American Love Letters: Fill & Download for Free

Today is Independence Day, the day when the United States annually celebrates the approval of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776. (The congress had actually voted to declare independence from Britain two days earlier on July 2nd.)Coinciding with the occasion, yesterday, Disney released a recording of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton on their streaming service Disney+. My family and I watched it together. I had listened to the soundtrack previously, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to actually see the show in any form.Hamilton accurately captures some of Alexander Hamilton’s more obvious personality faults: his arrogance, his impulsiveness, his temper, his womanizing, and his tactlessness. Unfortunately, the musical glosses over some of his more troubling faults, most notably his authoritarian political leanings. In this article, I want to explore some of the overlooked flaws of the real-life Alexander Hamilton.Alexander Hamilton’s elitism and hatred of democracyYou wouldn’t know this from watching Hamilton, but, as an adult, Alexander Hamilton was an elitist cynic who distrusted basically anyone who wasn’t wealthy, was ardently opposed to anything that could even be construed as resembling democracy, and loved monarchical authoritarianism.The musical Hamilton correctly mentions that Hamilton gave a speech at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 arguing for his own form of government, but the musical leaves out what that form of government was—probably because, if audiences heard about it, they wouldn’t like it.At the Constitutional Convention, Hamilton warned that the common people should under no circumstances be given any substantial measure of power in government and that wealthy landowners should be in near-complete control of the government, because people who aren’t wealthy are capricious, jealous of the wealthy, and always demanding change; whereas the wealthy are dependable and have no motive to stray from the path of good governance, so they make ideal leaders. Here is an excerpt from his speech, as quoted by James Madison:“In every community where industry is encouraged, there will be a division of it into the few and the many. Hence, separate interests will arise. There will be debtors and creditors, etc. Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God, and however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true in fact. The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right.”“Give therefore to the first class [i.e. the wealthiest people] a distinct, permanent share in the government. They will check the unsteadiness of the second [i.e. everyone who is not wealthy], and as they cannot receive any advantage by a change, they therefore will ever maintain good government. Can a democratic assembly, who annually revolve in the mass of the people, be supposed steadily to pursue the public good? Nothing but a permanent body can check the imprudence of democracy.”This anti-democratic rhetoric isn’t unusual for the Founding Fathers; as I note in this article from May 2020, John Adams believed that democracy was just as bad as monarchy because, according to him, when the common people are given power, they abuse it, just as tyrants do.Hamilton took things much further than Adams, though.ABOVE: Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, painted in 1940 by Howard Chandler ChristyIn his speech at the Constitutional Convention, Hamilton went on to praise the British monarchy, saying that it was the only good executive system that had ever existed and that it worked because the king was so wealthy that he couldn’t possibly be bribed or influenced by any foreign government. According to Madison, Hamilton said:“The hereditary interest of the king was so interwoven with that of the nation, and his personal emoluments so great, that he was placed above the danger of being corrupted from abroad—and at the same time was both sufficiently independent and sufficiently controlled to answer the purpose of the institution at home. One of the weak sides of republics was their being liable to foreign influence and corruption. Men of little character acquiring great power become easily the tools of intermeddling neighbors…”Based on these points, Hamilton argued that the United States should have one supreme executive with absolute veto, who would not be elected by the ignorant masses, but rather by electors, who, according to him, would better understand the country’s needs. He argued that the executive and all the Senators should remain in their positions for life and that the only way to remove the executive from power once he is elected should be by the Senate through the process of impeachment.Hamilton anticipated that some of the other delegates at the convention might accuse him of proposing an “elective monarchy.” This was his response:“It may be said this constitutes an elective monarchy! Pray, what is a monarchy? May not the governors of the respective states be considered in that light? But by making the executive subject to impeachment, the term ‘monarchy’ cannot apply.”Needless to say, Hamilton’s plan was not at all popular and many of the delegates became convinced that he was a monarchist.ABOVE: Full-length portrait of King George III, painted in 1762 by Allan RamsayHamilton maintained his bitter hatred for all forms of democracy even after the Constitutional Convention concluded. In a speech delivered in New York City on 21 June 1788, Hamilton proclaimed that, even if it were possible to implement democracy in the United States, it would be a terrible idea:“It has been observed that a pure