Anna Smith Strong (April 14, 1740 – August 12, 1812) of Setauket, New York was an American Patriot ,Anna was one of the few female members of the Culper Spy Ring during the American Revolution . Her perceived main contribution in the ring was to relay signals to a courier who ran smuggling and military missions for General George Washington . No information has been found concerning Anna's activities after the war other than that she and her husband, Selah Strong, lived quietly in Setauket for the rest of their lives. She died on August 12, 1812.
26-425: Anna Strong may refer to: Anna Strong (spy) (1740–1812), part of Culper Spy Ring Anna Louise Strong (1885–1970), American journalist & activist [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
52-567: A courier who ran a whaleboat across Long Island Sound on smuggling and military missions. She did this by hanging a black petticoat on her clothesline at Strong Point in Setauket, which was easily visible from a boat in the Sound, and also by Woodhull from his nearby farm. She would add a number of handkerchiefs for one of six coves where the courier would bring his boat and Woodhull would meet him. Historian Richard Welch writes that
78-616: A judge and fathered Selah B. Strong . Circa 1925, a Selah Strong was oblivious to Anna Smith Strong's involvement in the Culper Spy Ring. Anna's father was Colonel William Smith, son of Henry Smith and grandson of Colonel William Smith, a justice of the supreme court established in New York in 1691. He was clerk of Suffolk County, New York and judge of the Common Pleas Court of the county for several years before
104-613: A signer of the Declaration of Independence and a U.S Representative from New York. Their children included: Mary died in 1805, and Tallmadge married Maria Hallett (d. 1838) in 1808, daughter of his friend Joseph Hallett. Tallmadge died March 7, 1835, in Litchfield, Connecticut. He is buried in East Cemetery in Litchfield, Connecticut. Fort Huachuca , Arizona, is the home of Army intelligence, and Tallmadge Hall there
130-586: Is named in Tallmadge's honor. The town of Tallmadge, Ohio , is also named in Tallmadge's honor. The Boy Scouts of America's Benjamin Tallmadge District serves the north shore of Eastern Long Island. Talmadge, Maine , is named for Tallmadge, who owned the township in the early 1800s. Tallmadge is a main character in the AMC series Turn: Washington's Spies , played by Seth Numrich . Tallmadge
156-594: Is speculated by Kilmeade and Yaeger that a young woman connected to a prominent Loyalist family, who was staying in the city with her Tory relations, may also be referred to as "355". This young woman may have even had encounters with Major John André , and was able to retrieve information for the Culper Ring as well. AMC 's Revolutionary War period drama TURN: Washington's Spies was based on Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring (2007) by Alexander Rose . Heather Lind plays Anna Strong in
182-604: The American Revolution. Anna's mother was Margaret Lloyd Smith, daughter of Henry Lloyd of Lloyd's Neck . Continental Army Major Benjamin Tallmadge began working with Abraham Woodhull in the summer of 1778 at the height of the American Revolutionary War to create what became known as the Culper spy ring . According to tradition, Anna Strong's role in the ring was to relay signals to
208-587: The Hudson River and to send the documents to Washington. Allen still reported to Arnold with Jameson's note outlining the events. Later, Jameson was chastised by Washington for warning Arnold and allowing his escape. André was placed in Tallmadge's custody awaiting execution. On November 21, 1780, Tallmadge and his dragoons rowed across Long Island Sound from Fairfield, Connecticut , to Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai, New York . The next day, they proceeded to
234-409: The commander, Colonel John Jameson , ordered Lieutenant Solomon Allen to take the incriminating documents found with André to Arnold, who was still in command at West Point . Tallmadge suspected André of being a spy and Arnold of being his accomplice, and tried to have Jameson reverse his orders. He was unsuccessful, but did convince Jameson to send a rider and take André to Salem, eight miles east of
260-555: The enemy. Tallmadge was in charge of bringing intelligence from British-controlled New York to the Continental army, and he did so by assembling a network of spies known as the Culper Ring , with the help of Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend . The Culper Ring was involved in revealing the betrayal of Major General Benedict Arnold . Arnold's British contact, Major John André , was caught and taken to North Castle, where
286-399: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anna_Strong&oldid=1208233335 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Anna Strong (spy) Anna married Selah Brewster Strong III , who
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#1732776489337312-836: The original primary sources, showing that Selah was held in the Provost (not a sugarhouse or the H.M.S. Jersey), was held for less than six months, never fled to Connecticut and - as noted by Caleb Brewster's crewmate Robert Brush - actively helped Brewster and his crew avoid capture by the British when they were hidden on the Strong property on Mount Misery (modern-day Belle Terre and Port Jefferson ' s Harbor Hills ). The Strong's children were Keturah S. (married James W. Woodhull), Thomas Shepherd (married Hanna Brewster), Margaret, Benjamin, Mary (died young), William Smith, Joseph (died young), George Washington, and another Joseph. Thomas became
338-484: The prison ship, and previously mentioned family knowledge claims that Anna brought him food. Author Ryan Ann Hunter states that Anna eventually got Selah paroled through the influence of Tory relatives. Upon his release, he spent the rest of the war in Connecticut with the family's younger children while Anna stayed on Long Island. In 2022, historian Mark Sternberg corrected several misconceptions by reviewing
