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NEWS ANALYSIS

In 1783, the American Revolutionary War ended. The 13 former British colonies, now the new United States of America, had won their independence – the freedom we cherish today – from the British king and his oppressive government. 

Among the many thousands of American heroes who fought in the long seven-year war, there was one small group of men and women who history forgot.

Why? Because they wanted it that way. 

The group was known as the “Culper Spy Ring.” It was a network of spies for General George Washington that successfully operated in and around New York City for five years without ever being discovered by the British.  

The members of the ring knew the price they would pay if they were caught. Washington’s first attempt at placing a spy on Long Island had cost Captain Nathan Hale his life. A graduate of Yale University, Hale was a schoolteacher. He had no training as a spy but volunteered anyway. Hale’s mission to supply critical information to his commanding general failed. Within two weeks of volunteering for the assignment, he was dead, hanged by the British as a spy. Hale’s body was left hanging for several days as a warning to other would-be informants. He was later buried in an unmarked grave. 

“George Washington” by Weidenbach, Augustus. (Image courtesy Library of Congress)

Hale’s death touched Washington on many levels. He realized that more than just one man was needed to collect the military information he desperately sought. What he needed was a network of spies. 

In November of 1778, Washington assigned Major Benjamin Tallmadge as his director of military intelligence. He had found his spymaster. But who were Tallmadge’s informants? They were carefully selected from the friends the major had made while going to school on Long Island. The ring included Austin Roe, Caleb Brewster, Abraham Woodhull, James Rivington, and Anna Strong.

Though Woodhull was Tallmadge’s chief agent (code name Samuel Culper), Robert Townsend (codename Samuel Culper Jr.) was an important source who posed as a Loyalist coffee shop owner and merchant while working as a journalist. In his guise as a reporter, Townsend was able to obtain information from the British at social gatherings, according to Mount Vernon’s website. 

The Culper Ring successfully supplied information about British military strength and even possible plans to attack Washington’s Continental Army. 

The ring was also directly responsible for the arrest of Major John Andre, the British spy who had been plotting the takeover of the fort at West Point with his accomplice American General Benedict Arnold, the fort’s commandant. Plans of the fort were found in Andre’s boots when he was captured by members of the New York militia. 

Being a good spymaster, Tallmadge kept the identities of his spies a closely guarded secret. After all, one loose lip, one slip of the tongue by anyone, could and would cost them their lives, and possibly even the lives of their families.  

According to MountVernon.org, the major developed a way to identify his spies with pseudonyms and invented a numerical substitution system to identify his informants rather than use names. Seven hundred and sixty-three numbers were used, with 711 denoting General Washington, 745 representing England, and 727 for New York. Tallmadge and his associates also wrote their messages using invisible ink.

Portrait Miniature of Benjamin Tallmadge (1754-1835). (Image courtesy: Collection of the Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield, Connecticut)

The identities of the Culper Ring were such a closely guarded secret that even Washington didn’t know who they really were. As Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaegar noted in their New York Times best-selling book George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution, “several members of the ring (Townsend in particular) had been insistent that Washington never learn their names.”

Even after the war was over, the members of the ring kept their identities a secret. In April of 1790, Washington visited Long Island, including Setauket, where the ring had operated. The once-commanding general and now President of the United States reportedly visited with several members of the ring during his visit, but whether he knew who they really were, he did not say.  

One member of the ring Washington personally wanted to thank was Townsend, who had risked his life almost every day for his country. But according to Kilmeade and Yaegar, “Townsend never stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself to his commander-in-chief. It was a great honor to be sure, but not one that Townsend sought. He did not want praise or celebration; the greatest reward Washington could give him was simply a return to a quiet and unassuming life as a man subject to no king but God.”

Tallmadge and the members of the Culper Ring took their secret to their graves. The public wasn’t aware of the spy ring’s existence until the 1930s. Townsend’s identity as “Samuel Culper Jr.” was discovered in 1929 after a historian was going through Townsend’s old correspondence. Rivington was confirmed as being one of Tallmadge’s spies in the 1950s.

Even today, there’s still one spy who has yet to be identified – Agent 355. Some historians theorize 355 may have been a woman.  

Over the years, there have been numerous monuments and statues erected to Nathan Hale’s sacrifice across the country. High schools, middle schools, elementary schools, university buildings, dormitories, a Revolutionary War fort, a U.S. Army installation in Germany, a U.S. Navy submarine, and even a town in New York bears his name. Hale was officially designated Connecticut’s state hero in 1985.

