Benjamin Tallmadge was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as leader of the Culper Ring during the war, a celebrated network of spies in New York where major British forces were based. He also led a successful raid across Long Island that culminated in the Battle of Fort St. George. Following the war, Tallmadge was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Federalist Party.
Tallmadge was a major in the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons and was initially commissioned on June 20, 1776. He was given the position of director of military intelligence by George Washington after Nathaniel Sackett was relieved of his duties because he did not gain any ground from the enemy. Tallmadge was in charge of bringing intelligence from British-controlled New York to the Continental army, and he did so by assembling a network of spies known as the Culper Spy Ring, with the help of Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend. The Culper Ring was involved in revealing the betrayal of Benedict Arnold. Benedict Arnold's British contact John André was caught and taken to North Castle, where commander Colonel Jameson ordered lieutenant Allen to take the incriminating documents found with André to their commander Benedict Arnold at West Point. Tallmadge suspected André to be a spy and Benedict Arnold to be his accomplice, and he tried to have Jameson reverse his orders. He was unsuccessful, but did convince Jameson to send a rider and take Andre to Salem, eight miles east of the Hudson River and to send the documents to George Washington. Allen still reported to Benedict Arnold with Jameson's note outlining the events. Later, Jameson was chastised by Washington for warning Arnold and allowing his escape. André was placed in Tallmadge's custody awaiting execution. On November 21, 1780, Tallmadge and his dragoons rowed across Long Island Sound from Fairfield, Connecticut, to Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai, New York. The next day, they proceeded to the south shore where they captured and burned down Manor St. George. On their march back to Mt. Sinai, Tallmadge stopped in Coram, New York, and ordered the burning of 300 tons of hay which the British had been stockpiling for the winter. George Washington, on hearing the news, sent the following letter to Tallmadge:
I have received with much pleasure the report of your successful enterprise upon fort St. George, and was pleased with the destruction of the hay at Coram, which must be severely felt by the enemy at this time. I beg you to accept my thanks for your spirited execution of this business.
Tallmadge served at Washington's headquarters from March 1781 until the Continental Army was disbanded in November 1783. He was breveted to the rank of lieutenant colonel on September 30, 1783.
Post-Revolutionary War
Career
In 1792, Tallmadge was appointed postmaster of Litchfield, Connecticut, and he served until resigning to assume his seat in Congress. He established a successful mercantile and importing business and was the first president of the Phoenix Branch Bank, a position he held from 1814 to 1826. He was the first treasurer of the Society of the Cincinnati in Connecticut and later served president of the Connecticut society.
Tallmadge married Mary Floyd on March 18, 1784, daughter of William Floyd, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a U.S Representative from New York. Their children included:
George Washington Tallmadge, who married Laura Pease, daughter of Calvin Pease
Mary died in 1805, and Tallmadge married Maria Hallett in 1808, daughter of his friend Joseph Hallett.
Legacy
, Arizona, is the home of Army intelligence, and Tallmadge Hall there is named in Tallmadge's honor. The town of Tallmadge, Ohio, is also named in Tallmadge's honor. The Boy Scouts of America's Benjamin Tallmadge District serves the north shore of Eastern Long Island. Tallmadge is a main character in the AMC series , played by Seth Numrich.
