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Benjamin Tallmadge

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Benjamin Tallmadge
Tallmadgec. 1825
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromConnecticut'sat-largedistrict
In office
March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1817
Preceded byWilliam Edmond
Succeeded byThomas Scott Williams
Personal details
Born(1754-02-25)February 25, 1754
SetauketorBrookhaven,Province of New York
DiedMarch 7, 1835(1835-03-07)(aged 81)
Litchfield, Connecticut
Spouses
Mary Floyd
​
​
(m.1784; died 1805)​
Maria Hallett
​
(m.1808)​
Children7, includingFrederick A. Tallmadge
Alma materYale College
OccupationStatesman
Known forOrganized theCulper Spy Ring
Signature
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/service2nd Continental Light Dragoons
Years of service1776–1783
RankMajor
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War:

Benjamin Tallmadge(February 25, 1754 – March 7, 1835) was an American military officer,spymaster,and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in theContinental Armyduring theAmerican Revolutionary War.He acted as leader of theCulper Ringduring the war, a celebrated network of spies in New York where major British forces were based. He also led a successful raid acrossLong Islandthat culminated in theBattle of Fort St. George.After the war, Tallmadge was elected to theUS House of Representativesas a member of theFederalist Party.

Early life[edit]

Tallmadge was born February 25, 1754, the son of Susannah Smith (1729–1768) and Rev. Benjamin Tallmadge Sr. (1725–1786), a clergyman inSetauket, New York,a hamlet of the Town ofBrookhaven, New York,onLong Island.[1][2]He graduated fromYalein 1773, where he was a member ofBrothers in Unity[3]and was a classmate and close friend of the American Revolutionary War spyNathan Hale.[4]He also served as superintendent of Wethersfield High School from 1773 to 1776.[2]

American Revolutionary War[edit]

Major Tallmadge of the 2nd Continental Dragoons.

Tallmadge was a major in the2nd Continental Light Dragoonsand was initially commissioned on June 20, 1776.[2]He was given the position of director of military intelligence by George Washington afterNathaniel Sackettwas relieved of his duties because he did not gain any ground from the enemy.[5]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 theCulper Ring,with the help ofAbraham WoodhullandRobert Townsend.[6]

The Culper Ring was involved in revealing the betrayal of Major GeneralBenedict Arnold.Arnold's British contact, MajorJohn André,was caught and taken to North Castle, where the commander, ColonelJohn Jameson,ordered LieutenantSolomon Allento take the incriminating documents found with André to Arnold, who was still in command atWest Point.Tallmadge suspected André of being a spy and Arnold of being his accomplice, and tried to have Jameson reverse his orders. He was unsuccessful, but did convince Jameson to send a rider and take André to Salem, eight miles east of the Hudson River and to send the documents to Washington. Allen still reported to 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 fromFairfield, Connecticut,toCedar BeachinMount Sinai, New York.The next day, they proceeded to the south shore where they captured and burned downManor St. George.On their march back to Mt. Sinai, Tallmadge stopped inCoram, New York,and ordered the burning of 300 tons of hay which the British had been stockpiling for the winter. 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.[7]

Tallmadge served at Washington's headquarters from March 1781 until the Continental Army was disbanded in November 1783. He was admitted as an original member of TheSociety of the Cincinnatiin the state ofConnecticutwhen it was established in July 1783[8]andbrevettedto the rank oflieutenant colonelon September 30, 1783.[9]He subsequently served as Assistant Treasurer (1785–1789), Treasurer (1789–1793), Vice President (1793–1796) and President (1796–1801) of the Society of the Cincinnati in the state of Connecticut[10][11][12]and continues to be represented by a living descendant in the society today.[13]

Later life[edit]

Career[edit]

In 1792, Tallmadge was appointed postmaster ofLitchfield, Connecticut.He served until he resigned to assume his seat in Congress.[14]He established a successful mercantile and importing business[15]and was the first president of the Phoenix Branch Bank, a position he held from 1814 to 1826.[16]

House of Representatives[edit]

On March 4, 1801, Tallmadge succeededWilliam Edmondas aFederalist Partymember of theUS House of Representativesto represent Connecticut's at-large congressional district. He served until March 3, 1817, when he was succeeded byThomas Scott Williams.[17]

Benjamin Tallmadge with son William 1790

In 1829, Tallmadge was among a group of Federalists who defendedUriah Tracyagainst accusations byJohn Quincy AdamsandWilliam Plumer.Adams and Plumer had claimed Tracy was a leader of an 1804 effort to lead New England tosecede from the United States.[18]

Personal life[edit]

Tallmadge married Mary Floyd (1764–1805) on March 18, 1784, daughter ofWilliam Floyd,a signer of theDeclaration of Independenceand a U.S Representative from New York. Their children included:[9]