Yet, there are no statues to be found of any members of the Culper Spy Ring. All of them deserve to stand alongside the many other heroes of the American Revolution. Under the direction of Tallmadge, the Culper Spy Ring risked everything to serve their new country in a war that had been deemed unwinnable by much of the world. After all, they were up against the British Army, one of the mightiest militaries on the planet at the time. 

As Kilmeade and Yaegar wrote, “They never sought credit, never received accolades, and never revealed the risks they took or the sacrifices they made to serve our country.”

“The observation of (British) Major George Beckwith bears repeating: ‘Washington did not really outfight the British, he simply outspied us!'” the authors noted. 

So what’s the lesson Washington’s spies can still teach us? The lesson of humility. 

They protected one another by not revealing any of their wartime experiences, good or bad. They kept each other’s secrets to themselves for the rest of their lives. 

In this social media-driven “Look at Me – Tell All” culture that we live in today, it is a lesson from which we can all learn, and perhaps that in itself is their best epitaph. 

**Originally published July 4, 2021. 

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The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, swept the polls in the United Kingdom this week while Canada is set to get its first female chief of defence staff.

And who is Count Binface, the “intergalactic space warrior” who ran against ex-British prime minister Rishi Sunak?

Here were some of the top stories this week.

What will the Canada-U.K. relationship look like under a Labour government?

The election of a new Labour government in Thursday’s British elections may come with the promise of change in the United Kingdom, but the immediate impact on relations with Canada is less clear.

The Canada-U.K. relationship, while typically strong, has faced some bumps in the road this year. The newly-defeated Conservative government unilaterally paused trade negotiations with Ottawa in January, and more recently put new pressure on NATO allies — including Canada — to further increase their defence spending.

In the short term, those tensions may continue, analysts say, although common priorities between Labour and the Liberals could lead to a softening down the road.

Meet the ‘intergalactic space warrior’ who challenged U.K.’s Rishi Sunak

One candidate served as the United Kingdom’s most recent prime minister and currently leads the Conservative Party.

Another claimed to be from space, has promised to “build at least one affordable house, which is more than all the other parties can muster between them” and wants to force all former prime ministers to enlist in the army.

They were both running to win the same riding in England’s north — though one of them did it more satirically than the other.

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Calls grow for Biden to drop out, as Trump uses immunity ruling as leverage

Trudeau says ‘lots of conversations’ ongoing after shock byelection loss

Last week’s stunning byelection loss in a Toronto riding has spurred “lots of conversations” within the Liberal party, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, as questions also swirl around his political future.

Since the surprise Conservative win in the riding of Toronto-St. Paul’s — a Liberal stronghold for more than three decades until then — Trudeau said the party has been “engaged in lots of important conversations.”

“Let’s be very clear, last week’s byelection loss, not to sugarcoat it, was challenging, was something that we need to take seriously,” he told reporters in Montreal.

Should Biden step aside? Calls grow after debate spurs fitness concerns

Calls are growing louder for U.S. President Joe Biden to drop his re-election bid after last week’s shaky debate performance raised concerns among Democrats about his fitness and ability to beat former president Donald Trump.

But political analysts say as long as Biden refuses those calls, replacing him with a different candidate ahead of the November election will be difficult and unlikely.

On Tuesday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first sitting Democratic lawmaker to publicly urge Biden to step aside as the party’s presidential nominee, saying “too much is at stake” for Biden to stay in the race and lose to Trump.

Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan will be Canada’s 1st female defence chief

Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan will become Canada’s new chief of defence staff, making her the first woman to be picked for the job.

Carignan, who is currently serving as the chief of professional conduct and culture, will replace Gen. Wayne Eyre, who is due to retire this summer.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced Carignan’s appointment on Wednesday, said she was the “right person” to lead the Canadian military at a “pivotal time” with “complicated geopolitics and increased threats,” particularly to the Arctic.

Carignan is set to officially take over command of the Canadian Armed Forces in a ceremony on July 18.

David Vigneault, director of Canada’s spy agency, to retire

After seven years in the role, David Vigneault is retiring as director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced the news on X on Thursday, wishing Vigneault the best in his next chapter.

“David Vigneault has spent his entire career in the service of Canadians — keeping them, and our national interests, safe from those seeking to harm them,” LeBlanc wrote.

Jobless rate rises to 6.4% in June. Here’s how the Bank of Canada might react

Canada’s labour market continued to slow down in June, with young workers especially struggling in the typically busy summer job season.

