[14]:37 Conversely, authors Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger suggest that she was an unlikely candidate to be the woman member of the Culper Ring. The hardest part about finishing a good TV show binge is waiting for new episodes to start airing again — but thankfully, you won’t have long to wait. Not to be confused, of course, with Shippen (although there will definitely be a whole lot of Shippen going on in Season 2, according to AMC). Anna married Selah Strong, another Setauket native, in November of 1760, when she was 20 and he was a month away from his 23 rd birthday. ), So, in the TURN universe (which really does read like historical fanfiction, now that you mention it), both the TV show and TURN Origins comic (pictured below) claim that Abe and Anna, roughly the same age, grew up together as neighbors and best friends in the village of Setauket. But even that simple description of their childhood background is misleading. She would signal the availability and location of secret rendezvous with Caleb Brewster by the arrangement of laundry hung on her clothesline. Hewlett goes to the Strong Tavern, shocking both Simco and Anna, … In the show she is depicted as a young woman in her early thirties who has no children of her own. The three would look out for each other and do many things together, including escorting Abe to secretly gain a kiss from Anna Strong. Abraham Woodhull, Robert Townsend, Caleb Brewster, Austin Roe, Anna Strong, Agent 355 While Tallmadge was the spies' direct contact, Washington often directed their operations. Abraham Woodhull and Anna Strong Revisited. Anna Smith Strong (April 14, 1740 – August 12, 1812)[1]:202 of Setauket, New York was an American Patriot, and she may have been one of the only female members of the Culper Spy Ring during the American Revolution. (No, really, go ahead and ask us a question! Posted on April 7, 2015 Updated on April 6, 2015. The timing seems to underscore their awareness of the dangers of espionage: they were only ready to settle down after they were convinced that the War of American Independence was truly over and that their services would no longer be needed. Mary and the first Joseph both died young. It 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". Tallmadge's informants consisted of friends he made at school on Long Island, including Austin Roe, Caleb Brewster, Abraham Woodhull, and Anna Strong. Anna Strong Anna Strong (14 April 1740 – 12 August 1812) was a patriot spy during the American Revolutionary War. (Interestingly enough, Heather Lind – the actress who plays Anna Strong – is currently 32 years old, making her pretty close to the age of the historical Anna at the beginning of the war. See more anna strong GIFs! With two classes or more the walking tour will be split between Abraham Woodhull and Anna Smith Strong, portraited by Donna Smith, Three Village Historical Society Education Director. I’m not a fan of the romance between Strong and Woodhull, very boring, obviously trying to create a sexy intrigue; the best chemistry in the show exists between Tallmadge and Brewster, I welcome any scenes with them in it; undoubtedly, the show stealer is Simcoe, even surpassing Washington. ( Log Out / As the lifelong friends cling to each other under the looming shadow of war, the last thing they expect is to find Abraham Woodhull in a hay barn with a proposition from Margaret’s erstwhile fiance: an insane, impossible plan of childhood friends forming an intelligence ring for the Continental Army. According to tradition, Anna Strong's role in the ring was to relay signals to a courier who ran a whaleboat across Long Island Sound on smuggling and military missions. ": 173 Several historians surmise that Anna Strong was the lady identified as "a … Change ). Neither “Abeanna” or “Annabe” has a lot of staying power, and if I start dropping references to “WoodStrong” all over the place, the internet is definitely going to get the wrong impression about this blog. One wonders why he travels to New York City so often with Anna Smith Strong, his first cousin’s wife. Several historians surmise that Anna Strong was the lady identified as "a 355" (Tallmadge's code for the word "lady"). 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. Anna Smith Strong was born on … This was a signal to chief spy Abraham Woodhull. This rather cold and calculating fact still carries a lot of weight in the intelligence communities of today – both actual and fictional. [1]:202, Anna married Selah Strong (December 25, 1737 – July 4, 1812) who was a delegate to the first three provincial congresses in colonial New York. At present [1778] he doesn’t seem to have any love interests at all. Watch the latest full episodes. Abraham Woodhull wrote a message to Benjamin Tallmadgeto 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." (Nor did he ever have a son OR an older brother named Thomas, but we’ve already covered that, too.) (Interestingly enough, Heather Lind – the actress who plays Anna Strong – is currently 32 years