I was talking with my mom a few weeks ago and mentioned to her a story I had read (a true story) about a female spy who worked for Washington during the American Revolution. This was something she had never heard about before. That’s not entirely surprising on one hand, as this particular spy ring hadn’t been well known until fairly recently. On the other hand, I thought it might be kind of fun to share some of the (unprofessional) knowledge I have acquired about some particularly noteworthy women that I think did some pretty incredible stuff and didn't learn about in school. Maybe you’ve already heard about some of these names, and if you have, that’s awesome. If you haven’t, I hope you’ll let me give you a crash course level share about some nifty people.
***To see my disclaimer about my credentials, gender politics, and other boring stuff, please skip down to the paragraph labeled DISCLAIMER. Basically, this is supposed to be fun, not political.
The reason I started thinking about all this I recently began re-reading about the woman known to history only as ‘Agent 355’. We are forced to call her such because her real name has yet to be discovered by historians. To discover the meaning behind her code name, we have to dig into some details -
In the coded cypher of the Culper Spy Ring (of which 355 was a part), words that communicated significant or sensitive meanings were translated into numbers. Words like Ships, Regiments, etc. would each have a number that could be written as a stand-in. For example:
“There’s been no augmentation by 592 of 680 or 347 forces, and everything quiet.”
Which in translation becomes:
“There’s been no augmentation by ship of war or land forces, and everything quiet.”
Within the group communiques, two codes were used in general reference to women. The first was 701 (Woman), the other 355, which meant ‘Lady’. This implied someone of important social standing. In the single letter smuggled to Washington that directly references her, she was named ‘355’. Thus Agent 355, or perhaps Agent ‘Lady’.
As I said above, Agent 355 was part of the Culper Spy Ring, a group of revolutionary American citizens operating inside occupied New York during the American Revolution. Culper was simply a code name developed for the ring. The Ring’s handler was a young American Officer named Benjamin Tallmadge. Tallmadge generally only interacted with the Ring’s first member and de facto leader, Abraham Woodhull (codenamed Culper Sr.). When Woodhull collected information from his various contacts, he sent the information along to Talmadge who brought the information to Washington himself or to someone trusted in the chain of command.
The Culper Ring’s intelligence was highly valued by General Washington and he put special policies in place to protect their identities. Their first attempt at sending someone into occupied New York ended badly so Washington was careful to not expose his valuable new asset. Even he himself didn’t know the real names of the men and women risking their lives for the American Cause.
355 was especially dear to one of the ring’s central figures, Robert Townsend (codenamed Culper Jr.), who may have introduced and recruited her into the cell. Townsend ran a local merchant shop, which was an especially good cover for his fellow ring members. It was easy for most of them to stop by on an innocuous shopping visit and pass along valuable intelligence. He was also well positioned to covertly observe British movements and preparations without drawing undue attention to himself. His reports often gave valuable data and were well organized, which Washington frequently praised. Townsend thankfully kept meticulous records, which helped point historians to the other ring members.
One of the Culper Ring’s most valuable catches was information that helped prevent Benedict Arnold’s betrayal from causing serious harm to the Revolution. In the preceding months, Arnold had been in contact with the British, including the officer in charge of counter-intelligence, Major Benjamin André.
André was a young, handsome officer, well known for his romantic dalliances with prominent Loyalist daughters. It is believed by some that this is how 355 garnered her critical intelligence and tipped off Washington that an American general was in talks with the British. However the intelligence was gathered, it was information from the ring that helped explain Arnold’s strange actions that day and led to the capture of Major André.
The theory that 355 was a lady in high society, perhaps from a prominent loyalist family, is largely based on the timing of the ring’s information. Their messages were extremely useful when André and other senior British leadership were in town. When André and the rest were away, the cell’s usefulness declined sharply.
