The Property of
A LADY
WASHINGTON, GEORGE, President. Letter signed ("G: Washington") as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, to Major [Benjamin] Tallmadge, Jr., text in the hand of Washington's aide-de-camp, Tench Tilghman, "Head Quarters, Middle Brook [New Jersey]," 5 February 1779. 1 page, folio, integral address leaf [with] Autograph free frank ("G:Washington") on address panel in the hand of Tilghman and marked by him "On public service," red wax seal cracked but intact, small seal hole patched, uniform foxing.
Details
WASHINGTON, GEORGE, President. Letter signed ("G: Washington") as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, to Major [Benjamin] Tallmadge, Jr., text in the hand of Washington's aide-de-camp, Tench Tilghman, "Head Quarters, Middle Brook [New Jersey]," 5 February 1779. 1 page, folio, integral address leaf [with] Autograph free frank ("G:Washington") on address panel in the hand of Tilghman and marked by him "On public service," red wax seal cracked but intact, small seal hole patched, uniform foxing.
WASHINGTON AND THE CULPER SPY RING IN NEW YORK
A cryptic but intriguing letter to Tallmadge, Washington's spy-master, referring to the most famous American spy ring of the Revolution, the so-called Culper spy ring of New York. Washington instructs Tallmadge to urge the spies to communicate any information which may prove useful to the Continental cause: "Dear Sir, I have your favr. of the 28th ulto. inclosing C----- [Culper] No.7 [probably a numbered communication]. Altho' he does not at present purpose giving away any further intelligence untill the middle of March, yet I hope if any thing of importance should come to his knowledge in the mean time he will communicate it. If you have an opportunity of letting him know this, be pleased to signify it to him...."
Benjamin Tallmadge Jr. (1754-1835) graduated from Yale and from 1776 served with the Connecticut militia in the battles of Long Island, White Plains, Brandywine, and Germantown. His principal responsibility, though, became the management of Continental secret service, which consisted of a loose network of spies and informants throughout British-held New York, Staten Island and Long Island. In early 1778, Tallmadge had enlisted Abraham Woodhull of Setauket, Long Island as an agent. Woodhull in turn recruited Robert Townsend (1753-1838) in early 1779. The two spies' identity was concealed under code-names: Woodhull was referred to as "Samuel Culper Sr." and Townsend became "Samuel Culper Jr." In his letters to Major Tallmadge, Washington further masked the spies by using the abbreviation "C-----", as in this letter. All communications with the two were handled directly through Tallmadge. Townsend, a Quaker, was the proprietor of a dry-goods business in New York City, and was in good position to collect information on British ship movements, troop dispositions and military gossip from British officers and loyalists in the taverns, coffee-houses and market places. His information, written in a secret ink devised by Sir James Jay, brother of John Jay. sometimes on the blank leaves of a pamphlet or between the lines of an innocent letter, was carried by horseback courier, at some risk, to Woodhull (occasionally messages were left for Woodhull hidden inside a pumpkin, reminiscent of another celebrated spy ring). Woodhull, in turn, would signal across Long Island Sound to Tallmadge's agents in American-held Connecticut, who would row across the Sound, collect the papers from Woodhull, and relay them to Tallmadge, stationed at Fairfield. Tallmadge would then treat the paper with the appropriate chemicals to make the message visible again and send the intelligence by special courier chain on to Washington's headquarters.
In a letter of September 25, 1778 to General Scott, Washington specified the sort of information he hoped his spies could supply: "the earliest intelligence of the imbarkation of Troops; their numbers, and, if possible, their destination. In addition, he reported, the French Admiral "depends on me" for advice concerning :the movements of the British ships of War at New York" (Fitzpatrick 12:498). In a letter to Tallmadge dated 20 November 1778, Washington reiterated that "you will be pleased to observe the strictest silence with respect to C----, as you are the only person intrusted with the knowledge or conveyance of his letters" (ibid., 13:296) Apparently the Culper messages were numbered consecutively: Washington acknowledged receipt of letter number 5 on 2 January 1779 (ibid., 13:476). Interestingly, despite the ring's valuable services, Washington himself never learned the true identity of "Culper Jr.," although the ring operated successfully for some two years. Their operations were not without tragic consequences, however. In October 1780 Townsend's common-law wife, a member of the ring who was referred to only by the number "355," was arrested by the British and imprisoned on the prison ship the Jersey, moored in the East River. She became one of an estimated 11,000 American soldiers and civilians who perished aboard the notorious British prison hulks (more Americans died on these hellish vessels than in all the battles of the Revolution). "Culper Jr." survived the war, but his identity remained secret until this century when the story was revealed (see Morton Pennypacker, George Washington's Spies, 1948).
