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#Post#: 11261--------------------------------------------------
Non Sequitur
By: Chairman of the Board Date: August 6, 2014, 2:22 pm
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for the history buffs out there:
HTML http://longislandgenealogy.com/patriots.html#spy
[quote]Long Island's Spy Chain
One of the best kept secrets of the American Revolution was
the spy system that operated on long island, from the village of
Setauket, and kept General Washington supplied with important
information about the movements of the British troops in New
York and on long Island.
All but one of the members of this spy ring were Setauket
people. The details of the origin of the spy system are not
clear, but about 1778 major Benjamin Tallmadge was head ot this
organization, and reported to General Washington. Mr. Tallmadge
was born in Setauket in 1754, the son of the local Presbyterian
minister, and it was natural hr turned to his Setauket neighbors
for help. For five years or more he and the men picked out by
him operated this spy ring under the noses of the British in New
York and on Long Island, without any of them ever being caught.
So successful were they in concealing their idenity that General
Washington never knew who the members of the spy chain were.
News of the British plans and monements were gathered in New
York city by Robert Townsend, who operated a coffee shop near
Wall street. he was known to General Washington only as
"Culper, Jr." Information gathered by him was taken to Setauket
by messenger on horseback, who was Austin Roe of Setauket.. He
in turn left it in a secret hiding place for Abraham Woodhull,
who was the middleman in the spy system and went under the name
of "Culper, Sr." He turned it over to Caleb Brewster, who took
it across the sound in one of his boats and delivered it to
Major Tallmadge's headquarters in Connecticut. From there it
was delivered to General Washington, wherever he might be.
Robert Townsend was the chief figure on the New York city
end. he posed as a young Tory merchant in partnership with
james Rivington, and they operated a general merchandise store
and coffee shop. mr Townsend was a well educated man, and soon
became widely acquainted in british circles.
The man who carried the messages from New York to Setauket
was Austin Roe. who operated a store and tavern in Setauket.
Disguised as a country merchant, hr traveled back and forth
without detection. it is almost impossible to realize what
Austin Roe had to contend with as he rode the 55 miles from
Setauket to New York through the enemy's country, often several
times a week.
If it had been possible to follow a message from New York to
Setauket and across the sound to major tallmadge's headquarters
we might have seen Austin Roe enter Mr. Townsend's coffee shop
in new York. he was tired and hungry, for he had just finished
a long ride from Setauket. When Mr. Townsend saw Mr. Roe come
in he knew General Washington was expecting a message from him,
so he soon left and went to his quarters nearby. he was soon
followed by Austin Roe, who handed him a letter from John Bolton
(Major Tallmadge) which read, "I wish you to send by bearer 1/2
ream of letter paper." Mr Townsend paid little attention to
this message but went to a secret closet and brought out a
bottlr of liquid which he brushed over the letter. Soon another
message sprang to light on the paper. It was from General
Washington, requesting certain information. In the meantime Mr.
Roe had started down the street to the printing office of James
Rivington, where he purchased a half ream of paper and went back
to Mr. Townsend's rooms. carefully it was unwrapped, so that it
could be sealed again without showing without showing it had
been opened. Mr. Townsend began counting the sheets until he
arrived at a number previously agreed on. That sheet was taken
out, and mr. Townsend, reaching for another bottle of a
different liquid, began to write his message to Washington. As
soon as the stain was dry it disappeared giving no hint it was
there waiting to be developed by another liquid. The sheet was
replaced in its proper place in the package of paper and
resealed. Austin Roe packed his saddle bags with a variety of
articles needed by those in the Setauket area, and set out for
home, crossing the Brooklyn ferry and arriving at Setauket in
time to give attention to his cattle which were kept pastured in
a field belonging to Abraham Woodhull. He was a young farmer
from Setauket and the middleman in the spy ring, who used his
farm on Conscience bay as a base for operations. because his
house was full of British Troops, he arranged for Austin Roe to
pasture his cattle on his land, which gave Mr. Roe a place to
hide the messages he brought from New York. mr Woodhull then
picked up the messages from a secret box behimd a fence, and
latter turned them over to an exwhaler by the name of Caleb
Brewster, with carried them across the sound with his boat to
Major Tallmadge's headquarters in Connecticut. In addition to
this, Mr. brewster, with his lightly armed whaleboats, captured
several supply ships headed for the British army at New York,
and also led his men on raids across the island, burning and
wrecking whatever they could find belonging to the British. He
led the attack on the British Fort St. George at Mastic in
November 1780, which proved a complete success.[/quote]
during the revolutionary war (which i studied at SB) a spy ring
was established by the continental army, passing messages from
NYC to connecticut through... setauket, ny! some of the spies
were located just off campus in setauket, in what is now millie
lane and also strong's neck and conscience bay in old field.
anyway here is more information about the spy ring here:
HTML http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culper_Ring
thought you might find this bit of history interesting.
#Post#: 11263--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non Sequitur- LI Spy Ring
By: Seawolf97 Date: August 6, 2014, 7:14 pm
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I have heard of this spy ring and it's network. Really
interesting. Sometime ago I read that a path used used by these
folks cuts across what is now SBU, somewhere south of the main
entrance when Nichols Road
was a dirt path. Sometimes we forget out local history and how
important it is .