old, making her pretty close to the age of the historical Anna at the beginning of the war.) Obviously, giving Abraham Woodhull a wife and son multiplies the level of dramatic tension and nail-biting suspense in the show on both the espionage and romantic fronts. Next, let’s examine Abraham’s side of the equation. Create and share your own GIFs, amazing moments and funny reactions with Gfycat The ring was tasked to provide Washington information on British Army operations in New York City , the British headquarters. However, she was in her early 40s during this time period and authors state that she had children but they were being cared for elsewhere by her husband, Selah Strong after his release from the prison ship. The ring was named for the operational names of two of its members: Abraham Woodhull (code-named Samuel Culper) and Robert Townsend (code-named Culper, Jr.). Hewlett immediately makes plans to have Woodhull released, but says he must do something else first. Rose and Phelps speculate that the reimbursement must have been for expenses incurred by Anna, since Selah was imprisoned for much of the relevant time period. [2]:173[5]:529[16]:189 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. Stay current. Antony Platt/AMCHeather Lind and Jamie Bell play Anna Strong and Abraham Woodhull in "Turn. He was clerk of Suffolk County, New York, and judge of the Common Pleas court for the county for several years before the American Revolution. ), Anna married Selah Strong, another Setauket native, in November of 1760, when she was 20 and he was a month away from his 23rd birthday. 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. Ask away!). Born on 14 April 1740, she would have just turned 35 years old when the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord in 1775. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. [8]:503, 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. [7], 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. Brewster would carry the messages across the Sound by whaleboat. None of them were settled and established as the head of a prosperous business or farm, or even as the head of their own independent household (which was not uncommon for unmarried men in the Northern colonies in their early 20s). For readers who many be unfamiliar with the latest in internet slang, I refer you to the definition above. [15]:130–131, Selah Strong was on Washington's list to be reimbursed for expenses incurred in connection with activities for the Culper Ring. [7], Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring, Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War, Intelligence operations in the American Revolutionary War, "History of American Women: Anna Smith Strong", "TCA: AMC Picks Up 'Halt & Catch Fire' & 'Turn' To Series", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anna_Strong_(spy)&oldid=995683837, People of New York (state) in the American Revolution, American spies during the American Revolution, Pages using infobox spy with unknown parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, East Setauket, Suffolk County, New York, United States, This page was last edited on 22 December 2020, at 09:34. After the Revolution, he served as a magistrate and a judge. Watch the latest full episodes of AMC shows. To put it plainly: single men “only” put their own lives and fortunes at risk, whereas family men incurred more casualties. For obvious reasons, unattached young men like Tallmadge, Woodhull, and Brewster made much more attractive recruiting targets for intelligence activities that, in the case of failure, often led to death or financial ruin. He thus enlisted the aid of Anna Strong, the wife of Selah Strong, a tavern keeper who was jailed aboard a British prison ship when the Culper Ring was formed. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Anna would take her laundry out to the tip of Strong's Neck and hang her black petticoat along with handkerchiefs scattered throughout her wash. I love that voice! Abraham Woodhull was only ten years old at the time. Woodhull told Anna to raise a black petticoat on her clothing line to signal Tallmadge's courier, and it turned out to be Caleb Brewster. Abraham Woodhull, age 27, was considered the leader of the Long Island spies, and he ran the group’s day-to-day operations on Long Island. The TV show TURN took plenty of historical liberties; for instance, there is no evidence of a love affair between Abraham Woodhull and Anna Strong. Thomas became a judge and fathered Selah B. ( Log Out / [8]:503 He was clerk of Suffolk County, New York and judge of the Common Pleas court for the county for several years before the American Revolution. It comprised several other agents, including Caleb Brewster, Austin Roe, Anna Strong, Hercules Mulligan, and Townsend’s paramour, known today only by her code name “355.” (Nearly all of the genealogical info cited in this post is freely accessible by searching longislandsurnames.com. I hate that it’s ending feels rushed, so much more could