Monday, December 8, 2008

TODAY'S TWD: THE CULPER RING

On a recent episode of 'Chuck', Bartowski the Intersect pointed out that "The Culper Ring used to use stuff like that to pass along information during the Revolutionary War days."

I never read the comic book "The Y Man"; I just bought it for my Little Buddy over in Taiwan. The comic book has its own modern version of the Culper Ring, but here's the information about the original group, courtesy of Wikipedia:

The Culper Ring was a spy ring organized by Benjamin Tallmadge under the orders of General George Washington in the summer of 1778. The Ring's task was to infiltrate British-controlled New York City and report troop dispositions and intentions. The Ring conducted covert operations until the end of the American Revolutionary War, though its heyday was between 1778 and 1781.

One of those who allegedly aided the Culper Ring was an operative known only as "355," the group's code for "lady." Some historians believe that she was the only member of the ring arrested by the British and hanged as a spy. Others claim that she gave birth to Robert Townsend's child while she was a prisoner aboard the British hulk, The Jersey, but this story has been discredited. Robert Townsend did allegedly father a child by another woman after 355's death.

Nathan Hale and Tallmadge were close friends at Yale and Tallmadge's entry into the secret world was not accidental, nor did it begin with the Culper Ring in 1778. As early as 1777, Tallmadge acted as the operative John Clark's contact in Connecticut when Clark was based on Long Island. Before that, he worked for the spymaster Nathaniel Sackett, who was later fired.

BCnU!
Toby O'B

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