America's First Spy Ring- the True Culper-It

Spies have always been a popular fictional topic, from James Bond to Tom Clancy’s novels to even Austin Powers, but spies may hold an even bigger place in real history. Recently the cable network who brought to life such popular shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Walking Dead, AMC, has announced that in April, it will air a new period drama that takes place in the American Revolution (and the Enlightenment, a topic that we recently began discussing in history class) called TURN. TURN is the story of the first ever spy ring in colonial America- the Culper Spy Ring.

A poster for AMC’s TURN.

The Culper Spy Ring is a very real, very important organization formed in 1778, with the task to retrieve information from the British Army and return it to American leaders. They were inspired heavily by the ideals of the Enlightenment- political freedom, individual rights, equality- which also fueled the American Revolution. This group accomplished many achievements which now lie sadly overlooked in the history books, things that, had they not have occurred, might have changed America, and the course of history, forever. The information collected and passed on by the ring from 1778 to war’s end in 1783 concerned key British troop movements, fortifications and plans in New York and the surrounding region. The Culper Spy Ring is most famous, however, for uncovering plans for a surprise attack on the newly-arrived French Army (who, due to the logical thoughts and thinkers of the Enlightenment, would soon be experiencing a revolution of their own) by the British. This surprise attack which was narrowly avoided could have led to the Franco-American alliance being shattered and the war being set back several stages. Culper also discovered information on the correspondence between the colonial traitor Benedict Arnold and British Major John André, the latter of whom, as a result of the ring’s investigation, was caught and hanged by the Colonials for being a spy.

The symbol of the Culper Spy Ring.

The Culper Spy Ring was, and, as a result, TURN is, carried by the individuals who made up the group. The group was formed by American Captain Benjamin Tallmadge, who served under George Washington, but although Tallmadge is the hero in the history books, TURN follows more closely the story of the real-life dirty-work-man of the Culper Spy Ring- Abraham Woodhull. Woodhull is the man credited with doing most of the actual spying in the Culper Ring, as well as being the one to give the group a name- he wrote many of his letters as Samuel Culper, Senior. Abraham Woodhull ran the ring’s day-to-day operations in Long Island, although he personally made many trips to New York to gather information. He was assisted by he and Benjamin Tallmadge’s other two close childhood friends- Caleb Brewster and Anna Strong. Brewster was the courageous and strong one of the group, who was given the task of carrying messages to and fro, often in the heat of battle. Brewster was the only one of the Culper Spy Ring, however, who was eventually identified as a spy, although not captured. Anna Strong was the informant of the group who was most famously known for hanging her laundry out near the sea in certain patterns for the Colonial Army to read as they passed. Culper also gained another member later in their career, Robert Townsend (who, as of this moment, is not featured in TURN), who was given a very similar job to Abraham Woodhull, although Townsend was so secretive in his actions that he requested to other members of the ring that no one know his name, not their families or even George Washington himself.

The only surviving picture of Robert Townsend.

                AMC has produced some extremely good drama TV shows in the past, with the incredibly famous Breaking Bad, which won 94 awards total, and was nominated for 240 in its five short seasons. TURN will likely be very good as well, with what appears to be a fully-drawn out (and, of course, historically accurate) cast of characters. My only hope is that AMC manages to capture the ideals of the Enlightenment that so drove these Revolutionary leaders to do the things they did, for the glory of liberty, justice, and individuality.

Pictography:

“Forgotten History: the Culper Spy Ring”. HubPages. http://kmcmichael.hubpages.com/hub/Forgotten-History-The-Culpert-Spy-Ring

 “Robert Townsend”. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Townsend_(spy)

“TURN”. AMC official website. http://www.amctv.com/