be done. Brewster told Woodhull that his encounter with him in Connecticut was the first part of the test to see if Woodhull was fit to join the patriots, and Tallmadge's int… Culper Spy Ring In Culper Spy Ring …of two of its members: Abraham Woodhull (code-named Samuel Culper) and Robert Townsend (code-named Culper, Jr.). High-quality Culper Spy Ring Greeting Cards designed and sold by artists. [3]:582 Family knowledge has him later imprisoned on the prison ship HMS Jersey (1736). This entry was posted in Character study, reader request, Uncategorized and tagged Abraham Woodhull, amc turn, anna strong, benjamin tallmadge, Caleb Brewster, culper spy ring, genealogy, mary woodhull, peggy shippen, reader request, selah strong, setauket, Thomas Woodhull, TURN, turn amc, TURN origins, TURN origins comic, TURN: Washington's Spies, washington's spies. Abraham Woodhull (October 7, 1750 – January 23, 1826) was a leading member of the Culper Spy Ring in New York City and Setauket, New York, during the American Revolutionary War.He used the alias "Samuel Culper" (later "Samuel Culper Sr."), which was a play on Culpeper County, Virginia, and was suggested by George Washington.. It may be that James Fenimore Cooper’s character Harry Birch was based upon his work as a spy. Thanks in no small part to TURN’s debut on Netflix, I’ve recently received an avalanche of queries (either through the ‘Ask a Question’ feature, via Twitter, or via search engine click-throughs) about the historical accuracy of the on-screen romance between Abraham Woodhull and Anna Strong. TURN Season 3: All Quiet on the History Front? And given the amount of questions we’ve received on this single topic, it seems like readers are hungry for more details than a simple “Nope, didn’t happen.” Ask and ye shall receive! This young woman may have even had encounters with Major John André and was able to retrieve information for the Culper Ring as well. Finally, I should emphasize that none of our favorite young spies had any kind of aversion to the institution of marriage itself — rather, in all likelihood, they solemnly realized that a stable and secure marriage was incompatible with their wartime line of work. They further state that she had her children with her and her arrest would have left them parentless. Obviously there’s no historical evidence for any kind of romantic attraction between him and Anna – but in addition to that, in TURN he is a not-so-happily married man with a young son. In real life: History didn't do a very good job tracking Anna after the war. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 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. The submit feature had some issues during the off season, but those should be fixed now. In fact, 1784 was quite a banner year for the old Setauket gang, with Woodhull, Tallmadge, and Brewster all tying the knot! Throughout the American Revolutionary War, Anna helped gather intelligence with the other members of the Culper Ring. Strong, the wife of New York tavern owner and militia captain Selah Strong, was a member of Abraham Woodhull 's Culper Ring during the war, assisting George Washington in collecting information on British activities during the war. [2]:173 Again, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger suggest that Anna Strong was an unlikely candidate to be the woman member of the Culper Ring. [2]:83, 173 He was imprisoned in the sugar house at New York City as a presumed spy, according to Rivington's Gazette of January 3, 1778. Get up to 35% off. 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. [6]:41, The Strongs' children were Keturah S. (married James W. Woodhull), Thomas Shepherd (married Hanna Brewster), Margaret, Benjamin, Mary, William Smith, Joseph, George Washington, and another Joseph. Saint Georges Manor Cemetery, also known as Smith-Strong Cemetery, Cemetery Lane, Setauket, NY Anna Strong was an important link in the Culper Spy Ring. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. In the context of TURN, “shipping” is an especially appropriate term to use for Abraham Woodhull and Anna Smith Strong, because their forceful on-screen romance is completely lacking any basis whatsoever in historical fact. I can enjoy the wonderful, sexy drama of TURN—”not let the facts get in the way of a good story,” as the old saying goes—and then read to your blog for the equally fascinating history. If she was the one referred to, her main service on their tri… Members with code numbers and/or aliases were Robert Townsend (joined 1779), Abraham Woodhull, Austin Roe, and Caleb Brewster. But prematurely “marrying off” Abe cancels out one of the most interesting and significant common factors between most members of the Culper Ring: their bachelorhood. It comprised several other agents, including Caleb Brewster, Austin Roe, Anna Strong, Hercules Mulligan, and Townsend’s paramour, known today only by her code name “355.” [15], 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. 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