democracy if it were practicable would be the most perfect government. Experience has proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity.”Alexander Hamilton and immigrationThe musical Hamilton repeatedly refers to Alexander Hamilton as an “immigrant,” but this is only partly true. Hamilton was born in 1755 or 1757 on the tiny island of Nevis in the Leeward Islands chain in the Caribbean, which, at the time, was a British colony. In 1772, when he was either fifteen or seventeen, he went to New York City to continue his education.It is therefore true that Hamilton came to what is now the United States from outside what is now the United States—except, at the time he did so, the place where he came from and the place where he went were both ruled by the same country, Britain.Furthermore, despite being an “immigrant” himself, as a politician, Hamilton wasn’t exactly supportive of immigration. In 1798, he supported the Alien and Sedition Acts, which made it much harder for immigrants to become United States citizens and gave the president the authority to deport or imprison any non-citizen living in the United States who was considered dangerous or who had come from a country that was hostile to the United States.ABOVE: Original document of one of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which Hamilton supportedAlexander Hamilton and slaveryHamilton portrays Alexander Hamilton as passionately arguing for the immediate abolition of slavery. It is true that Hamilton seems to have generally disapproved of slavery and that he supported gradual emancipation, but, sadly, his track record on slavery is nowhere near as progressive as the musical suggests.In 1779, Hamilton supported a plan proposed by his friend John Laurens to allow enslaved black people to serve in the Continental Army and be granted their freedom as a reward. Hamilton defends Laurens’s plan in a letter he wrote to John Jay on 14 March 1779. At one point in the letter, Hamilton says this:“…I frequently hear it objected to the scheme of embodying negroes that they are too stupid to make soldiers. This is so far from appearing to me a valid objection that I think their want of cultivation (for their natural faculties are probably as good as ours) joined to that habit of subordination which they acquire from a life of servitude, will make them sooner became soldiers than our White inhabitants. Let officers be men of sense and sentiment, and the nearer the soldiers approach to machines perhaps the better.”Here Hamilton says that black people “probably” aren’t as stupid as people think and that, even if they are stupid, it doesn’t matter, because soldiers don’t need intelligence; they just need to follow orders. This seems to indicate that, at least at the time he wrote this letter, Hamilton was neither a convinced racist nor a convinced anti-racist.Later in the letter, Hamilton explicitly states that he supports Laurens’s plan not only because he thinks it will give the Continental Army an advantage against the British, but also because he has sympathy for enslaved people and he wants them to be free:“An essential part of the plan is to give them their freedom with their muskets. This will secure their fidelity, animate their courage, and I believe will have a good influence upon those who remain, by opening a door to their emancipation. This circumstance, I confess, has no small weight in inducing me to wish the success of the project; for the dictates of humanity and true policy equally interest me in favour of this unfortunate class of men.”Of course, Hamilton makes it very clear in the letter that he supports the plan primarily because he believes it will give the Continental Army an advantage.ABOVE: Portrait of Alexander Hamilton’s friend John Laurens, who proposed a plan to allow enslaved black people to serve in the army in exchange for their freedom, which Hamilton supportedHamilton was willing to put aside his personal misgivings about slavery when it was advantageous for him to do so. Notably, on 14 December 1780, Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler, a member of the Schuyler family, which was one of the wealthiest families in New York City. The Schuylers owned a large number of slaves, whom they used as household servants. Hamilton never seems to have voiced any objections to his in-laws’ ownership of slaves. In fact, he engaged in transactions involving slaves for them on numerous occasions.In 1785, Hamilton became a founding member of the Manumission Society of New York. Defenders of Hamilton have made a big deal of this fact, claiming that it proves he was dedicated to the abolition of slavery, but his involvement in the Society doesn’t mean nearly as much as they claim it does, since the Society was very moderate; it supported the voluntary manumission of slaves by their masters in the state of New York, not the immediate abolition of slavery nationwide. The Society even allowed its members to continue owning slaves, as long as they had plans to manumit them eventually.Furthermore, Hamilton is reported to have attended meetings for the Society infrequently and he does not seem to have discussed his involvement in the society with non-members. It is probable that the only reason Hamilton joined the society to begin with was because many members of the group were New Yorkers of high status and Hamilton likely saw it as an opportunity to rub elbows with members of the wealthy elite.ABOVE: Engraving from a silver pitcher created in 1817 for the Manumission Society of New York showing the personification of Liberty setting slaves free from their shackles. Alexander Hamilton was a founding member of the Society.Finally, it is highly probable that