In June, the British had been forced to evacuate Philadelphia after the city became untenable due to vulnerability and stretched supply lines. As the British departed the colonies, a celebration was thrown in Setauket. Townsend, in fact, had somewhat foolishly recruited his cousin James into the ring, who ended up being arrested by the Continental Army for allegedly being a British spy! [7] Tallmadge then set up a spy network in New York with Woodhull as the lead agent. Robert Townsend went into business with his brother Solomon, but the business failed, and Townsend never got back on his feet. The show also portrays Richard Woodhull as a devoted Tory, who grows ever suspicious of his son’s behavior, but in reality, he was more supportive of the Patriots, and circumstantial evidence supports this. One of the facts he provided was that a spy ring was operating on Long Island, and before long suspected spies were being arrested throughout the area. Caleb Brewster joined what is today the Coast Guard in 1793, retired in 1816, and died in 1827. A number of close calls with British authorities had made both Woodhull and Robert Townsend jumpy. He discovered that anyone traveling into the city was at exceptional risk of being detained and searched by British authorities, but that married couples almost always were not. [11] He held a few minor political appointments, including magistrate in Suffolk County, New York from 1799–1810. Rob Woodhall Actor at Various Production Companies Dudley, West Midlands, United Kingdom 182 connections. Washington had enjoyed an effective spy network operating in Philadelphia, but with the British gone from there and New York crawling with redcoats, his focus now shifted towards starting an effective intelligence network around the British headquarters.
The show also portrays Richard Woodhull as a devoted Tory, who grows ever suspicious of his son’s behavior, but in reality, he was more supportive of the Patriots, and circumstantial evidence supports this. In October 1778, he began making trips to New York every few weeks with the excuse that he was on “business” or visiting his sister. It was believed that Nathaniel Woodhull had been captured and brutalized by the British, and died a miserable death. Abraham had in fact joined the county militia in 1775 with no apparent objection from his father, but became disenchanted and quit after two months. In AMC’s drama TURN: Washington’s Spies, we follow Abraham Woodhull and company as they play a cunning game of deceit and trickery to gather intelligence for the Continental Army in the American War for Independence. Adding to these problems was the threat of an attack on New York City by the Rebels and their new allies, the French. [9][10], Woodhull married his friend Mary Smith in 1781 and had three children with her. He did not immediately take up arms or begin spying, however; he was more placid than some of his friends who joined the Continental Army at the outset of the war.
Over time, he began to fear for his safety, and Benjamin Tallmadge’s reports to Washington reflect Woodhull’s growing timidity. Robert Woodall is an actor, known for Casualty (1986). Abraham, however, was nowhere to be found- he had left for New York the previous day.
They did, however, take plenty of liberties with the historical facts, but on the whole, the show presents the major activities and accomplishments of the Culper Ring in a reasonably accurate manner. He also never had a son named Thomas; Mary would give birth to two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, and a son named Jesse.