[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 87 (Friday, May 19, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE DEDICATION OF THE WASHINGTON SPY TRAIL ON LONG ISLAND 
   AND THE SERVICE OF THE CULPER SPY RING IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

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                           HON. LEE M. ZELDIN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 19, 2017

  Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today alongside my colleague Mr. 
Suozzi to recognize the dedication of Route 25A on Long Island's North 
Shore as the Washington Spy Trail and to pay special tribute to the 
brave men and women of the Culper Spy Ring, considered the first 
organized espionage ring in the United States. We thank these dedicated 
patriots for their loyalty and bravery. During the American Revolution, 
Long Island's North Country Road (now State Route 25A) was the road 
traveled by George Washington in 1790 to thank patriots for helping him 
win the American Revolution. It is also the road that Culper Spy Austin 
Roe traveled to cross enemy lines to pick up and deliver secret 
messages to other brave men and women serving in the Continental Army's 
military intelligence and espionage units in New York City. Today, a 
special dedication ceremony will take place at the Brewster House 
(built in 1665) in Setauket, NY, where three historical markers will be 
unveiled across this route to commemorate the unsung sacrifice of the 
Culper Spy Ring and the critical role they played in our nation's 
struggle for independence.
  The Culper Ring, also known as the Setauket Spy Ring, was a group of 
operatives whose purpose was to make General George Washington aware of 
the movements of the British in New York City and on Long Island. The 
Long Island Culper Spy Ring was a band of dedicated and brave patriots 
who served valiantly at a time when getting caught as a spy could mean 
certain death by hanging or rotting to death on a British prison ship. 
The Culper Spy Ring's strategic location on Long Island's North Shore, 
situated between patriot New England and British occupied New York 
City, had a tremendous impact on the outcome of the war. The ring was 
of great military importance and contributed to many of the decisive 
victories of the Continental Army, including those at Trenton, 
Saratoga, and Yorktown. The critical intelligence gathered by the 
Culper Spies also uncovered the betrayal of Benedict Arnold and his 
treasonous plan to surrender West Point to the British. The brave work 
of the Culper Spies was also critical in thwarting a planned British 
assault on newly arrived French allied forces that landed at Rhode 
Island in 1780 to help turn the tide of the war.
  Mr. Speaker, many of these brave men and women, through the nature of 
their clandestine service to the American Revolution, never had their 
names recorded in history. For the names that we do know, I ask my 
colleagues to honor their bravery and service, and I include their 
names in the Record.
  Benjamin Tallmadge: (Code Name: John Bolton.) He reported directly to 
General George Washington, and was his director of military 
intelligence. He created the patriot spy ring operating out of New York 
City and headed the Culper Ring out of the village of Setauket on Long 
Island.
  Robert Townsend: The Chief informant of the Culper Spy Ring and 
Benjamin Tallmadge's right hand man. He posed as a Tory merchant and 
befriended many British soldiers in New York City to gather 
intelligence. Because of his society connections, he was widely known 
in British circles. He was a resident of Oyster Bay, NY.
  Austin Roe: He served as the messenger for Robert Townsend. He owned 
a store and tavern in Setauket and rode fifty-five miles back and forth 
to New York City several times per week through British held areas to 
deliver and pick up coded messages written in invisible ink.
  Abraham Woodhull: (Code Name: Samuel Culper Sr.) He was an intricate 
part of the circuitous way the ring shared critical intelligence. 
Woodhull's farm in Setauket was his base of operation and it was there 
that he allowed Austin Roe to pasture his cows so they had a place to 
hide messages in a secret box.
  Caleb Brewster: As a member of the ring, he was the intermediary 
between Abraham Woodhull's farm in Setauket and Major Tallmadge's 
headquarters in Connecticut. Brewster was a seafarer from Setauket and 
used his whaleboats to cross the Long Island Sound to Connecticut. He 
was also responsible for capturing many British supply ships that were 
carrying messages.
  Anna Smith Strong: Setauket native Anna Smith Strong's assignment in 
the Culper Ring was to signal Brewster's arrival to Abraham Woodhull. 
She did this by hanging laundry on her clothesline in pre-arranged 
configurations, a system that fooled everyone by the wisdom of its 
simplicity. If she hung up a black petticoat, it meant that Brewster 
was in town to share critical intelligence.
  These brave patriots will be recognized today, May 18, 2017, at the 
dedication of the Washington Spy Trail. Mr. Speaker, we should be 
extremely grateful as both a people and a nation to each and everyone 
of these individuals. To honor their memory, we must continue to uphold 
the values of the American Revolution that these brave men and women 
were willing to give up their lives and freedom for: life, liberty, and 
the pursuit of happiness.

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