Hamilton at least briefly owned at least two slaves himself. An entry in his personal account book dated to 1796 states: “Cash to N. Low 2 Negro servants purchased by him for me, $250.” Hamilton’s grandson Allen McLane Hamilton, who had access to all Hamilton’s personal letters and financial records, published a biography of him in 1910 titled The Intimate Life of Alexander Hamilton, in which he testifies:“It has been stated that Hamilton never owned a negro slave, but this is untrue. We find that in his books there are entries showing that he purchased them for himself and for others.”While the evidence isn’t completely airtight, it is enough to convince me that Alexander Hamilton, far from being an uncompromising abolitionist, was actually at least briefly a slaveowner himself.All the evidence, taken together, paints a complicated picture of Hamilton as a man who wasn’t fond of slavery, but who wasn’t particularly committed to the goal of abolishing it and who was perfectly willing to set aside his personal feelings on the subject when it was personally expedient for him to do so.A comparison of Hamilton with some other Founding Fathers on the issue of slaveryOn the issue of slavery, Hamilton does come out looking a lot better than some of the other Founding Fathers; as I discuss in this article I originally published in April 2017, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison all owned hundreds of slaves. Washington posthumously manumitted all his slaves through his will; Jefferson only freed a few slaves during his entire lifetime and none after his death; and Madison never freed any of his slaves at all.On the other hand, there are other Founding Fathers who come out looking better than Hamilton. Notably, John Adams never owned any slaves at any point in his whole life and wrote on multiple occasions that he despised the institution of slavery wholeheartedly. Adams, however, opposed the immediate abolition of slavery, because he believed that slaves were property and that the government taking away white people’s slaves by force would be an even worse crime than slavery itself. Instead, like Hamilton, he believed in the gradual emancipation of slaves through voluntary manumission.Benjamin Franklin owned slaves when he was younger, but he eventually set all the slaves he ever owned free. As he grew older, he became increasingly outspoken in his opposition to slavery. Near the end of his life, he became a committed abolitionist, writing and publishing multiple essays arguing for the abolition of slavery and the integration of black people into American society.ABOVE: Portrait of Benjamin Franklin, painted in 1778 by the portrait artist Joseph Duplessis. Unlike Hamilton, Franklin did eventually become a committed abolitionist, albeit only near the end of his life.ConclusionI’m not writing this article just to bash Hamilton. Even I will admit that he was a brilliant man. He certainly is an important historical figure. After all, he wrote fifty-one of The Federalist Papers, which played a crucial role in getting the Constitution ratified and which continue to shape how we think about our government. Then, as the first Secretary of the Treasury, he more-or-less defined the role that the government continues to play in the economy.The point I’m trying to make here is that we shouldn’t romanticize him and we should recognize that he had some wrongheaded ideas. He was an eighteenth-century quasi-monarchist, not a twenty-first century liberal.(NOTE: I have also published a version of this article on my website titled “The Dark Side of Alexander Hamilton.” Here is a link to the version of the article on my website.)

SapphoBorn on the Greek island of Lesbos around 615 B.C., this poet wrote of her yearning for women.Queen Christina of SwedenThis member of Sweden’s royal family was crowned queen in 1644, though she renounced the throne a decade later. Queen Christina, was widely considered to be a lesbian by her biographersAnne Bonny and Mary ReadWay back in eighteenth century England when breaking sexual norms was no easy thing, Anne bonny and Mary Read found love with each other by sailing away on the high seas. The two were not only one of the earliest lesbian couples but pirates too boot.Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah PonsonbyLady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby were two aristocratic women of Anglo-Irish descent who scandalised contemporary society by leaving Ireland against the wishes of their families and setting up home together in small Welsh hamlet. They lived in the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century.Maud Hunt Squire and Ethel MarsAmerican artists and life partners Maud Hunt Squire and Ethel Mars forged distinguished careers in book illustration, painting, and woodblock printing. Mars was born in 1876 and Squire in 1873, and they met at some point in the 1890's at the Cincinnati Art Academy. After graduation, they moved to New York City where they were hired as book illustrators. In By 1906 they had settled in Paris together.Gertrude Stein and Alice ToklasNoted American writer, mentor and art collector Gertrude Stein had had a string of lesbian relationships before with Alice B. Toklaswho was to become her partner for nearly four decades. Stein met Alice on September 8, 1907, on Toklas' first day in Paris, at Sarah and Michael Stein's apartment. From then on, the two became companions. Together they hosted a salon that attracted expatriate American writers, such as Ernest Hemingway, Paul Bowles, Thornton Wilder, and Sherwood Anderson, and avant-garde painters, including Picasso, Matisse, and BraqueJane AddamsAs one of the pioneering leaders of the women’s suffrage