Espionage During the Revolutionary War: Abraham Woodhull and the Culper Spy Ring

Abstract

In the history of the Revolutionary War we are taught the basics: “the shot heard round the world” also known as the battle at Lexington and Concord, the miserable winter at Valley Forge, Washington’s daring crossing of the Delaware River, to the battle Yorktown. In this paper, I will discuss an aspect of the war that isn’t widely discussed in schools. I want to inform you of the war that was fought in the down and dirty, the espionage war fought during the Revolution. This is an important aspect of the Revolutionary War, because this would be the first major conflict where espionage was used. I will focus my writing on the Culper Spy Ring, America’s first espionage organization during the Revolutionary War. To further narrow my topic, I will be writing about the adventures of Abraham Woodhull, the agent that did the spying for the ring. My paper will focus on the early efforts of espionage before the creation of the ring, Abraham Woodhull and his activities, covering the operation of the ring until their disbanding.