The unemployment rate rose to 6.4 per cent last month as the country shed 1,400 jobs. The unemployment rate for youth aged 15-24 is more than double that at 13.5 per cent, however, marking the highest point since September 2014, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greece is bringing in a 6-day work week. Could Canada follow?

Workers in Greece are going to have to work a little bit longer starting this week, with the country introducing a six-day work week for some.

As part of new labour laws passed last year, some Greek workers began a 48-hour work week starting Monday, a move that union representatives from across industries have termed “barbaric.”

However, the move is not finding many takers here in Canada.

Canada’s digital services tax is here. How could it affect you?

The Digital Services Tax is now in effect.

Foreign tech giants must now pay a three-per cent levy on revenue from Canadian users, retroactive to 2022, after the federal government enacted the measure with an order-in-council on June 28.

Many of those large companies are based in the United States and the American government and business communities on both sides of the border have called for Ottawa to stop the measure.

EVs could get more expensive in Canada. Are e-bikes the right fit for you?

As the federal government consults with stakeholders on whether to impose greater tariffs on electric vehicles from China, some experts are warning that it might lead to EV prices rising.

With surveys suggesting Canadians are already feeling the strain from vehicle ownership costs like payments, gas and insurance, many may be looking for an alternative. For some, that could look like downsizing to a smaller vehicle or even an electric-assisted bicycle.

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WestJet flight disruptions continue following strike

Hurricane Beryl forces Canadian airlines to cancel flights

Several Canadian flights were cancelled as travel warnings were in place due to hurricane Beryl, which made landfall on Mexico’s coast Friday after leaving a trail of destruction in the Caribbean islands.

Air Canada scrapped 10 flights to and from Mexico’s Tulum and Cancun that were scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, four WestJet flights between Toronto and Montego Bay and Vancouver and Cancun were cancelled for Thursday.

Is hurricane Beryl a sign of the ‘threat’ to come for Atlantic Canada?

Hurricane Beryl is making its trek towards Jamaica and the Cayman Islands and as meteorologists point to record warm waters as its driving force, some say those temperatures could lead to stronger and longer storms — including for Canada.

The storm has already broken several records, including the earliest Category 5 storm to ever form in the Atlantic and, according to Philip Klotzbach, a Colorado State University hurricane researcher, the farthest east a hurricane has formed in the region.

An anecdote in a story on Page 10 of the Aug. 16, 1918, edition of the Courier Journal was the first reference to a ‘naturalization tree’ at Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville.

World War I had not yet ended and Camp Zachary Taylor was one of 16 national Army camps in the United States that trained more than 125,000 soldiers, according to the Kentucky Historical Society. While the camp shut down in 2020, one prominent feature remained — the Naturalization Tree.

“Nine hundred and fifty foreigners will be naturalized to-morrow morning at Camp Zachary Taylor under the ‘naturalization tree’ on Lee Avenue. Judge James Cochran, of Covington, will president over the court, and Gen. Austin is invited to attend the ceremonies,” the Aug. 16 paper read.

A few days later, Aug. 21, 1918, the paper said the ceremony was “the largest number of men ever taken into the arms of this country at one time at any American Cantonment. The tree was selected by the naturalization officer, Lieut. Perkins. It is one of the many objects of interest at the reservation and stands directly behind the camp laundry. When the aliens are sworn in they have a full view of the Stars and Stripes as they fly over the camp.”

Following the closure of Camp Zachary Taylor, there was concern over what would happen to the tree, which had become a landmark for the city along with the soldiers stationed there and immigrants that took their citizenship under it.

“Woodman, spare that tree!” was the first paragraph of a story that appeared in the Jan. 23, 1921, edition of the Courier Journal discussing the Jefferson Post of the American Legion’s efforts to save the tree.

“The tree is declared to be symbolic, as nothing else, of this country’s remarkable war record of blending, in a short space of time, all the alien and diversified forces of the population into one unit – the American citizen. It represents the entrance into Camp Taylor, and into all the military camps in existence during the war, of thousands of aliens in many of whom was the feeling that they owed nothing to this country except what might be derived from it, and their emergence in a short space of time as American soldiers.”

The Naturalization Tree happened to have been chosen by the American Forestry Association for inclusion in the Tree Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C., earlier that year.

“A photograph of the Naturalization Tree will hang side by side with that of the famous Washington Elm, at Cambridge, Mass., under whose branches (George) Washington took command of the Continental Army, July 3, 1775.”

A few months later, word came that the tree would survive as told under a March 2, 1921, headline: “Historic tree will be saved,” which included a note that the Jefferson Post of the American Legion would give up its claim to the tree so that Fincastle Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution could take control.