movement, Jane Addams — a never confirmed but rumored lesbian — founded the Hull House in Chicago in 1889 and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in 1915. If that wasn’t enough, she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.Maria Louise Poole and Caroline BransonMaria Louise Poole was a noted American woman writer of the nineteenth century who has since lapsed into obscurity. During her twenties, Pool met Caroline M. Branson who, in the tradition of lesbian romantic friendship was to become her life-long companion. The two women lived together for thirty-two years. They moved to Brooklyn in 1870 but in 1877 returned to Massachusetts where they settled in a house that had been a station of the underground railroad in the town of Wrentham, the place where Caroline had grown up. In keeping with the social mores of the times, the romantic nature relationship was never acknowledged and Bronson was listed as “literary companion” in Pool’s obituary.Katherine Bradley and Edith CooperWriting under pair of literary collaborators who were also partners in real life are Katherine Bradley and Edith Cooper. The two wrote in the 19th century under the shared pen name of Michael Fields on a number of poetic dramas with historical and mythical subjects, one prose play, and eight volumes of verse. What made the pseudonym even more necessary was their interest in portraying women's love for each other.Radclyff Hall and Una VincenzoBritish novelist Radclyffe Hall and her companion of 28 years, Una Vincenzo, Lady Troubridge were another lesbian couple who lived and breathed the world of letters.Addie Brown and Rebecca PrimusIn the book Saphhistries: A global history of Love between Women1, author Leila J Rupp, tells the story of two African-American women who in nineteenth century America negotiated the barriers of class and sexuality with each other for company. Free-born domestic servant Addie Brown and schoolteacher Rebecca Primus formed a passionate relationship in Hartford, Connecticut during the 1860s.Eleanor Roosevelt and Loren HicockEleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok began their decades-long relationship in 1933, before FDR's inauguration. Lorena, or Hick – as Eleanor called her - was a highly successful reporter, while the latter herself was about to become First Lady. They shared an emotional and romantic relationship that peaked in passion and later developed into a friendship that endured until death. Because of the public profile of the two women and especially Eleanor Roosevelt, it was only natural that correspondence between the two has been heavily censored over the yearsRita Mae BrownOne of the most significant lesbian-themed novels in history is Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle, published in 1973. The activist, New York Times best-selling author and feminist icon — who says she was kicked out of the National Organization for Women — fought to get the women’s movement to accept lesbians.Gladys BentleyBlues singer Gladys Bentley reportedly married a woman publicly in 1931.Barbara GittingsHailed as being one of the longest-serving and most fearless activists in the lesbian community, Gittings founded the New York chapter of The Daughters of Bilitis, picketed the White House in the ‘60s and counseled gay people who were discriminated by the government. She died in 2007.Audre LordeAs a self-professed black, lesbian, feminist mother, poet, warrior, Ms. Lorde fought injustices against the marginalized throughout the mid-20th century through her revered literary works.Jane Rule and Helen SonhoffTeacher, author, and out lesbian, Jane Rule was best known as a fiction writer. Her book of criticism, seven novels, and numerous short stories and essays address lesbian and gay issues to varying degrees, most often by presenting them as universal concerns. Rule’s most famous work is Desert of the Heart which offers an affirming, insightful, and optimistic depiction of lesbian love, one rare indeed in pre-Stonewall fictionDel Martin & Phyllis LyonOne of America’s best known lesbian couples, Martin and Lyon, were together from the early 1950s until Martin’s death in 2008. In 1955, they founded the Daughters of Bilitis — the first social and political organization for lesbians.Patricia HighsmithIn 1952, novelist Patricia Highsmith published the novel The Price of Salt — the inspiration behind the highly-anticipated lesbian drama “Carol,” starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Also included in her body work are the famous novels Strangers on a Train, which later became an Alfred Hitchcock film, and The Talented Mr. Ripley.Barbara JordanIn 1972, Jordan, born and raised in Houston, Texas, became the first southern black female elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Although she never came out publicly, her Houston Chronicle obituary mentioned her 20-year relationship with Nancy Earl.

