Austin Roe (March 2, 1748November 28, 1830) was a member of the

Culper Ring The Culper Ring was a network of Espionage, spies active during the American Revolutionary War, organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General George Washington in 1778 during the British New York and New Jersey campaign, occupation of New Yo ...

, a successful spy network during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

that was organized in 1778 by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Early life

Austin Roe was born March 2, 1748, in

Port Jefferson, New York Port Jefferson, also known as Port Jeff, is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 7,962 at the time of the 2020 census. Port J ...

. He married Catherine Jones, and the couple had eight children. His great-grandson, Justus Roe, was the inventor of the modern day retractable carpenter's tape measure.

Career

Roe was the owner of a tavern in East Setauket. "Roe's Tavern" is an extant structure (now a privately owned residence) where

stayed overnight during his 1790 tour of Long Island.

Culper ring

Background

In December 1778, General George Washington's chief of intelligence—and Culper Ring spymaster 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 ...

—recruited Jonas Hawkins as a clandestine courier to bring messages to Setauket from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where the group's leader,

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 w ...

was gathering information. From there, the coded correspondence could be relatively easily forwarded to Tallmadge. At first, the ring employed just Hawkins in the role, but by early summer, Roe had joined the group as an alternate rider, who would take messages the between the group's two major centers of operation,

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 ...

, and New York City. At the time, both cities were occupied by the British.

Work as spy

Roe and Hawkins passed the messages from New York City to operative

Caleb Brewster Caleb Brewster (September 12, 1747 – February 13, 1827) was a member of the Culper spy ring during the American Revolutionary War, reporting to General George Washington through Major Benjamin Tallmadge. He carried messages across Long Island ...

on Long Island. Brewster would take them across the

Sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

to Tallmadge at

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...

. From there, Tallmadge forwarded the messages to Washington.Nelson, David Paul. ''Culper Ring'' in Hastedt, Glenn, P., ed
''Spies, Wiretaps, and Secret Operations: A-J''
Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011. . p. 217. Roe served the Culper spy ring as a courier by secretly relaying its messages beginning in early 1779. He claimed to be conducting business as a merchant in order to avoid suspicion and pass through the British checkpoints. Rose, Alexander; ''Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring''; New York: Bantam Dell, a division of Random House; (20067); ; Pp. 172 Roe became the sole dispatch carrier for the ring after July 1779, when Tallmadge gave Roe–but not Hawkins–a code number in his code index. Hawkins increasing paranoia had led him to abandon the mission at that time.

In historical records

Because Roe traveled over 1000 miles on horseback performing his missions during the war, he has been called the "Paul Revere of Long Island." In 2015, a letter written by loyalist soldier Nehemiah Marks to Adjutant General Oliver De Lancey, head of British Army Intelligence following Major John Andre’s capture and execution, was uncovered. The document contained information that brothers Nathaniel and Philip Roe were part of the "Long Island spy network," but the allegations were neither investigated nor acted upon.Leuzzi, Linda ''A Letter of Significance''
; Long Island Advance, accessed October 22, 2015

Later life

After the war, Roe continued to operate his tavern in Setauket. He became a captain in Lieutenant Colonel David Pierson's New York

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

regiment in

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...

,''Documents of the Senate of the State of New York''
compiled and edited by Hastings, Hugh; state historian; New York State; Military Minutes of the Council of Appointment of the State or New York, 1783–1821 (Volume 9); Albany: James B. Lyon, State Printer; (1901); p. 84. in 1787. He and his family settled the area which would become the town of Patchogue on Long Island's south shore in 1798. He opened an inn there, where for three decades he regaled his patrons with tales of his exploits during the war. Roe died in Suffolk County in 1830 at the age of 82; and was buried in the family graveyard. His body was eventually re-interred in the Cedar Grove Cemetery, in Patchogue, after the town was founded by a descendant.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roe, Austin 1748 births 1830 deaths American innkeepers People from Port Jefferson, New York People from East Setauket, New York People from Patchogue, New York People of New York (state) in the American Revolution 18th-century American businesspeople American spies during the American Revolution