Published in Fitzpatrick, 14:70. The presence here of the integral address leaf with Washington's free frank is an increasingly rare phenomenon. It has become a pernicious but all too widespread practice to cut these apart so that letter and frank can be sold separately. A recent New York auction went so far as to catalogue all letters which had survived with intact frank with the note "may be separated"!
WASHINGTON AND THE CULPER SPY RING IN NEW YORK
A cryptic but intriguing letter to Tallmadge, Washington's spy-master, referring to the most famous American spy ring of the Revolution, the so-called Culper spy ring of New York. Washington instructs Tallmadge to urge the spies to communicate any information which may prove useful to the Continental cause: "Dear Sir, I have your favr. of the 28th ulto. inclosing C----- [Culper] No.7 [probably a numbered communication]. Altho' he does not at present purpose giving away any further intelligence untill the middle of March, yet I hope if any thing of importance should come to his knowledge in the mean time he will communicate it. If you have an opportunity of letting him know this, be pleased to signify it to him...."
Benjamin Tallmadge Jr. (1754-1835) graduated from Yale and from 1776 served with the Connecticut militia in the battles of Long Island, White Plains, Brandywine, and Germantown. His principal responsibility, though, became the management of Continental secret service, which consisted of a loose network of spies and informants throughout British-held New York, Staten Island and Long Island. In early 1778, Tallmadge had enlisted Abraham Woodhull of Setauket, Long Island as an agent. Woodhull in turn recruited Robert Townsend (1753-1838) in early 1779. The two spies' identity was concealed under code-names: Woodhull was referred to as "Samuel Culper Sr." and Townsend became "Samuel Culper Jr." In his letters to Major Tallmadge, Washington further masked the spies by using the abbreviation "C-----", as in this letter. All communications with the two were handled directly through Tallmadge. Townsend, a Quaker, was the proprietor of a dry-goods business in New York City, and was in good position to collect information on British ship movements, troop dispositions and military gossip from British officers and loyalists in the taverns, coffee-houses and market places. His information, written in a secret ink devised by Sir James Jay, brother of John Jay. sometimes on the blank leaves of a pamphlet or between the lines of an innocent letter, was carried by horseback courier, at some risk, to Woodhull (occasionally messages were left for Woodhull hidden inside a pumpkin, reminiscent of another celebrated spy ring). Woodhull, in turn, would signal across Long Island Sound to Tallmadge's agents in American-held Connecticut, who would row across the Sound, collect the papers from Woodhull, and relay them to Tallmadge, stationed at Fairfield. Tallmadge would then treat the paper with the appropriate chemicals to make the message visible again and send the intelligence by special courier chain on to Washington's headquarters.
In a letter of September 25, 1778 to General Scott, Washington specified the sort of information he hoped his spies could supply: "the earliest intelligence of the imbarkation of Troops; their numbers, and, if possible, their destination. In addition, he reported, the French Admiral "depends on me" for advice concerning :the movements of the British ships of War at New York" (Fitzpatrick 12:498). In a letter to Tallmadge dated 20 November 1778, Washington reiterated that "you will be pleased to observe the strictest silence with respect to C----, as you are the only person intrusted with the knowledge or conveyance of his letters" (ibid., 13:296) Apparently the Culper messages were numbered consecutively: Washington acknowledged receipt of letter number 5 on 2 January 1779 (ibid., 13:476). Interestingly, despite the ring's valuable services, Washington himself never learned the true identity of "Culper Jr.," although the ring operated successfully for some two years. Their operations were not without tragic consequences, however. In October 1780 Townsend's common-law wife, a member of the ring who was referred to only by the number "355," was arrested by the British and imprisoned on the prison ship the Jersey, moored in the East River. She became one of an estimated 11,000 American soldiers and civilians who perished aboard the notorious British prison hulks (more Americans died on these hellish vessels than in all the battles of the Revolution). "Culper Jr." survived the war, but his identity remained secret until this century when the story was revealed (see Morton Pennypacker, George Washington's Spies, 1948).
Published in Fitzpatrick, 14:70. The presence here of the integral address leaf with Washington's free frank is an increasingly rare phenomenon. It has become a pernicious but all too widespread practice to cut these apart so that letter and frank can be sold separately. A recent New York auction went so far as to catalogue all letters which had survived with intact frank with the note "may be separated"!