The tree would not last forever, being felled following a lightning strike in 1951.

“Camp Taylor’s ‘Naturalization Tree,’ a 140-year-old ash commemorated by the Fincastle chapter, D.A.R., in 1921, yesterday bowed to age via surgery. Two of its huge limbs, broken in a recent windstorm, were removed after they fell into the yard adjoining its lot at the corner of Kentucky and Lee.”

A monument dedicated to the tree in 1921 remains but was moved from its original site to Camp Taylor Memorial Park, near where Poplar Level Road meets the Watterson Expressway.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Retro Louisville: What happened to the Naturalization Tree?

Beryl moved into the the Gulf of Mexico Friday and took aim at the south Texas coast after battering Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Texas officials issued disaster declarations and urge coastal residents to prepare as the storm headed their way.

Beryl hit Tulum as a Category 2 hurricane and toppled trees but caused no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center expects the storm to regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf and hit south Texas by late Sunday or early Monday.

Beryl, the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean islands earlier in the week.

The storm’s center Friday afternoon was in the Gulf just off Mexico, about 615 miles (995 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. It was moving west-northwest at 13 mph (about 20 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), the hurricane center said.

Once in the Gulf, Beryl could regain wind speed of 90 mph (150 kph) before hitting Texas, though it is hard to tell now where it could make landfall, forecasters said. Hurricane watches were in effect from the Rio Grande north, covering most of the Texas coast.

Some Texas counties have already issued voluntary evacuation orders in low-lying areas, and Texas officials urged coastal residents to prepare.

Along the Texas coast in Corpus Christi, city officials announced it had distributed 10,000 sandbags in less than two hours Friday, exhausting its supply.

“This is a determined storm that is still strong,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at a news conference.

Patrick issued a pre-emptive disaster declaration for 40 counties that allows state and local authorities to start planning and contracting for response.

Nim Kidd, chief of state emergency operations, said oil companies have started moving employees off rigs along the coast that may be in the path of the storm.

Northeastern Mexico and southern Texas were already soaked by Tropical Storm Alberto just a couple of weeks ago.

Beryl spread destruction in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados this week. Three people have been reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, officials said.

The head of Mexico’s civil defense agency, Laura Velázquez, said Beryl hadn’t caused any deaths or injuries there and that “damages were minor,” though tens of thousands of people remained without power.

Tulum was plunged into darkness when the storm knocked out power as it came ashore. Screeching winds set off car alarms across the town. Wind and rain continued to whip the seaside city and surrounding areas Friday morning. Army brigades roved the streets of the tourist city, clearing fallen trees and power lines.

After seeing Beryl tear through the Caribbean, 37-year-old Lucía Nagera Balcaza was among those who stocked up on food and hid away in their homes.

“Thank god, we woke up this morning and everything was all right,” she said. “The streets are a disaster, but we’re out here cleaning up.”

Before the storm hit Mexico, official had set up shelters in schools and hotels. When the wind began gusting over Tulum’s beaches Thursday, officials on four-wheelers with megaphones rolled along the sand telling people to leave and authorities evacuated beachside hotels. Sea turtle eggs were even moved off beaches threatened by storm surge.

Tourists also took precautions. Lara Marsters, 54, a therapist visiting Tulum from Boise, Idaho, said she had filled up empty water bottles from the tap.

“We’re going to hunker down and stay safe,” she said.

While many in the Yucatan Peninsula took a deep breath, Jamaica and other islands ravaged by the hurricane were still reeling. As of Friday morning, 55% of Jamaica still without electricity and most of the country was without running water, according to government figures.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness promised swift relief for residents affected by Hurricane Beryl after visiting one of the worst-affected areas of the island, the southern parish of St Elizabeth on Thursday afternoon.

“I know some of you are experiencing discomfort and displacement, and I want to assure you that the government will move as quickly as we can to get you the help you need,” he said.

Earlier in the week, the hurricane damaged or destroyed 95% of homes on a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, jumbled fishing boats in Barbados and ripped off roofs and knocked out electricity in Jamaica.

On Union Island, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a man who identified himself as Captain Baga described the storm’s impact, including how he had filled two 2,000-gallon (7,570-liter) rubber water tanks in preparation.

“I strapped them down securely on six sides; and I watched the wind lift those tanks and take them away — filled with water,” he said Thursday. “I’m a sailor and I never believed wind could do what I saw it do. If anyone (had) ever told me wind could do that, I would have told them they lie!”

The island was littered with debris from homes that looked like they had exploded.

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