Thesis
The Culper Spy Ring was a spy network that worked to send messages to General George Washington about the activities of the British Army in New York City. This spy group worked hard to gather information about the enemy, and the information that they gathered was vitally important, stopping many attacks that would've harmed the American Continental Army.
How it worked
In order to pass information from New York City to George Washington in up-state New York without being caught, the Culpers created an elaborate scheme. It was so elaborate that at times it acted to their detriment. The way it worked is this: as Townsend gathered information about the British soldiers in New York City, Austin Roe would drop by the store every once in a while to buy goods for people on Long Island. At the store, Roe would put in a request in writing from a John Bolton. Bolton was the codename for Tallmadge. Townsend would give Roe the requested goods and Roe would leave. Then Townsend would sneak out back when no one was looking, and run up to his small room, close to the shop. There he would read what Tallmadge had written and answer the letter. Roe would show up again at Townsend's …show more content…
He would tend the cattle and place the letter in a pre-arranged drop box. After Roe had gone, Aaron Woodhull, code name Culper Senior, would enter the field, which was right next to his house and pick up the letter. Woodhull would add his own information to it, and then look across the bay to see where Anna Strong had place her black petticoat on the line. This petticoat would let Woodhull know that Caleb Brewster had arrived in his whaleboat to take the letter across the bay. The number of handkerchiefs on the clothesline would tell Woodhull where exactly Brewster was hiding, or which cove he was in along the shore. Under cover of darkness, Woodhull would sneak to the cove and give Brewster the