Brian Kilmeade - George Washington's Secret Six

New York Gazette & Weekly . Templeton & Stewart. April 25, 1774. Mercury issue 1174, p. 2.

———. Templeton & Stewart. August 15, 1774. Mercury issue 1192, p. 4.

———. Templeton & Stewart. February 27, 1775. Mercury issue 1220, p. 3.

Norton, Mary Beth. Liberty’s Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750–1800. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996.

A fascinating compilation of primary sources, this book offers valuable insight into the challenges and perils of women living in war-torn areas during the Revolution, including the lighthearted letter from Lord Rawdon about the outbreak of sexual assaults against ladies in British-occupied Staten Island.

Paul, Joel Richard. Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution. New York: Riverhead, 2009.

A detailed account of the covert activities of the French government via the fabricated Roderigue Hortalez & Company, Paul’s research offers a dynamic and intriguing reconstruction of the events leading up to, and resulting from, the smuggling efforts.

Pennypacker, Morton. General Washington’s Spies . Walnut Creek, CA: Aegean Park, 1999.

Pennypacker’s 1939 publication of the Culper letters includes a narrative of many of the events involving the ring, as they were known at the time, as well as both transcripts and photographs of many of the original letters exchanged between several of the ring’s members, Tallmadge, and Washington. It was absolutely invaluable not only to the composition of this book but also to understanding the Culper story in general.

———. Two Spies: Nathan Hale and Robert Townsend . Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1930.

Pierce, Kara. “A Revolutionary Masquerade: The Chronicles of James Rivington.” Binghamton University. n.d. http://wwwz.binghampton.edu/history/esources/journal-of-history/chronicles-of-james-rivington.html.

Pierce’s article offers a fascinating look into the personal life of James Rivington as well as his spying activities during the war and was an important resource in helping to reconstruct Rivington’s mysterious character.

Pierce, Susan M. The History of Raynham Hall . Thesis, Columbia University, 1986.

This thesis study provided many helpful details about the architectural history of the Townsend family homestead and its position in colonial Oyster Bay.

Rose, Alexander. Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring . New York: Bantam, 2006.

Rose undertook a tremendous depth of research to complete his book, and it served as an excellent starting point in quite a few places for our own investigation into the matter. Especially helpful was his engagement with disparate primary sources that together formed a fuller picture of the Culper Ring’s activities and accomplishments.

Ross, Peter. “A Few Revolutionary Heroes—General Woodhull—Colonel Tallmadge—General Parsons—Colonel Meigs.” A History of Long Island, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time . New York and Chicago: Lewis, 1902.

Schecter, Barnet. The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution . New York: Walker, 2002.

This book proved especially important in helping us to understand the vital importance of New York City to the overall outcome of the war and allowed us to better grasp the significance of its political, strategic, and symbolic impact. It also helped us explain the high regard that Washington had for his spy network within the city.

Tallmadge, Benjamin. Memoir of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge Prepared by Himself at the Request of His Children. New York: Thomas Holman, 1858. Reprint, New York: New York Times, 1968.

Most of the accounts of Tallmadge’s activities and emotions come directly from his own pen in the memoirs he originally wrote in the final years of his life and first published for widespread distribution in 1858. Rarely is an author so lucky as to have the impressions and reflections of a historical figure in his original words. This is an especially valuable resource for any student of the American Revolution or Washington’s spycraft.

Townsend, Robert. “Account Book of Robert Townsend, Merchant, of Oyster Bay Township, N.Y., and New York, N.Y., Begun November 23, 1779, and Continued to March 29, 1781.” Transcription. East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection, East Hampton, NY.

The firsthand information revealed in this document was extremely helpful in understanding more about how Townsend operated first in Oyster Bay and later in Manhattan. Both the detailed entries and the periods of inactivity reveal a great deal about Townsend’s patterns of behavior, possible emotional struggles, and business habits in managing his shop and his daily life.

Woodhull, Mary Gould, and Francis Bowes Stevens. Woodhull Genealogy: The Woodhull Family in England and America . Philadelphia: H. T. Coates, 1904.

INDEX

The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take you to the beginning of that print page. You may need to scroll forward from that location to find the corresponding reference on your e-reader.

abolitionism, 212

Adams, John, 3, 195

Agent 355, xvii, 97, 123, 135, 144–46, 149, 213, 216

André’s possible connection with, 94, 117, 146

as covert agent, xviii, 87

possible capture of, 177–78, 211

speculation as to identity of, 93–94

Townsend and, 87, 165, 173, 177–78, 211

American Revolution, 11, 36

Anderson, John, see André, John

André, John, 85–86, 97, 108, 117, 127

Benedict Arnold and, 134–38, 144–46, 151–61

capture and execution of, 160–61, 163–73, 175, 185, 187, 211

Peggy Shippen Arnold and, 86, 131–32, 134

Appalachian Mountains, 16, 117, 193, 213

Arnold, Benedict, xv, 86

André’s capture and, 160–61, 163–64, 166–68

in British army, 179–80, 185

as British spy, 134–39, 141–46, 151–53, 155, 219

courtship and marriage of Peggy Shippen by, 132–33

Culper Ring and, 142–43, 161, 164, 173, 175–81

in England, 190

escape by, 167–68

insecure and resentful nature of, 127–28, 129, 133, 145, 169, 173

money troubles of, 129, 130, 133, 136–37

new command sought by, 127

in Philadelphia, 127, 130–34, 136–38, 189

plots to recapture, 180–81

West Point command of, 137–39, 142, 146, 149, 154–56, 159–61

Arnold, Edward Shippen, 136, 168, 173, 190

Arnold, Margaret Mansfield, 128–29

Arnold, Margaret “Peggy” Shippen, 131–34, 136, 145, 168, 173, 190

André and, 86, 132, 134, 144

as Loyalist, 86, 131, 138

Atlantic Ocean, 16, 70, 77, 119

Bailey, Nathan, 134

Beckwith, George, 216

Black Rock, Conn., 210

Blackstone, William, 134

Bolton, John, see Tallmadge, Benjamin

Boston, Mass., 17, 37

British expelled from, 3, 5, 13

Boston, Siege of, 5, 21

Boston Massacre, 17, 128–29

Boston Tea Party, 17, 131

Brest, 121

Brewster, Anne Lewis, 209

Brewster, Caleb, xvii, 58, 66, 91, 93, 148, 206, 216

character and personality of, 55–57

as courier, 102, 123–24, 177

naval and shipbuilding reports of, 60–61, 135

postwar life of, 209–10

with Second Light Dragoons, 182, 186

Tallmadge ferried by, 64

Bridgeport, Conn., 210