spies during the revolutionary war. With Jamie Bell, Seth Numrich, Daniel Henshall, Meegan Warner. Abraham had in fact joined the county militia in 1775 with no apparent objection from his father, but became disenchanted and quit after two months. In the summer of 1778, the need arose for a Rebel spy network in New York City, the site of the British Armys continental headquarters. . Woodhull and the Culper Ring continued spying until the war's official end in 1783, although it appears they did not gather much useful intelligence during their final years. [18] John Bolton to Washington, May 8, 1780, GW Papers, accessed April 19, 2014, via http://memory.loc.gov. A Letter From Abraham Woodhull to His Son Thomas is an entry from the Turn: Washington's Spies official site. In fact, in 1790, Benjamin Tallmadges own son was wearing them at the tender age of three. (LogOut/ A number of close calls with British authorities had made both Woodhull and Robert Townsend jumpy. Application of another solution developed the ink to reappear. That may be true, but deep down inside it is you, Thomas, who fuels my passion. It is easy to see why AMC would choose such a spy ring as the subject of a television show. Yet he still completed his mission and submitted a valuable intelligence report to Washington. JMS you are correct as with any untranscribed 18th century documents, reading and understading the Culper letters is a tough task. How did the Culper Spy Ring work? 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. All Rights Reserved. Abraham Woodhull was born in 1750 in Setauket, a town on Long Island, New York. The 100 Best American Revolution Books of All Time, Perspectives on the Ten Crucial Days of the Revolution, This Week on Dispatches: Gene Procknow on Ethan Allen and Revolutionary-Era Newspapers. The British knew the exact strength of the French fleet, and were going to wait for them to make harbor and ambush them. I wish also to know where their shipping lies, and if they appear to be taking measures and what measures for their security in case of a French fleets entering the harbor.[16] However as a commander who needed timely and accurate intelligence, Washington sometimes found Woodhulls skittishness irritating, as he wrote to Tallmadge in September 1779, I have been expecting for some time past a communication from Culper. [11] Culper to Tallmadge, April 101779, GW Papers, accessed January 26, 2014, via http://memory.loc.gov. His fears were eased when Woodhull sent him a report in November 1778 that provided almost exact figures of British troop strength in New York. Members of the Spy . The intelligence would then be retrieved by a certain boatman named Caleb Brewster, who was a lieutenant in the Continental Army. So yes, if you were to time-travel back to the era of the American Revolution, you might very well see a young six-year-old boy wearing stays and a gown. Whatever tactic the major used, Woodhull accepted the offer. When Woodhull and Anna were finally able to go to New York, Woodhull and Anna shared a room together, and Woodhull and Anna had an argument about the cancellation of their engagement, with Abraham refusing to tell her about his brother's death. Husband of Anna Maria Brewster; Hannah Skidmore and Charity A. Smith. To protect their identities Tallmadge assigned aliases for their correspondence; Tallmadge went by John Bolton and Woodhull used the name Samuel Culper. It was the beginning of what became known as the Culper Ring., Woodhull was good at the espionage business. He operated under the alias, Samuel Culper and his identity was not learned until the early 20th century. 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. Accessed 18 May 2016. https://spycurious.wordpress.com/2015/04/27/lieutenant-colonel-richard-hewlett-the-loyal-est-loyalist/, Long Island Surnames: Abraham Woodhull. Longislandsurnames.com, accessed 15 May 2016. http://www.longislandsurnames.com/getperson.php?personID=I0519&tree=Woodhull, Markle, Donald E. The Fox and the Hound: The Birth of American Spying. Richard Woodhull (1712-1788) was the local magistrate of Setauket, New York under Great Britain during the American Revolution. He also noted that Howe left New York with most of his army, but he left 200 Hessians in the city, while the city was defended by a dozen 24-pounders and 6 16-pounders at Canal Street. Robert Townsend went into business with his brother Solomon, but the business failed, and Townsend never got back on his feet. Woodhull decided to have Baker as his second for the duel, and he met Simcoe on a small patch of land at a creek. Ive noticed that every time the kid is supposed to make a sound it is superimposed when his face is off screen. As I write this letter you are upstairs in your mothers arms, sleeping peacefully. The court case fell apart, leading to uproar. Woodhull was unable to talk him out of it, and it took a meeting with Benjamin Tallmadge to convince him to continue spying, with the provision that he would only deliver information to Woodhull verbally. Historians believe that he and his co-conspirators probably uncovered Benedict Arnolds treason, and the information that led to arrest of British Major John Andre. The job was not without its risks, though, and Woodhull cut it close on many occasions. 2022-07-02. [3] Washington to Brig. Abraham copied down the writing in his book before Cook had him leave, but not before the officers gave him a drinking challenge: they asked him who he would kill if he would not be retaliated against. To appear as a devoted subject of King George III he publically took an oath of loyalty in Setauket. For five days Tallmadge hid in the woods while Woodhull sneaked him food. [8], Yet for all of his success, the pressure of spying and leading a double life severely strained Woodhull. Woodhull told Brewster about the plans, and Brewster passed the information on to Tallmadge, leading to Tallmadge, Brewster, and other Continental troops ambushing and killing 19 of the 20 British troops, capturing a wounded Simcoe. 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. Abraham Woodhull was born to Richard Woodhull and Rebecca Woodhull (1728-1757). It is likely that the hidden letters, became brittle and fell off. I saw an old friend today. [11] He held a few minor political appointments, including magistrate in Suffolk County, New York, from 1799 to 1810. I know versions of his diary exist elsewhere, but the war time entries can be found, Thank you for sharing that, Adam. It was believed that Nathaniel Woodhull had been captured and brutalized by the British, and died a miserable death. Biography Richard Woodhull was born in 1712 in Setauket, New York. Woodhull was portrayed from 2014 to 2017 by Jamie Bell in AMC's spy thriller and historical drama series Turn: Washington's Spies, which was based on Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring (2007) by Alexander Rose. But how do you read the non-transcribed Samuel Culper John Bolton GW Papers via http://memory.loc.gov? Now there are redcoats everywhere, swathed in every nook of our hometown. 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. Woodhull was probably preparing to make careful mental notes of Tryons camp when he unluckily stumbled upon a group of soldiers who immediately detained him and demanded to know why he was wandering around. [] and visually busy spectacle. How do you stay on task while doing homework? [6] Culper to Tallmadge, February 26, 1779, GW Papers, accessed January 26, 2014, via http://memory.loc.gov.