Anna Smith Strong (April 14, 1740 – August 12, 1812) of

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 United States census of 2010 was the twe ...

was an

American Patriot Patriots, also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs, were the colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rejected British rule during the American Revolution, and declared the United States of America an independent n ...

, and she may have been one of the only female members 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 Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Her perceived main contribution in the ring was to relay signals to a courier who ran smuggling and military missions for General George Washington. No information has been found concerning Anna's activities after the war other than that she and her husband, Selah Strong, lived quietly in Setauket for the rest of their lives. She died on August 12, 1812.

Family

Anna married Selah Brewster Strong III (December 25, 1737 – July 4, 1812) who was a delegate to the first three provincial congresses in

colonial New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Unit ...

. He also was a captain in the New York militia in 1776. He was

imprisoned Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

in the sugar house at New York City as a presumed spy, according to Rivington's ''Gazette'' of January 3, 1778. Family knowledge has him later imprisoned on the

prison ship A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nation ...

HMS ''Jersey'' (1736). Other works only mention his imprisonment on the prison ship, and previously mentioned family knowledge claims that Anna brought him food. Author Ryan Ann Hunter states that Anna eventually got Selah paroled through the influence of

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

relatives. Upon his release, he spent the rest of the war in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

with the family's younger children while Anna stayed on Long Island. The Strong's children were Keturah S. (married James W. Woodhull), Thomas Shepherd (married Hanna Brewster), Margaret, Benjamin, Mary, William Smith, Joseph, George Washington, and another Joseph. Mary and the first Joseph both died young. Thomas became a judge and fathered Selah B. Strong IV. He was oblivious to his grandmother's involvement in the Culper Spy Ring. Anna's father was Colonel William Smith, son of Henry Smith and grandson of Colonel William Smith, a justice of the supreme court established in New York in 1691. He was clerk of

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populatio ...

and judge of the Common Pleas Court of the county for several years before the American Revolution. Anna's mother was Margaret Lloyd Smith, daughter of Henry Lloyd of Lloyd's Neck.

The Culper Ring

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

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 leade ...

began working with

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 was ...

in the summer of 1778 at the height of 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 t ...

to create what became known as 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 ...

. According to tradition, Anna Strong's role in the ring was to relay signals to a courier who ran a whaleboat across

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

on smuggling and military missions. She did this by hanging a black

petticoat A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress. Its precise meaning varies over centuries and between countries. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', in current British Engl ...

on her clothesline at Strong Point in Setauket, which was easily visible from a boat in the Sound, and also by Woodhull from his nearby farm. She would add a number of handkerchiefs for one of six coves where the courier would bring his boat and Woodhull would meet him. Historian Richard Welch writes that the tradition of the clothesline signal is unverifiable, but it is known that the British suspected a woman at Setauket who fit Anna's profile. Conversely, authors

Brian Kilmeade Brian Kilmeade (born May 7, 1964) is an American television and radio presenter and political commentator for Fox News. On weekdays he co-hosts the morning show, ''Fox & Friends'', and he hosts the Fox News Radio program ''The Brian Kilmeade Sho ...

and Don Yaeger suggest that she was an unlikely candidate to be the woman member of the Culper Ring. They claim that British law provided for lands to be confiscated if left abandoned, and they speculate that this forced Anna to remain on Long Island when her husband left for Connecticut. They further state that she had her children with her and her arrest would have left them parentless. Selah Strong was on Washington's list to be reimbursed for expenses incurred in connection with activities for the Culper Ring. Rose and Phelps speculate that the reimbursement must have been for expenses incurred by Anna, since Selah was imprisoned for much of the relevant time period.

Agent 355

wrote a message to

to say at he would be visiting New York again and, "by the assistance of a adyof my acquaintance, shall be able to outwit them all." Several historians surmise that Anna Strong was the lady identified as "a 355" (Tallmadge's code for the word "lady"). She might have had her own reason to visit New York to see her husband aboard the prison ship where he was confined and to bring him food. If she was the one referred to, her main service on their trips would have been to divert attention from Woodhull. Again, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger suggest that Anna Strong was an unlikely candidate to be the woman member of the Culper Ring. It is speculated by Kilmeade and Yaeger that a young woman connected to a prominent Loyalist family, who was staying in the city with her Tory relations, may also be referred to as "355". This young woman may have even had encounters with Major John André, and was able to retrieve information for the Culper Ring as well.

In popular culture

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 *** ...

's Revolutionary War

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

'' TURN: Washington's Spies'' was based on '' Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring'' (2007) by Alexander Rose.

Heather Lind Heather Lind (born March 22, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Anna Strong in the AMC series '' Turn: Washington's Spies''. She is the twin sister of actress Christina Bennett Lind.

plays Anna Strong in the series. In the show she is depicted as a young woman in her early thirties who has no children of her own. However, she was in her early 40s during this time period and authors state that she had children but they were being cared for elsewhere by her husband, Selah Strong after his release from the prison ship. As Agent 355, she is the namesake for FX's ''Y: The Last Man''.

References

External links