Agent 355- the Mystery ContinuesWho is Agent 355? - The Bowery Boys: New York City HistoryWho was Agent 355 in George Washington’s famous Culper Spy ring? Absolutely nothing concrete is known about the agent other than that it was a female, who funneled information to Washington fast and furious when British leaders were in New York. When the British left town, information slowed to a trickle.Two centuries of research have unearthed the names of the five male civilian spies: Abraham Woodhull, Robert Townsend, Caleb Brewster, Austin Roe, and James Rivington, but no one with certainty can identify the mysterious Agent 355.[1][1][1][1] The Culper Ring was a consortium of spies that operated in the New York area, from 1778 to 1783. Benjamin Tallmadge curated the group under Washington’s orders during the British occupation of New York City.[2][2][2][2] Other members included Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend.[3][3][3][3] They used business or family relationships in the area as cover for their activities.The system used by the spy ring was perhaps a bit sophisticated for that time.As Townsend collected information, he encoded it using a system of number sets that had been created by Tallmadge. These sets assigned numbers to 763 commonly used words, places, and people. If a word was needed outside of this set, then a mixed up alphabet was used to create it. Once created, the coded message was written in invisible ink, but a regular, mundane letter would be written on the same page, thus hiding the contents of any given secret message. At this point in the process, two other members of the ring got involved.[4][4][4][4]A page from the Culper Ring’s code book, with noteworthy people and place names listed side by side with numerical representations. (The Culper Code Book)Austin Roe, who owned a Long Island tavern, would ride the 110 miles from his tavern to Townsend’s store to get supplies, would then take the messages back to Long Island and pass them along to Caleb Brewster.[5][5][5][5] Brewster delivered them to Tallmadge, who delivered them to Washington, whose headquarters were at Newburgh, NY.[6][6][6][6]Agent 355 was allegedly selected for service by Abraham Woodhull, the ring’s leader, who went by the alias Samuel Culper, Sr.[7][7][7][7] To this day, the mysterious spy is credited as one of America’s first female undercover operatives and was integral to America’s wartime efforts.A single line in a coded letter to Washington, dated Aug. 15, 1779, by Culper Sr., Abraham Woodhull of Setauket is the only reference to Agent 355’s existence. The line read: “I intend to visit 727 [NEW YORK]before long and think by the assistance of a 355 [LADY]of my acquaintance, shall be able to out wit them all.[8][8][8][8]Despite her anonymity, Agent 355 was pivotal in exposing Benedict Arnold’s treason, and she was responsible for the arrest of Maj. John André, the leader of British intelligence in New York.[9][9][9][9]Major John Andre, chief of British intelligence, was considered the most eligible bachelor in New York, but women were his weakness.[10][10][10][10] In 1777, for example, when the British occupied Philadelphia, Andre held a secret meeting in the Darragh house where he was quartered. Housewife Lydia Darragh sneaked up to the closed door, listened in, and subsequently warned General Washington of an impending attack on his army.[11][11][11][11]When the British Army took to the field, it became obvious that Washington had been warned of their surprise attack. During Andre’s investigation of the leak, he questioned everyone in the Darragh household except Lydia, since he believed that eighteenth-century women all held the same political views as their husbands.[12][12][12][12]Agent 355 - WikipediaThe Culpers’ secret reports all but ceased when Major Andre went to South Carolina in December 1779 for the siege of Charleston[13][13][13][13] , and Washington was soon complaining to his aide Alexander Hamilton that the ring’s information had become useless.However, within a few weeks of Andre’s return to New York in May 1780, the Culper Ring was reporting the biggest scoop of the war: an American general was “in compact with the enemy” and was about to betray the American cause.[14][14][14][14] This concerned covert British plans to use an American general to capture West Point, the most important fort on the continent.By far the Culper Ring’s most important coup was exposing General Benedict Arnold. Arnold, was in contact with British spy Major John André and planned to surrender West Point to the British.[15][15][15][15] The Culper Ring warned Tallmadge of a high-ranking American traitor, but lacked his identity. Tallmadge identified Arnold when André was captured and later hanged for his treason.[16][16][16][16] Although Arnold escaped with his life, West Point remained safe from the British.Kenna Howat, a historian at the National Women’s History Museum, says Agent 355’s wartime “contributions are largely undisputed,” noting that Woodhull wrote that Agent 355 “hath been ever serviceable to this correspondence” and could “outwit them all.”[17][17][17][17]Portrait of Col. Benjamin Tallmadge, organizer of the Culper Ring, with his son William Tallmadge. This is a 1790 portrait by American painter Ralph Earl. (Culper Ring - Wikipedia)In his book, Covert Operations Management, Robert Almonte says that 355 was one of the Culper Ring spies who had “the most success.”[18][18][18][18] In fact, after her service ended, the ring ceased to exist a few short years later.So who was the female known only as Agent 355?One theory is that she was part of a prominent Tory or Loyalist family, which would have granted her the ability to move through high society, mingling with political and leaders stationed in New York.[19][19][19][19] It would have made her invisible, the last possible suspect in espionage. How easy to simply ignore boring talk of troop movements as you flirt with a handsome, young soldier? No one would expect that the beautiful woman across the room was gathering military intelligence for the American colonialists. Keeping the woman’s identity a secret might have been both calculated and necessary to protect her in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War.[20][20][20][20]Or perhaps she was a servant in a house where British soldiers bivouacked.