Brian Kilmeade - George Washington's Secret Six

SENTINEL

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First published by Sentinel, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2013

Copyright © 2013 by So Lonely Productions, Inc. and Don Yaeger

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Illustration credits

Collection of the New-York Historical Society: Insert 4: no. 1940.16; 9, top: no. 87315d; 10: no. 45397; 11: no. 87312d; 12: no. 87311d.

Credits for other illustrations appear adjacent to the respective images.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Kilmeade, Brian.

George Washington’s secret six : the spy ring that saved the American Revolution / Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-698-13765-3

1. United States—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Secret service. 2. New York (State)—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Secret service. 3. Spies—United States—History—18th century. 4. Spies—New York (State)—History—18th century. 5. Washington, George, 1732–1799—Friends and associates. 6. Townsend, Robert, 1753–1838. I. Yaeger, Don. II. Title.

E279.K55 2013

973.4'1092—dc23

2013032285

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

This book is dedicated to my Fantastic Five—wife, Dawn; son, Bryan; daughters, Kirstyn and Kaitlyn; and my incredible mom—who have heard me talk about this story for years, spent countless hours researching it, and urged me to write this book. Finally, it’s done.

—B.K.

Tiffany: You are a pro’s pro, one of the best writers I’ve ever worked with. I’m honored you’re on my team.

—D.Y.

Washington did not really outfight the British, he simply outspied us!

MAJOR GEORGE BECKWITH,

BRITISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICER 1782–1783

CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

EPIGRAPH

AUTHORS’ NOTE

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

Hold New York, Win the War

CHAPTER 2

The Need for a Spy Ring

CHAPTER 3

Launching the Ring

CHAPTER 4

Crossing the Sound

CHAPTER 5

The Ring Springs into Action

CHAPTER 6

Townsend Joins the Fight

CHAPTER 7

Creating a Code

CHAPTER 8

Mounting Tensions and Double-Dealings

CHAPTER 9

Washington Demands More

CHAPTER 10

The French Connection

CHAPTER 11

Benedict and Peggy

CHAPTER 12

Negotiations and Treachery

CHAPTER 13

The Deal Is Done

CHAPTER 14

Another Spy at the Gallows

CHAPTER 15

The Ring in Peril

CHAPTER 16

The Beginning of the End

CHAPTER 17

Retaking New York at Last

CHAPTER 18

Life After the Ring

EPILOGUE

PHOTOGRAPHS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

SELECTED SOURCES

INDEX

AUTHORS’ NOTE

Much of the dialogue contained in this book is fictional, but it is based on conversations that did take place and, wherever possible, incorporates actual phrases used by the speaker.

PREFACE

How do you discover the identity of a spy—someone whose main concern is remaining anonymous—who has been dead for nearly a century? That was the mission of Morton Pennypacker, Long Island’s premier historian, during the 1920s. He knew the Americans would not have won the Revolutionary War without the Culper Spy Ring, but he didn’t know the identity of the ring’s most valuable member.

The spies’ contributions included uncovering a British counterfeiting scheme, preventing an ambush of French reinforcements, smuggling a British naval codebook to Yorktown, and (most important) preventing Benedict Arnold from carrying out one of the greatest acts of treachery in American history: his plan to surrender West Point to the enemy.

Although these events were recorded as part of Revolutionary War history, none of them were attributed to any individual or group. No plaques attested to the brave work of the men and women responsible for alerting George Washington to the plots; no statues were erected in their honor. The six members of the Culper Spy Ring had served Washington under one condition: their names and activities were never to be revealed. Washington kept his promise, but he also kept their letters.

By the 1920s, the passing years had revealed the identities of most of the spies, but two—including that of the ring’s chief spy—were still in question. Pennypacker, a relentless, solemn archivist, made it his personal mission to identify the principal spy, the unknown man who fed George Washington crucial information about the British presence in New York City and helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War. He needed a name to finally solve the mystery of the man Washington had lauded in his letters but never met. Pennypacker believed that if he could give a name to the man known only by the pseudonym “Culper Junior,” then this citizen-spy and all those who served in the ring with him could ascend to their rightful, prominent place alongside Paul Revere, Patrick Henry, Betsy Ross, and the rest of America’s most famous Patriots.

Pennypacker was no stranger to intricate historical detective work, but for years his efforts brought him no closer to solving the mystery. And then a phone call in the summer of 1929 changed everything.

Whenever the telephone rang at Morton Pennypacker’s house, the call was almost always about the history of New York, not a social event—and this particular call was no exception.

“We’ve found some Townsend family papers,” a voice crackled on the other end of the line. “Do you have any interest in sifting through them?”

A few days later, the yellowed sheets of paper were piled high on his desk. Pennypacker handled each one gingerly, as if it were made of spun gold. Anything with the name Townsend dating to the eighteenth century was considered historically significant by Long Island historians. The Townsend family had been on American soil since the sixteen hundreds, and a prominent family in Oyster Bay, Long Island, since before the Revolution. Any scraps of ledgers or old bills would help create a more complete picture of the family’s history, and Pennypacker was eager to see what new details he might learn.

Townsend papers were fairly ordinary finds, but something about these particular discoveries intrigued Pennypacker. They were not just isolated receipts or bills of sale; they were letters and account books dated during the Revolutionary War and immediately afterward. The handwriting seemed oddly familiar. Pennypacker adjusted his glasses to get a closer look at the distinct way the fourth son of Samuel Townsend, Robert, had hooked his D ’s and arched his C ’s. It almost reminded him of—!