The Culper Spy Ring: Secretly Standing Against Great Britain

Nathan DiFulvio and CJ Dalby

Junior Division
Website
National History Day 2017
 First we thought of the theme, "Taking A Stand In History". Looking back, the biggest
and most improbable stand in history is the American Revolution. Because of this, we decided to
make our project on an aspect of the Revolution that many do not know about. As it so happens,
Nathan had previously lived on Long Island and had heard about the Culper Spy Ring earlier but
wanted to learn more about it. After some preliminary research we agreed that the Ring fulfilled
the theme perfectly. It had a remarkable balance of primary and secondary sources, while also
having elements of heroism and an aura of unfamiliarity about key members of the Ring. This
mystique made this topic unique and fascinating as it allowed us to investigate details about our
topic that are still unknown today.
We explored different research institutions and met many helpful people when we
conducted our research. First, we went to the Free Library of Philadelphia for introductory
information about our topic and so that we could better understand how the Culper Spy Ring
took a stand in history. We then conducted our first interview with Claire Bellerjeau, Resident
Historian at Raynham Hall. She gave us information about Robert Townsend, the invisible ink
used, and Major John Andre. Next, we went to the David Library of the American Revolution,
where we conducted our second interview with Katherine Ludwig, the head librarian. She gave
us information about Anna Strong, who is Ludwig's ancestor, James Rivington, and British
prison ships. There we also viewed many primary source letters that circulated within the Ring to
aid our understanding of how these messages were passed. Our final interview was with
Alexander Rose, author of one of our most valuable sources; Washington's Spies. He gave us
information about Christopher Duychenik and Agent 355.
We chose a website because it would promote easier access from many places, including search
engines. More people can access our research than with another form of presentation, such as an
exhibit. Because we are both technologically savvy yet we have no experience creating a
website, we thought that it would be a good challenge for us.
The Culper Spy Ring relates to the theme of Taking a Stand in History in many ways.
First, the Ring stood with Revolutionary War heroes like George Washington against the tyranny
of Great Britain to gain American independence. Culper intelligence helped the Americans gain
the alliance of the French, keep West Point an American fort, and helped the Continental Army
win important battles such as Yorktown. The Culper Ring also stood up for the position of spy.
At the time, spies were considered less than respectable, but the Ring helped it be romanticized
like it is today. Ring members such as Anna Strong and Agent 355 showed how female spies
could be effective in these roles, as no one expected them to be gathering or passing on
intelligence due to their role in society.