13. A woman known to history only as Agent 355 helped reveal Benedict Arnold’s treachery
Agent 355 is a coded entry recorded by Abraham Woodhull, a member of the Culper Spy Ring, in a message to Benjamin Talmadge. It refers to a woman, many believe to have been Anna Strong, whose husband spent much of the war imprisoned on a British prison ship in New York. Others disagree. More persuasive evidence indicates she was a woman in New York in a position to obtain information from British officers and passed it on to Talmadge. Agent 355 could have been the common law wife of Robert Townsend, a New York merchant posing as a Loyalist, but providing information to Washington via Talmadge, his chief of intelligence. According to the CIA, Agent the British arrested Agent 355 in New York after the Americans captured Major John Andre. A suspicious Benedict Arnold questioned her personally.
The true identity of Agent 355 notwithstanding, she represents one of many women who worked as spies, informants, and couriers to support the Patriot’s cause during the Revolution. Often at great risk to their lives, they supported Washington’s campaign of espionage and disinformation. Washington, the first great spymaster in American history, relied on women in nearly all of his campaigns, as did localized Patriot militia and spy rings. Agent 355 provided information regarding a John Anderson’s movements, allowing the patriots to position men to encounter him. He proved to be Major John Andre, carrying papers which revealed Benedict Arnold’s intention to betray the American cause and deliver the fortifications of West Point to the enemy.