James Rivington was an English-born American journalist who published a Loyalist newspaper in the American colonies called Rivington's Gazette. He was driven out of New York by the Sons of Liberty, but was very likely a member of the American Culper Spy Ring, which provided the Continental Army with military intelligence from British-occupied New York.
James Rivington
Title page of Alexander Hamilton's A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress, printed by Rivington in 1774
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 George Washington and taken from Culpeper County, Virginia. The leaders of the spy ring were Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend, using the aliases of "Samuel Culper Sr." and "Samuel Culper Jr.", respectively; Tallmadge was referred to as "John Bolton".
Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, leader of the Culper Ring, in a 1790 portrait with his son William
Historic marker for the former Roe Tavern on New York State Route 25A in East Setauket, New York.
Raynham Hall, the Oyster Bay, New York home of Robert Townsend, is now a museum
A page from the Culper Ring's code book, with noteworthy people and place names listed side by side with numerical representations