Whatever the truth, it is believed that information from 355 tipped off Tallmadge that something was amiss. At that moment, Major André was traveling toward the West Point Fortress along the Hudson River, disguised as a merchant. His aim was to connect with Arnold and prepare for British forces to overtake the fortress, to which Arnold had been given command. After their meeting, André traveled by land back toward British territory but was stopped by a small American patrol. His papers were found and passed on, and he himself detained. Arnold had some contingencies in place if this occurred. However, Tallmadge had seen the Culper Ring’s recent reports and was able to connect the dots upon hearing of the capture of a mysterious traveler carrying sensitive documents. He rode immediately to intervene and the true nature of André’s presence was made public. Regrettably, Arnold was warned of André’s capture and fled to British territory.
Even more unfortunate, the capture of Major André made it clear that the British circles in New York had a leak. Multiple members of the network were captured or threatened, very likely including Agent 355. Her exact fate is unknown because the references to her in the group’s communication were intentionally vague. It is possible that she was taken to the HMS Jersey, a prison ship anchored near Brooklyn. Conditions there were particularly abhorrent and mortality rates were high. Townsend was devastated at this news, which supports the idea that 355 was one of the agents captured during this retaliation, though again, we can’t be certain.
Stopping Arnold from inflicting serious damage was not the Ring’s only triumph. Thanks to contributions from the ring’s other members, Washington was able to mount effective counter attacks against British forces near New York and anticipated a British counterfeiting operation meant to deflate American currency. Washington valued the Culper Ring and their safety. When Arnold once asked to be informed of their identities (in preparation for his upcoming betrayal), Washington refused.
In the end, who Agent 355 was is still a mystery, though there are many rumors and theories. Some popular theories suggest that she was a romantic interest of Townsend’s, who never married. This is often coupled with the idea that she was pregnant with Townsend’s child when she was taken. Other theories suggest that Anna Strong was the mysterious 355. Anna Strong is part of common Revolutionary folklore already. As the story goes Strong warned the cell’s courier which harbors were and weren’t safe for him to use by the arrangement of linens on her clotheslines (this is, however, largely unproven). Her presence on the HMS Jersey to visit her imprisoned husband also may have contributed to the rumor of 355’s capture and her presence aboard the prison ship.
Whatever her true identity, 355 helped preserve the American Cause, perhaps giving her all to do so. And like many of the greatest spies throughout history, remains an enigma.
Disclaimer: (You can skip this paragraph if you want to) I am not a historian nor have I been trained as such. Much of what I write here is based on secondary sources, and thus isn’t appropriate to cite or rely on as ‘hard’ evidence. However, as much as possible, I will use/cite legitimate sources of information that can lead those curious to the primary sources they might be after. I don’t believe that war or conflict should be glorified or sought after, but I find it interesting. Thus, many of the stories I have to share will focus on periods of history with war and not everyone I write about lived through the experience. Lastly, none of these articles are meant to be a political statement about gender, history, or anything else. Politics are the worst and this stuff is supposed to be fun and interesting. That’s all.
Works Cited
As I said before, none of my sources are primary, historical sources. But these secondary sources are great places to learn more if you choose and some may reference the primary documents you might be after if you really want to dig in-
“Agent 355”. History of American Women Blog. http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2011/12/agent-355.html. Accessed Feb 2 2019.
Kilmeade, Brian & Yaeger, Don. George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved The American Revolution. 2013. Penguin Group. New York, NY.
^^George Washington’s Secret Six was how I first learned about Agent 355. Apparently one of the listed authors is a ‘Fox and Friends’ personality, which I was not aware of when I read it. Regardless, I found the book an excellent read and didn’t notice any strong partisanship.
^^In this article (which I have yet to read carefully), two people named John A. Burke and Andrea Meyer provide an alternative idea about 355’s identity.
While I don’t think it follows the historical events very closely, AMC’s drama series Turn is based on the events surrounding the Culper Spy Ring if you’d like to see a visual dramatization.
Note: I couldn't find the original source for the awesome artwork above, if someone finds it, let me know so I can credit the artist, please.