This account book belonged to Abraham Woodhull (1750-1826), a member of the Long Island-based Revolutionary War Culper Spy Ring, formed in 1778 by Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge (1754-1835) for George Washington (1732-1799).
Initially, Woodhull’s account book seems ordinary for its time; it records people’s names and their transactions for items such as corn, wheat, shoes, and cloth. However, the names in this account book document the relationships he had with other members of the Culper Spy Ring, such as Jonas Hawkins, Austin Roe, and Anna (Nancy) Smith Strong, before and after the spy ring’s operation.
These pre-existing social and family ties helped Tallmadge form the Culper network as Washington’s newly appointed director of military intelligence, with the goal of getting information from British-occupied New York City to Washington’s bases. Tallmadge approached his Setauket neighbors, Woodhull, Strong, Hawkins, Roe, and Caleb Brewster, to gather intelligence for the patriot cause, with each member managing a specific part of the operation’s logistics.
The ring eventually added contributors including Robert Townsend of Manhattan, whose family is also documented in Woodhull’s account book.
The Culper Spy Ring operated until the Revolutionary War ended in 1783. Its members warned Washington of British plans to ambush the French Fleet in 1780 and supplied Washington’s Army with a British naval code book in 1781, which played a key role in the American victory at Yorktown, Va.
In 1929, Morton Pennypacker, the Long Island Collection founder, identified Robert Townsend as the spy ring member known as “Samuel Culper Jr.” and published two books on his research in the 1930s: “The Two Spies: Nathan Hale and Robert Townsend” and “George Washington’s Spies: On Long Island and in New York.” Pennypacker’s interest in the Culper
Spy Ring is reflected in the Long Island Collection’s many holdings that pertain to it and its members.
The Long Island Collection will host a pop-up exhibition from 4 to 7 tonight showcasing materials related to the Culper Spy Ring. It will be on view through Saturday.
Megan Bardis is a librarian and archivist in the East Hampton Library’s Long Island Collection.
