Audio Tour Brings Long Island's Spy History to Life

There was no disappearing ink or petticoats drying in the sun, but still lots of interest in hearing the stories of real-life Revolutionary War spies whose efforts helped a fledgling America win its war against Britain.

Members of the Long Island North Shore Heritage Area, History Phone and sponsor Gold Coast Bank announced the start of SPY!, an audio tour designed to access information via cell phone as active listeners travel Long Island’s North Shore at 12 stops from Roslyn to Setauket.

One of the history tour stops – No. 3 – is in Huntington, at the Nathan Hale Memorial along Main Street. It sits near the , where representatives assembled for the kick-off announcement on Wednesday.

Once approvals are obtained, site markers will be going up at each location that indicate it is part of the spy ring tour, said Ira Costell, an executive board member of LINSHA who worked with local historians to research the project. The markers will list the number to call to hear a recording offering the history of each site – 631-498-4740 – as well as which number to press to hear the history of the particular site you’re visiting.

Listeners to the recording for site No. 3 will hear about Nathan Hale’s landing at Huntington Bay on Sept. 12, 1776, the first step in an attempt to gather military information for Gen. George Washington. This is after the American loss at the Battle of Long Island in Brooklyn on Aug. 27-28, 1776.

The recording explains how Hale, who was disguised as an unemployed school teacher, was arrested in New York City and was hanged Sept. 21, 1776, a day after his capture, reportedly saying “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

The audio recordings, done by Larry Weiss of History Phone in Plainview, note which information is documented fact versus legend and folklore, and carefully offer supposition on what may have happened. The narrated story spins out with some background music, and clear prompts tell visitors when to push an extension for additional information. Some of the segments run a tad long, since there's a lot of information to convey, but you can always call back.

It’s believed Hale’s hanging may have inspired formation of the Culper Spy Ring to pass information on British activities to Washington, the recording says. In 1778, Washington approached his chief of intelligence, Benjamin Tallmadge, who had been Hale’s college roommate at Yale, and Tallmadge recruited local residents to gather and pass information. They used aliases (Culper Jr. and Culper Sr.), invisible ink and drop boxes to pass information, and were assigned numbers (George Washington was 711) and together helped win the Revolutionary War with the information they passed along.

Those residents included Robert Townsend, who helped run his father’s business in the city and also wrote for a Loyalist newspaper (Stop 1, Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay); Abraham Woodhull, who retrieved secret messages and got them to Caleb Brewster to deliver to Tallmadge and then to Washington (Stop 6, the Woodhull Home marker in Setauket); Anna Smith Strong, she who reportedly hung out a black petticoat when it was time for Caleb Brewster to meet Woodhull for new information (Stop 7, Strong’s Neck); and Austin Roe, a tavern owner who rode to New York City to buy goods for his tavern and returned with information he would hide in a drop box for Woodhull to retrieve and pass along (Stop 10, Roe Tavern marker).

Also on hand for the announcement were John Strong and his wife, Patricia, of Strong’s Neck (Stop 7) in Setauket. Strong is a descendant of Anna Smith Strong and her husband, Selah Strong, and lives in a house built around 1845 on the same site as the family home that the British occupied during the war. Anna Smith Strong lived in a nearby cottage and kept an eye on the farm and main house during the British occupation.

“When I was growing up, no one had the slightest idea,” Strong said. “One wonders why she stayed behind, and it’s possible she was involved, but it was never in the family history.”

Another of the tour sites (Stop 8) is at the private cemetery of the Strong family, where both Anna Smith Strong and her husband, Selah Strong, are buried.

Gold Coast Bank became interested when a 17th century fireplace and original wood beams were found during renovations at its Setauket branch, one of its two bank branches on the Long Island Heritage Trail. The items are now on display. “We’re a community oriented bank and we look forward to working with LINSHA,” said Suzanne Kirkpatrick, a vice president at Gold Coast Bank.

Elizabeth Kaplan, an educator with the Three Village Historical Society and its SPIES! exhibit, appeared in costume as Anna Smith Strong and did her best to debunk the myth of the petticoats, but some legends are so romantic they live on despite having no evidence to support them. “We know she fought in the war. Whether she was hanging up her laundry to help, we don’t know,” Kaplan said.

You can learn more about the Culper Spy Ring and Long Island history as you drive from site to site. Or you can do it the lazy way and call the information number – 631-498-4740 – without ever leaving home.