364-549: The series. In the show she is depicted as a woman with no children of her own. However, she at the time had five children. A previous relationship is hinted at between Strong and Woodhull, but Strong was married when she was twenty years old, and Woodhull was ten years old. As Agent 355, she is the namesake for FX 's Y: The Last Man . Anna Strong at Find a Grave Benjamin Tallmadge Benjamin Tallmadge (February 25, 1754 – March 7, 1835)
390-471: The south shore where they captured and burned down Manor St. George . On their march back to Mt. Sinai, Tallmadge stopped in Coram, New York , and ordered the burning of 300 tons of hay which the British had been stockpiling for the winter. Washington, on hearing the news, sent the following letter to Tallmadge: I have received with much pleasure the report of your successful enterprise upon fort St. George, and
416-594: The tradition of the clothesline signal is unverifiable, but it is known that the British suspected a woman at Setauket who fit Anna's profile. Conversely, authors Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger suggest that she was an unlikely candidate to be the woman member of the Culper Ring. They claim that British law provided for lands to be confiscated if left abandoned, and they speculate that this forced Anna to remain on Long Island when her husband left for Connecticut. They further state that she had her children with her and her arrest would have left them parentless. Selah Strong
442-758: The war, Tallmadge was elected to the US House of Representatives as a member of the Federalist Party . Tallmadge was born February 25, 1754, the son of Susannah Smith (1729–1768) and Rev. Benjamin Tallmadge Sr. (1725–1786), a clergyman in Setauket, New York , a hamlet of the Town of Brookhaven, New York , on Long Island . He graduated from Yale in 1773, where he was a member of Brothers in Unity and
468-418: The word "lady"). She might have had her own reason to visit New York to see her husband aboard the prison ship where he was confined and to bring him food. If she was the one referred to, her main service on their trips would have been to divert attention from Woodhull. Again, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger suggest that Anna Strong was an unlikely candidate to be the woman member of the Culper Ring. It
494-538: Was a classmate and close friend of the American Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale . He also served as superintendent of Wethersfield High School from 1773 to 1776. Tallmadge was a major in the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons and was initially commissioned on June 20, 1776. He was given the position of director of military intelligence by George Washington after Nathaniel Sackett was relieved of his duties because he did not gain any ground from
520-405: Was a delegate to the first three provincial congresses in colonial New York . He also was a captain in the New York militia in 1776. He was imprisoned in the sugar house at New York City as a presumed spy, according to Rivington's Gazette of January 3, 1778. Family knowledge has him later imprisoned on the prison ship HMS Jersey (1736) . Other works only mention his imprisonment on
546-540: Was an American military officer, spymaster , and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . He acted as leader of the Culper Ring during the war, a celebrated network of spies in New York where major British forces were based. He also led a successful raid across Long Island that culminated in the Battle of Fort St. George . After
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#1732776489337572-624: Was appointed postmaster of Litchfield, Connecticut . He served until he resigned to assume his seat in Congress. He established a successful mercantile and importing business and was the first president of the Phoenix Branch Bank, a position he held from 1814 to 1826. On March 4, 1801, Tallmadge succeeded William Edmond as a Federalist Party member of the US House of Representatives to represent Connecticut's at-large congressional district. He served until March 3, 1817, when he
598-568: Was established in July 1783 and brevetted to the rank of lieutenant colonel on September 30, 1783. He subsequently served as Assistant Treasurer (1785–1789), Treasurer (1789–1793), Vice President (1793–1796) and President (1796–1801) of the Society of the Cincinnati in the state of Connecticut and continues to be represented by a living descendant in the society today. In 1792, Tallmadge
624-422: Was on Washington's list to be reimbursed for expenses incurred in connection with activities for the Culper Ring. Abraham Woodhull wrote a message to Benjamin Tallmadge to say that he would be visiting New York again and, "by the assistance of a [lady] of my acquaintance, shall be able to outwit them all." Several historians surmise that Anna Strong was the lady identified as "a 355" (Tallmadge's code for
650-542: Was pleased with the destruction of the hay at Coram, which must be severely felt by the enemy at this time. I beg you to accept my thanks for your spirited execution of this business. Tallmadge served at Washington's headquarters from March 1781 until the Continental Army was disbanded in November 1783. He was admitted as an original member of The Society of the Cincinnati in the state of Connecticut when it
676-465: Was succeeded by Thomas Scott Williams . In 1829, Tallmadge was among a group of Federalists who defended Uriah Tracy against accusations by John Quincy Adams and William Plumer . Adams and Plumer had claimed Tracy was a leader of an 1804 effort to lead New England to secede from the United States . Tallmadge married Mary Floyd (1764–1805) on March 18, 1784, daughter of William Floyd ,
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