[21][21][21][21] What better cover for rifling through papers on a desk than to say you’re dusting the furniture? Or cleaning up a mess on the floor so you could drop to your hands and knees and put your ear to the cracks?Anna Strong (spy) - WikipediaSome historians take a much more prosaic view, stating that the identity of Agent 355 is really not so complicated. She was Anna Smith Strong, the signal woman on Strong’s Neck and a Long Island judge’s daughter with ties to the Culper Ring.[22][22][22][22] Most of the spies in the Culper ring were childhood friends whom Anna knew she could trust.[23][23][23][23] Her immediate danger lay in keeping the British from being suspicious of her.She was able to use her laundry line to send coded messages. For instance, if she hung a certain type of shirt or petticoat (black) on her line, combined with a certain number of handkerchiefs, that might indicate that Woodhull had information ready for Brewster to pick up.[24][24][24][24] Three handkerchiefs meant “go to cove number three.”[25][25][25][25]Another theory says 355 was the common-law wife of Culper Ring operative Robert Townsend — or, if not, that he was in love with her.[26][26][26][26] Robert Townsend was the head of the Culper spy network and rumors have persisted for almost 300 years that 355 was his common-law wife.[27][27][27][27]An October 1780 letter has led some historians to believe that Agent 355 was arrested at about that time. In that letter, Woodhull reported that “several friends” had been captured, including “one who hath been ever serviceable to this correspondence.”[28][28][28][28] Reportedly, Townsend had an extreme reaction to the news, even stealing large sums of money at about this time.[29][29][29][29] Was he emotionally attached to Agent 355? Was he trying to raise a ransom?How One Mysterious Woman Changed American HistoryA female spy was arrested and incarcerated on the HMS Jersey in 1780 and died from severe maltreatment.[30][30][30][30] Conspiracy theorists believe she might have given birth to a child on the ship before she died[31][31][31][31] , but many historians debunk the theory, as the conditions on board were not favorable to a healthy pregnancy. This supposed son, Robert Townsend, Jr., a “son” of James Townsend (brother of Robert Sr.) became a lawyer and went into politics.[32][32][32][32] Strangely, one of his pet projects was the Prison Ship Martyrs Memorial Fund which eventually became the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument at Fort Green Park in New York.[33][33][33][33] This monument, nearly 150 feet tall commemorates the men and women who lost their lives aboard these horrible prison shipsThere are several other women, like Betty Floyd, Mary Underhill, Sally Townsend,and Elizabeth Brugin, who were connected to the ring, that historians have speculated were Agent 355.In a 2006 gathering of Suffolk historians, it was claimed “355” was a friend of Major John Andre, chief of British intelligence. When Andre was in New York, the Culpers gave Washington much useful intel—especially the warning a certain American Major General was about to betray his country to Andre. After Benedict Arnold was captured and Andre escaped, this story goes, a round-up of suspicious patriots in British-occupied territory began. One of these suspects was “355” who subsequently died on the prison ship. Among the women known to have died on board was a certain Betty Floyd, a cousin of the Townsends who ran the Culper ring. So, possibly, Betty Floyd was the true “355.”[34][34][34][34]Mary Underhill, sister to Abraham Woodhull, operated a boarding house with her husband in New York City.[35][35][35][35] Abraham Woodhull recruited her into the ring and he referred to her in a letter to Washington as the “one who hath been serviceable to this correspondence”.[36][36][36][36]Sarah Horton Townsend, a cousin of Culper spy Robert Townsend, worked tirelessly to free her husband being held by the British as a prisoner of war.[37][37][37][37] A determined woman who was not afraid of aggressively pursuing her goal, Sarah lobbied people of influence and wrote copious letters—including several to General George Washington himself.[38][38][38][38]Elizabeth Burgin American Revolutionary Patriot and American SpyElizabeth Burgin smuggled more than 200 American prisoners off of prison ships in New York Harbor before the British were tipped off to her covert work[39][39][39][39] and she was forced to hide on Long Island for several weeks before fleeing to Connecticut and finally settling in Philadelphia.It’s even been suggested that 355 was more than one person, as according to the Culper Ring’s sophisticated encryption system, 355 was the generic code number for “lady”, just as the code number 371 meant "man”.[40][40][40][40] Some even go so far as to suggest 355 was a random woman who gave the ring intelligence, but wasn’t formally connected to them.All these women were undoubtedly strong, determined woman who were aggressive in pursuing their goals, as well as being an ardent Patriots.Agent UnknownPart of the difficulty in determining Agent 355’s identity is due to the publication in the 1940s by Long Island historian Morton Pennypacker, an early enthusiast of New York’s revolutionary spy ring.[41][41][41][41] Pennypacker discovered, with the help of a handwriting analyst, that the mystery spy at the center of the Culper Ring was Robert Townsend.[42][42][42][42] For 10 years, Pennypacker had searched for handwriting to compare to that in letters written to Gen. George Washington by Culper Jr. He finally came across "a chest of old documents" that was once the property of Robert Townsend of Oyster Bay.[43][43][43][43]Pennypacker constructed a completely undocumented story about how the Culper Spy Ring was instrumental in the capture in 1780 of Maj. John Andre, the British spy, as he was about to meet secretly with Gen. Benedict Arnold at West Point.