  • William Smith Tallmadge (1785–1822), a lieutenant colonel in the 46th United States Infantry in theWar of 1812;he died unmarried inMoscow, New York[9]
  • Henry Floyd Tallmadge (1787–1854), who married Maria Andrews Canfield (b. 1800), daughter ofAndrew Adams[9]
  • Maria Jones Tallmadge (1790–1878), who marriedJohn Paine Cushman(1784–1848), a member of the House of Representatives from New York's 10th congressional district[9]
  • Benjamin Tallmadge (1792–1831), who died unmarried nearGibraltarwhile a lieutenant in the United States Navy[9]
  • Frederick Augustus Tallmadge(1794–1869), who married Elizabeth H. Canfield (1793–1878)[9]
  • Harriet Wadsworth Tallmadge (1797–1856),[9]who married John Delafield (1786–1853), brother ofEdward DelafieldandRichard Delafield
  • George Washington Tallmadge (1803–1838), who married Laura Pease (1807–1893), daughter ofCalvin Pease[9]

Death[edit]

Mary died in 1805, and Tallmadge married Maria Hallett (d. 1838) in 1808, daughter of his friend Joseph Hallett.[9]Tallmadge died March 7, 1835, in Litchfield, Connecticut. He is buried in East Cemetery in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Legacy[edit]

Fort Huachuca,Arizona, is the home of Army intelligence, and Tallmadge Hall there is named in Tallmadge's honor. The town ofTallmadge, Ohio,is also named in Tallmadge's honor.[19]The Boy Scouts of America's Benjamin Tallmadge District serves the north shore of Eastern Long Island.[20]

Talmadge, Maineis named for Tallmadge, who owned the township in the early 1800s.[21]

Tallmadge is a main character in theAMCseriesTurn: Washington's Spies,played bySeth Numrich.[22]

Tallmadge is portrayed by Dave Morrissey, Jr. in the 2017 feature filmOne Life to Giveand its sequelTraitorcreated by TBR News Media.[23]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^Tallmadue, Benjamin: SoldierAppleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography,Vol. VI, pg.25, D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1889. Retrieved online at theInternet ArchiveMay 14, 2009. Note: the scanned text at the Internet Archive includes a typo error, listing his name as 'Tallmadue, Benjamin, soldier'
  2. ^abcTALLMADGE, Benjamin
  3. ^"A Catalogue on the Society of Brothers in Unity 1841".Google Preview Books.Yale University. 1841.
  4. ^Nathan Hale
  5. ^"The Letter That Won the American Revolution".July 3, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon July 3, 2017.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
  6. ^Pennypacker, Morton (1939).General Washington's Spies on Long Island and in New York.New York: The Long Island Historical Society.
  7. ^Bayles, Thomas R.The Early Years in Middle Island, Coram, Yaphank, and Ridge.Ed. Suzanne Johnson. Middle Island, NY: Longwood Public Library, 1989.
  8. ^Metcalf, Bryce (1938)Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to theSociety of the Cincinnati,1783–1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies,Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc. p. 304.
  9. ^abcdefghijTalmadge, Arthur White (1909).The Talmadge, Tallmadge and Talmage genealogy; being the descendants of Thomas Talmadge of Lynn, Massachusetts, with an appendix including other families.New York: The Grafton press.RetrievedNovember 10,2016.
  10. ^Metcalf, pp. 15-16.
  11. ^"Hartford: The Society of the Cincinnati of this State".Hartford Courant.Hartford, CT. July 12, 1790. p. 2 – viaNewspapers.
  12. ^The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.Vol. 35. New York, NY: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. 1904. p. 290 – viaGoogle Books.
  13. ^"Officers Represented in the Society of the Cincinnati".The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati.RetrievedApril 9,2021.
  14. ^Hall, Charles Swain (1943).Benjamin Tallmadge, Revolutionary Soldier and American Businessman.New York, NY: Columbia University Press. pp. 163, 171, 371 – viaGoogle Books.
  15. ^My Country.Vol. 25–27. Litchfield, CT: Litchfield Historical Society. 1991. p. 11 – viaGoogle Books.
  16. ^Kilbourne, Payne Kenyon (1859).Sketches and Chronicles of the Town of Litchfield, Connecticut.Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood and Company. p.234– viaInternet Archive.
  17. ^"TALLMADGE, Benjamin - Biographical Information".bioguide.congress.gov.Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.RetrievedNovember 10,2016.
  18. ^Henry Adams, ed.Documents Relating to New England Federalism, 1800–1815.New York: Burt Franklin, 1877, p. 102.
  19. ^"Tallmadge, Ohio".Ohio History Central.n.d.RetrievedMay 4,2015.
  20. ^"Benjamin Tallmadge BSA".Benjamin Tallmadge District.n.d. Archived fromthe originalon September 8, 2015.RetrievedAugust 9,2015.
  21. ^"Benjamin Tallmadge's Will, 1831-1834".RetrievedApril 15,2021.
  22. ^Andreeva, Nellie (July 26, 2013)."TCA: AMC Picks Up 'Halt & Catch Fire' & 'Turn' To Series".Deadline.RetrievedMarch 22,2014.
  23. ^info needed

Further reading[edit]

  • Benjamin Tallmadge,Memoir of Col. Benjamin Tallmadge(Reprint Services Corporation, 1858)ISBN0-7812-8377-9
  • Charles Swain Hall,Benjamin Tallmadge: Revolutionary Soldier and American Businessman(Columbia University Press, 1943)
  • Mark Allen Baker,Spies of Revolutionary Connecticut, From Benedict Arnold to Nathan Hale(The History Press, 2014)ISBN978-1-62619-407-6

External links[edit]

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromConnecticut's at-large congressional district
March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1817 		Succeeded by
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