#Post#: 11265--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non Sequitur- LI Spy Ring
By: sbugold Date: August 6, 2014, 9:22 pm
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By the way, incase you aren't aware, AMC the cable network has
had a TV series on the air based upon the history of the spy
ring and all it's characters. Much of the personal histories
has been greatly fictionalized for entertainment value, but many
of the historical elements are part of the series. The first
season just completed around June. But, the second season of
the TV series begins in the fall on the AMC network. It's
called "Turn". You may want to tune in. But, if possible it
would be better if you could find a way to begin with the first
season's episodes.
#Post#: 11266--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non Sequitur- LI Spy Ring
By: Chairman of the Board Date: August 7, 2014, 7:44 am
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Thanks- i thought some of you guys might find this interesting.
Ive been meaning to watch Turn but im bogged down in another
show right now (Dexter). Also the History Channel ran a very
good program on the Culper Ring, ill have to dig up the details.
#Post#: 11536--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non Sequitur- LI Spy Ring
By: jaghatai Date: September 6, 2014, 8:09 pm
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The Culper Ring is especially interesting to me because other
than some specific items, nobody really knows how much
information was gained. Many of the local scholars believe that
the intel was extremely detailed and accurate, and given what we
know, that seems legit.
Turn is really good. Fictionalized, granted, but still
entertaining. Definitely worth a watch.
#Post#: 30891--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non Sequitur- LI Spy Ring
By: Chairman of the Board Date: September 11, 2020, 6:22 pm
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tomorrow at 9am- free virtual tour on annual Culper Spy Day!
HTML https://library.stonybrook.edu/2020/09/08/join-us-for-virtual-culper-spy-weekend-on-sept-12-and-13/
HTML https://library.stonybrook.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1780gw-625x1024.jpg
text of George Washington's 1779 and 1780 letters:
HTML https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/libspecial/collections/washington.php
#Post#: 41565--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non Sequitur- LI Spy Ring
By: Chairman of the Board Date: December 2, 2023, 9:14 am
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another non-sequitur- so i am putting it here. from linkedin:
HTML https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7136454805568249856?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A%28ugcPost%3A7136454805568249856%2C7136478118902403073%29&dashCommentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_comment%3A%287136478118902403073%2Curn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A7136454805568249856%29
[quote]In 1976 i was a total library studier or couch potatoe at
the SB library.. we had no choice but to study in the library
because between the music the noise the cooking the parties we
had no choice..again this was 1976 with 17 bars on the campus,
SB was the first State school to get busted by the Feds for weed
and LSD sales on campus.. also when they built the hospital, the
brain trust engineers forgot the morgue, the the top floor of
the library was the morgue, interesting elevator rides…so yes
the Library was the place❤️
[/quote]
can anyone confirm... a morgue at the melville library???
#Post#: 41566--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non Sequitur- LI Spy Ring
By: ry1nik Date: December 2, 2023, 11:35 am
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I was a soph in ‘76 and lived on campus three years. Never heard
or read of such a thing. Seems unlikely.
#Post#: 44039--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non Sequitur- LI Spy Ring
By: Chairman of the Board Date: August 27, 2024, 9:25 am
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Culper Spy Day- 9/7:
HTML https://calendar.stonybrook.edu/event/culper-spy-day-1/
#Post#: 45257--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non Sequitur
By: Chairman of the Board Date: February 24, 2025, 10:14 am
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changing the subject to "non sequitur".
Behind the Curtain Wall with NYC Architect Richard Roth Jr.:
Roth Quad, Stony Brook University
HTML https://www.untappedcities.com/roth-quad-stony-brook-university/
[quote]
A Labor of Love
Of the hundreds of buildings architect Richard Roth Jr. designed
over his 40-plus year career, a relatively unassuming college
accommodation complex is among his favorites. Unassuming, but
culturally and architecturally significant.
In 1964, Richard was a fairly recent graduate, and memories of
overcrowded barrack-style living quarters were fresh in his
mind. He was determined that the five-block building complex he
was tasked to design at Stony Brook University on Long Island
would provide a very different living experience. He loved
everything else about college life and despite some academic
challenges, enjoyed his school days.
Richard designed the Stony Brook buildings with what has now
become a familiar arrangement, but was a new concept for dorms
at the time: suites with single bedrooms and a communal living
area. Each building of what came to be known as ‘Roth Quad’
housed 200 students. The project also included a dining hall
designed by a colleague and former college classmate, so the
design bore similar influences.
Richard introduced asymmetry into his plan—creating two building
designs and inverting them, so they weren’t identical. With
hindsight, these ideas look to be a feature of the era. In her
2019 study, ‘Living on Campus: An Architectural History of the
American Dormitory’, Carla Yanni, professor of art history at
Rutgers University, identifies the emergence of the ‘hill town’
style. She refers to a move away from the traditional
‘quadrangle’ in the 1960s and the development of more irregular
plazas and small village-like communities. She also suggests the
hill town was a reaction against "long, windowless corridors and
sparse rooms of International Style skyscraper dormitories built
in the 1950s."
[/quote]
HTML https://www.untappedcities.com/content/images/2025/02/roth-stony-brook-university-untapped-new-york1.jpg
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