[44][44][44][44] The story gives much of the credit to Townsend's sister, Sarah (or Sally), whose Oyster Bay home was then occupied by the British.[45][45][45][45] However it is unclear where Pennypacker got most of his information.Whoever Agent 355 was, she is not forgotten; she is honored and she lives on to inspire us all in the fight for liberty. Despite pressure on the ring to reveal her identity, and historical inquiries into the past, her identity remains confidential. Her name was never written down and George Washington didn’t even know who she was. She did nothing for fame or glory, but offered her service and life to the fledgling United States.Footnotes[1] Culper Spy Ring | American intelligence organization[1] Culper Spy Ring | American intelligence organization[1] Culper Spy Ring | American intelligence organization[1] Culper Spy Ring | American intelligence organization[2] Research & Subject Guides: George Washington and the Culper Spy Ring: Home[2] Research & Subject Guides: George Washington and the Culper Spy Ring: Home[2] Research & Subject Guides: George Washington and the Culper Spy Ring: Home[2] Research & Subject Guides: George Washington and the Culper Spy Ring: Home[3] Members and Roles[3] Members and Roles[3] Members and Roles[3] Members and Roles[4] Members and Roles[4] Members and Roles[4] Members and Roles[4] Members and Roles[5] 347 if by Land, 588 if by Sea: The Story of the Culper Spy Ring[5] 347 if by Land, 588 if by Sea: The Story of the Culper Spy Ring[5] 347 if by Land, 588 if by Sea: The Story of the Culper Spy Ring[5] 347 if by Land, 588 if by Sea: The Story of the Culper Spy Ring[6] The Story of Washington’s Headquarters | Newburgh Restoration[6] The Story of Washington’s Headquarters | Newburgh Restoration[6] The Story of Washington’s Headquarters | Newburgh Restoration[6] The Story of Washington’s Headquarters | Newburgh Restoration[7] Abraham Woodhull[7] Abraham Woodhull[7] Abraham Woodhull[7] Abraham Woodhull[8] http://www.taraross.com/2016/10/this-day-in-history-agent-355-the-culper-spy-ring/[8] http://www.taraross.com/2016/10/this-day-in-history-agent-355-the-culper-spy-ring/[8] http://www.taraross.com/2016/10/this-day-in-history-agent-355-the-culper-spy-ring/[8] http://www.taraross.com/2016/10/this-day-in-history-agent-355-the-culper-spy-ring/[9] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[9] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[9] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[9] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[10] The Death and Resurrection of Major John Andre - Journal of the American Revolution[10] The Death and Resurrection of Major John Andre - Journal of the American Revolution[10] The Death and Resurrection of Major John Andre - Journal of the American Revolution[10] The Death and Resurrection of Major John Andre - Journal of the American Revolution[11] Lydia Darragh[11] Lydia Darragh[11] Lydia Darragh[11] Lydia Darragh[12] A Spy for a Spy: John Andre Hanged - New England Historical Society[12] A Spy for a Spy: John Andre Hanged - New England Historical Society[12] A Spy for a Spy: John Andre Hanged - New England Historical Society[12] A Spy for a Spy: John Andre Hanged - New England Historical Society[13] Major John André  | To Form a More Perfect Union  | Articles and Essays  | Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789  | Digital Collections  | Library of Congress [13] Major John André  | To Form a More Perfect Union  | Articles and Essays  | Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789  | Digital Collections  | Library of Congress [13] Major John André  | To Form a More Perfect Union  | Articles and Essays  | Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789  | Digital Collections  | Library of Congress [13] Major John André  | To Form a More Perfect Union  | Articles and Essays  | Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789  | Digital Collections  | Library of Congress [14] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[14] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[14] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[14] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[15] http://clements.umich.edu/exhibits/online/spies/stories-arnold-3.html%20[15] http://clements.umich.edu/exhibits/online/spies/stories-arnold-3.html%20[15] http://clements.umich.edu/exhibits/online/spies/stories-arnold-3.html%20[15] http://clements.umich.edu/exhibits/online/spies/stories-arnold-3.html%20[16] The Talented Major Tallmadge - Journal of the American Revolution[16] The Talented Major Tallmadge - Journal of the American Revolution[16] The Talented Major Tallmadge - Journal of the American Revolution[16] The Talented Major Tallmadge - Journal of the American Revolution[17] Revolutionary Spies[17] Revolutionary Spies[17] Revolutionary Spies[17] Revolutionary Spies[18] http://covert_operations_management.html/?id=HnGfCgAAQBAJ[18] http://covert_operations_management.html/?id=HnGfCgAAQBAJ[18] http://covert_operations_management.html/?id=HnGfCgAAQBAJ[18] http://covert_operations_management.html/?id=HnGfCgAAQBAJ[19] Agent 355 | History of American Women[19] Agent 355 | History of American Women[19] Agent 355 | History of American Women[19] Agent 355 | History of American Women[20] The Legend of Agent 355 - Museum Hack[20] The Legend of Agent 355 - Museum Hack[20] The Legend of Agent 355 - Museum Hack[20] The Legend of Agent 355 - Museum Hack[21] Agent 355–Her Name Might be a Mystery, But is Her Identity Really Still a Secret?[21] Agent 355–Her Name Might be a Mystery, But is Her Identity Really Still a Secret?