Caleb Brewster (September 12, 1747 – February 13, 1827) was a member of the

Culper spy ring The Culper Ring was a network of spies active during the American Revolutionary War, organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General George Washington in 1778 during the British occupation of New York City. The name "Culper" was suggested by ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

, reporting to General George Washington through Major

Benjamin Tallmadge 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 the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as lead ...

. He carried messages across Long Island Sound between Major Tallmadge and the ring's main spies on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18t ...

, and in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He also made direct reports to Washington concerning naval activities in the New York City area.

Personal life

Brewster was born in

Setauket, New York Setauket is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population, which at the time included ...

, a hamlet of Brookhaven. After the Revolutionary War, he was a blacksmith, an officer in the

United States Revenue Cutter Service ) , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries=4 August , decorations= , battle_honours= , battle_honours_label= , disbanded=28 January 1915 , flying_hours= , website= , commander1= , co ...

for 20 years, and a farmer. He was a descendant of Francis Brewster II, barber-surgeon of Castle Bristol, who died, presumably, on the Phantom Ship in 1646-1647 and was the son of Francis Brewster I of Wrentham Hall in Suffolk, yeoman, who died 1632 in Bristol, England.

Culper Ring

Major

convinced

General George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

on August 25, 1778, that

Abraham Woodhull Abraham Woodhull (October 7, 1750January 23, 1826) was a leading member of the Culper Spy Ring in New York City and Setauket, New York, during the American Revolutionary War. He used the alias "Samuel Culper" (later "Samuel Culper Sr."), which wa ...

of Setauket, Long Island, would make a good agent to gather intelligence in New York City, the British Army's headquarters and base of operations during the American Revolutionary War. Brewster served as a courier in what became the

, carrying messages between Woodhull and Tallmadge, and he ran regular trips in

whaleboats A whaleboat is a type of open boat that was used for catching whales, or a boat of similar design that retained the name when used for a different purpose. Some whaleboats were used from whaling ships. Other whaleboats would operate from the sh ...

across the Sound on a variety of smuggling and military missions. Woodhull and Robert Townsend were the main agents in the Ring, alias "Samuel Culper, Sr." and "Samuel Culper, Jr." respectively. Brewster also participated in military actions as a Continental Army officer serving under Tallmadge. Anna Strong's role in the Ring was to signal Brewster that a message was ready, according to widely accepted local and family tradition. She did this by hanging a black petticoat on her clothesline at Strong Point in Setauket, which Brewster could see from a boat in the Sound and Woodhull could see from his nearby farm. She would add a number of handkerchiefs for one of six coves where Brewster would bring his boat and Woodhull would meet him.Hunter, 2013, p. 42. In February 1778, Brewster sent a message of his own through the Culper channel that described flat-bottomed boats being built in New York that could be used to ferry troops, and

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

privateers being outfitted. On another trip, he was waiting for Woodhull in Anna Strong's back garden when he surprised a passing British lieutenant. Brewster pulled him off his horse and had the opportunity to capture or kill him, but he refrained from doing either in order to avoid drawing suspicion on Anna as a member of the Ring, and instead pretended that he and his men were thieves.

After the war

Brewster married Anne Lewis of

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan are ...

, after the war and moved to Fairfield with her, where he set up a blacksmith business. The couple had eight surviving children. In 1793, he joined the

, predecessor of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

. He took three years off from the service because he disagreed with policies of President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

, and he commanded the revenue cutter USRC ''Active'' (1812) from 1812 to 1816. He retired to his farm in

Black Rock, Connecticut Black Rock is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut. It borders Fairfield and the Ash Creek tidal estuary on the west, the West Side/West End of Bridgeport on the north and east, and Black Rock Harbor ...

. Brewster died February 13, 1827, aged 79, and is buried in Fairfield Cemetery.

In popular culture

Caleb Brewster is played by

Daniel Henshall Daniel Edwin Henshall (born 9 August 1982) is an Australian film, television and theatre actor, known for his work in ''Snowtown'', ''The Babadook'' and '' Turn: Washington's Spies''. Early life and education Born and raised in Sydney, Austra ...

in the TV series '' Turn: Washington's Spies'', on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

The Caleb Brewster letter correspondence including with George Washington
{{Authority control People of New York (state) in the American Revolution People from Setauket, New York American spies during the American Revolution 1747 births 1827 deaths