The Culper Ring's Greatest Achievements

The Culper Ring’s Greatest Achievements Multiple letters written by Washington express his appreciation for the information provided by the spy ring; however, three specific pieces of information Washington received from the Culper Ring were significant enough to have direct effects on actions taken by Washington and, occasionally, the Continental Congress. In addition to their active role in obtaining the three pieces of information, the Culper Ring, “was also responsible for the apprehension of the British spy Major John André.” Each of the vital pieces of intelligence discovered by the Culper Ring was a different form of information. One was a piece of counter intelligence, one was regarding troop movements, and one was information about the British’s planning for

Such an achievement is even more impressive because of its close involvement with Clinton’s military intelligence operations. The information regarding British troop movements referred to an attempt to attack the French fleet in Newport, Rhode Island. Washington decided to fake an attack on New York City in a successful attempt to protect the French by forcing Clinton to recall his troops to protect the City. This piece of intelligence is often considered to be one of, if not the, most important piece of information provided by the Culper Ring, especially due to the French fleet’s essential role in the victory of the siege at Yorktown by alienating Cornwallis from the British Navy. Despite the inarguably direct importance of the Ring’s information pertaining to the French fleet, the piece of intelligence the Culper Ring provided that was the most effective and vital for the war effort and the emerging States regarded the British’s attempt to destroy the value of the paper money issued by Congress. In Townsend’s letter to Washington dating November 27, 1779, he explains to Washington that the British believe the war to be concluding because of the