[21] Agent 355–Her Name Might be a Mystery, But is Her Identity Really Still a Secret?[21] Agent 355–Her Name Might be a Mystery, But is Her Identity Really Still a Secret?[22] Anna Smith Strong: Spy in Petticoats[22] Anna Smith Strong: Spy in Petticoats[22] Anna Smith Strong: Spy in Petticoats[22] Anna Smith Strong: Spy in Petticoats[23] An Encyclopedia of American Women at War[23] An Encyclopedia of American Women at War[23] An Encyclopedia of American Women at War[23] An Encyclopedia of American Women at War[24] Behind The Culper Spy Ring: Anna Smith Strong and Robert Townsend[24] Behind The Culper Spy Ring: Anna Smith Strong and Robert Townsend[24] Behind The Culper Spy Ring: Anna Smith Strong and Robert Townsend[24] Behind The Culper Spy Ring: Anna Smith Strong and Robert Townsend[25] The Culper Code Book[25] The Culper Code Book[25] The Culper Code Book[25] The Culper Code Book[26] The mystery of Agent 355[26] The mystery of Agent 355[26] The mystery of Agent 355[26] The mystery of Agent 355[27] Who is Agent 355? - The Bowery Boys: New York City History[27] Who is Agent 355? - The Bowery Boys: New York City History[27] Who is Agent 355? - The Bowery Boys: New York City History[27] Who is Agent 355? - The Bowery Boys: New York City History[28] Full text of "The Woodhill family records"[28] Full text of "The Woodhill family records"[28] Full text of "The Woodhill family records"[28] Full text of "The Woodhill family records"[29] The mystery of Agent 355[29] The mystery of Agent 355[29] The mystery of Agent 355[29] The mystery of Agent 355[30] Who is Agent 355? - The Bowery Boys: New York City History[30] Who is Agent 355? - The Bowery Boys: New York City History[30] Who is Agent 355? - The Bowery Boys: New York City History[30] Who is Agent 355? - The Bowery Boys: New York City History[31] Central Intelligence Agency[31] Central Intelligence Agency[31] Central Intelligence Agency[31] Central Intelligence Agency[32] The mystery of Agent 355[32] The mystery of Agent 355[32] The mystery of Agent 355[32] The mystery of Agent 355[33] Prison Ship Martyrs Monument[33] Prison Ship Martyrs Monument[33] Prison Ship Martyrs Monument[33] Prison Ship Martyrs Monument[34] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[34] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[34] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[34] How One Mysterious Woman Changed American History[35] https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&source=web&url=http://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article%3D1950%26context%3Dhonors_capstone&usg=AOvVaw3HlgUHI8oiu4eX8qVhmL1J&ved=2ahUKEwih673u06rfAhVB94MKHU0HCe0QFjALegQICRAB[35] https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&source=web&url=http://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article%3D1950%26context%3Dhonors_capstone&usg=AOvVaw3HlgUHI8oiu4eX8qVhmL1J&ved=2ahUKEwih673u06rfAhVB94MKHU0HCe0QFjALegQICRAB[35] https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&source=web&url=http://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article%3D1950%26context%3Dhonors_capstone&usg=AOvVaw3HlgUHI8oiu4eX8qVhmL1J&ved=2ahUKEwih673u06rfAhVB94MKHU0HCe0QFjALegQICRAB[35] https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&source=web&url=http://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article%3D1950%26context%3Dhonors_capstone&usg=AOvVaw3HlgUHI8oiu4eX8qVhmL1J&ved=2ahUKEwih673u06rfAhVB94MKHU0HCe0QFjALegQICRAB[36] CULPER SPY RING FACTS[36] CULPER SPY RING FACTS[36] CULPER SPY RING FACTS[36] CULPER SPY RING FACTS[37] Sally Townsend, George Washington’s Teenage Spy[37] Sally Townsend, George Washington’s Teenage Spy[37] Sally Townsend, George Washington’s Teenage Spy[37] Sally Townsend, George Washington’s Teenage Spy[38] Female spies who helped shape history[38] Female spies who helped shape history[38] Female spies who helped shape history[38] Female spies who helped shape history[39] https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/score_lessons/women_american_revolution/burgin.html[39] https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/score_lessons/women_american_revolution/burgin.html[39] https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/score_lessons/women_american_revolution/burgin.html[39] https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/score_lessons/women_american_revolution/burgin.html[40] Spycraft: Download the Original Culper Code Book[40] Spycraft: Download the Original Culper Code Book[40] Spycraft: Download the Original Culper Code Book[40] Spycraft: Download the Original Culper Code Book[41] (Pennypacker, Morton, 1872-1956)[41] (Pennypacker, Morton, 1872-1956)[41] (Pennypacker, Morton, 1872-1956)[41] (Pennypacker, Morton, 1872-1956)[42] REMEMBERNG A MASTER SPY AT HOME[42] REMEMBERNG A MASTER SPY AT HOME[42] REMEMBERNG A MASTER SPY AT HOME[42] REMEMBERNG A MASTER SPY AT HOME[43] Full text of "Townsend--Townshend, 1066-1909: the history, genealogy and alliances of the English and American house of Townsend"[43] Full text of "Townsend--Townshend, 1066-1909: the history, genealogy and alliances of the English and American house of Townsend"[43] Full text of "Townsend--Townshend, 1066-1909: the history, genealogy and alliances of the English and American house of Townsend"[43] Full text of "Townsend--Townshend, 1066-1909: the history, genealogy and alliances of the English and American house of Townsend"[44] Washington's Spies — Alexander Rose[44] Washington's Spies — Alexander Rose[44] Washington's Spies — Alexander Rose[44] Washington's Spies — Alexander Rose[45] Historian unravels important LI stories[45] Historian unravels important LI stories[45] Historian unravels important LI stories[45] Historian unravels important LI stories