Jun 4

Jun 4 Robert Townsend Takes His Secret to the Grave

Robert Townsend is one of the most significant members of the now-famous Culper Spy Ring.

Townsend was Washington’s ‘man on the inside’ who gathered intelligence from inside British occupied New York City.

Robert Townsend

By the time Townsend was approached to join the Culper Spy Ring, he was already a moderately successful New York City merchant.

Although he was originally one of the many civilians who determined to remain neutral in the Revolutionary War, the mistreatment of his family farm by British soldiers irked him significantly.

Finally, he was pushed into action through his association with Abraham Woodhull.

Culper, Jr.

Woodhull just so happened to be organizing the Spy Ring for General Washington and managed to convince Townsend to join.

Robert’s work lasted for approximately three years between 1779 and 1782, though his efforts dipped dramatically after the Victory at Yorktown.

Most of his communications concerned troop movements and supply chains, but he also provided several accounts of more pressing information.

Counterfeit Bills

Townsend’s major success was to alert the Patriots that the Redcoats were able to get their hands on the paper that Congress used to print money.

The British were preparing to counterfeit the fledgling American currency which would have essentially bankrupt the nation and made winning the war impossible.

Robert’s information helped the United States avoid such a catastrophe.

Hush Hush

Townsend was able to infiltrate extremely high levels of society, which is indicated by his knowledge of spies within the Continental Army’s ranks and British plans to intercept the French Navy.

Somehow, this was accomplished with the utmost secrecy.

Robert demanded that Woodhull never use his name, not even to Washington.

Taking His Secret To The Grave

Townsend moved to his hometown in Long Island, New York shortly after the war.

Although he lived another 55 years, Townsend never revealed his true identity.

In fact, he was known only as ‘Culper, Jr’ or ‘723’ until the 1930’s. It was then that Morton Pennypacker, a Long Island historian and memorabilia collection, identified Culper, Jr’s handwriting as that of Robert Townsend.

Who else was in the Culper Ring?

So far I’ve written about these other members:

Austin Roe - Washington’s Spy on Horseback

Caleb Brewster Row Row Rows His Boat

After Espionage - Benjamin Tallmadge’s Last Stand

If you want to learn about the Culper Spy Ring, there is one place you need to go.

‘Washington’s Spies’ is the first (and most popular) of the recent wave of American Revolution Spies books. I’ve read it several times and even referenced it for this article.

If you’d like a copy you can get one through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).