It is possible that this manuscript
still exists.
These methods of procuring intelligence in New York were all abused by
real peddlers, who, when they were caught selling contraband goods to
the enemy, pretended to be spies, and so escaped the penalty. At length
the general chiefly depended upon two persons, one called "Culper
Senior," and the other "Culper Junior," who may have been father and
son, but whose real names and qualities have never been disclosed.
General Washington's secrecy was perfect. His most confidential
officers, except one or two who had to be in the secret, never knew
enough of these men to be able to designate them afterwards. When
Benedict Arnold fled to New York after his treason, the American spies
there were panic-stricken, as they very naturally concluded that Arnold
must have been acquainted with their names and residences. General
Washington was able to assure them that such was not the fact, and it is
even probable that only one individual besides himself knew who they
were. This was Major Benjamin Tallmadge, a native of Long Island, who
frequently received the dispatches from New York and forwarded them to
headquarters. The letters were commonly taken across the East River to
Brooklyn; thence to a point on the Sound about opposite to Rye or
Portchester; and were thence conveyed to camp.
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