The American spies of the Revolutionary War, also known as the Culper Spy Ring, changed the course of history, helped save America and shaped the future of military intelligence as it is known today.
In the summer of 1776, the future of America’s colonies was unclear, would America continue to be under British rule or gain independence. The first artillery fire was in Boston, but fear and mistrust were spreading throughout all thirteen colonies. After the continental army defeated the Regulars at Boston, Britain’s commanders needed a new base of operations. New York seemed to be that location. It had a harbor, was easy to defend, and Long Island could provide supplies should they be cut off from Britain. Long Island was filled with Loyalists, or …show more content…
The biggest argument in favor of the idea was that it had never been done before. He required a collection of agents, a ring of common men and women with undeniable fidelity and inconspicuous identities. His first task was to enlist two key individuals, the first an officer who was familiar with the territory and well acquainted with local families, who could organize the whole ring but stay close to Washington’s side and the second an agent on the ground who could recruit the other members (Kilmeade 31). Luckily for Washington, one of the rising young stars of the Continental Army fit the bill exactly. Benjamin Tallmadge, his courage, his imagination, and most importantly his background made him the perfect candidate (Kilmeade 35).
Major Benjamin Tallmadge was an unlikely military man. He was born on February 25, 1754, the second son of the Reverend Benjamin and Susannah Smith Tallmadge, in a parsonage in Setauket, a hamlet in the region of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, Long Island. The son and grandson of a minister, young Benjamin seemed ordained for the pulpit rather than the trenches (Kilmeade
In the summer of 1776, the future of America’s colonies was unclear, would America continue to be under British rule or gain independence. The first artillery fire was in Boston, but fear and mistrust were spreading throughout all thirteen colonies. After the continental army defeated the Regulars at Boston, Britain’s commanders needed a new base of operations. New York seemed to be that location. It had a harbor, was easy to defend, and Long Island could provide supplies should they be cut off from Britain. Long Island was filled with Loyalists, or …show more content…
The biggest argument in favor of the idea was that it had never been done before. He required a collection of agents, a ring of common men and women with undeniable fidelity and inconspicuous identities. His first task was to enlist two key individuals, the first an officer who was familiar with the territory and well acquainted with local families, who could organize the whole ring but stay close to Washington’s side and the second an agent on the ground who could recruit the other members (Kilmeade 31). Luckily for Washington, one of the rising young stars of the Continental Army fit the bill exactly. Benjamin Tallmadge, his courage, his imagination, and most importantly his background made him the perfect candidate (Kilmeade 35).
Major Benjamin Tallmadge was an unlikely military man. He was born on February 25, 1754, the second son of the Reverend Benjamin and Susannah Smith Tallmadge, in a parsonage in Setauket, a hamlet in the region of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, Long Island. The son and grandson of a minister, young Benjamin seemed ordained for the pulpit rather than the trenches (Kilmeade