Woodhull began spying in October 1778, sending his first "Samuel Culper" letter on October 29, 1778, after swearing an oath of loyalty to the Crown as cover. Tracy Ann Oberman. The intelligence would then be retrieved by a certain boatman named Caleb Brewster, who was a lieutenant in the Continental Army. [6] Woodhull had been caught smuggling contraband across Long Island Sound, but Tallmadge spoke with Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull and got him released. Abraham’s own family is also quite fictionalized in the show; he was unmarried during most of the war, and did not wed Mary Smith until 1781.
Woodhull adopts the alias “Samuel Culper,” and begins his espionage, making trips to New York to scope out British military strength and eavesdrop on important conversations. Washington was annoyed; Woodhull had always made a fuss about payment during the war, but Washington saw fit to reward him for his invaluable service. The evacuating British were forced to make the trip to New York by land due to the threat of French naval attack, giving General Washington an opportunity to strike a crippling blow. Rose, Alexander. Townsend then decided he was through with espionage. [11] He held a few minor political appointments, including magistrate in Suffolk County, New York from 1799–1810. Accessed 18 May 2016. https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/05/abraham-woodhull-the-spy-named-samuel-culper/, http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-monmouth.htm, https://spycurious.wordpress.com/2015/04/27/lieutenant-colonel-richard-hewlett-the-loyal-est-loyalist/, http://www.longislandsurnames.com/getperson.php?personID=I0519&tree=Woodhull, https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/05/abraham-woodhull-the-spy-named-samuel-culper/, After A Collision The Navigator Saw The Top Of The Pilot’s Helmet & Realized He Was Sitting On Top Of A06 Flying At Over 200 Knots, Defying Marine Corps Regulations By Racking Up 17 Convictions, & Being Declared A Deserter, Lucas Was Awarded The Medal Of Honor For His Actions That Day On Iwo Jima, Gravestone for Dambusters Dog Replaced Due to Racist Name, After North Korea Captured Their Spy Ship, The Crew Invented The ‘Hawaiian Good Luck Sign’ In Defiance, Historic USS Texas Turned Over to Foundation for Maintenance & Operation, Faces of Evil: Female Concentration Camp Guards, The Black Panthers, The Segregated 761st Tank Battalion Took on The SS 11th & 13th Panzer Divisions, The Shortest War In History 5 British Warships Pounded the Palace in Unison, Lost WWII Submarine HMS P311 Found With 71 Bodies On Board. [3], Woodhull served as a lieutenant in the Suffolk County, New York militia in the fall of 1775 but resigned after a few months. Directed by Warren Speed. General Washington had often been frustrated by the exaggerated figures that he had received from spies in the past, and expected more of the same from Woodhull.