Benjamin Tallmadge
| Benjamin Tallmadge | |
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 Benjamin Tallmadge portrait by artist Ezra Ames |
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| Born | February 11, 1754 Setauket or Brookhaven, New York |
| Died | March 7, 1835 (aged 81) Litchfield, Connecticut |
Benjamin Tallmadge (February 11, 1754 – March 7, 1835) was a member of the United States House of Representatives. His birth date is alternately listed as February 25, 1754.[1][dubious ]
Tallmadge, the son of a clergyman, may have been born in Setauket, New York, or Brookhaven, New York a town on Long Island.[1][2] Tallmadge graduated from Yale college in 1773, and was a classmate of American Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale.[3]
From 1773-1776 Tallmadge was the superintendent of Wethersfield High School.[2]
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[edit] American Revolutionary War
Tallmadge was a major in the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons. He was initially commissioned on June 20, 1776.[2] Eventually, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and became the chief intelligence officer for George Washington. He organized the Culper Spy Ring based out of New York City and Long Island during the American Revolutionary War, which is rumored to have revealed the betrayal of Benedict Arnold, though this is disputed. There is actually very little evidence to prove that Tallmadge had heard from a spy in New York City about the Arnold-André plot. However, it would have been easy for Tallmadge to suspect that Arnold was up to no good, since Arnold had arranged to meet Anderson (Major John André's alias at the time) and Anderson was carrying military secrets back to New York City. The only thing Tallmadge could do was to persuade Jameson to recall lieutenant Allen who was already on his way to deliver the prisoner André into Arnold's custody. However, Tallmadge was unable to dissuade Jameson from informing Arnold of Major André's arrest. Tallmadge's suspicion of Arnold's treachery may not have been strong enough as Jameson later reported in a letter to Washington that neither Tallmadge nor other officers he consulted raised any objections to sending lieutenant Allen with a message to Arnold saying André was now in Jameson's custody.[4]
After Benedict Arnold's British contact, John André, was caught, he was taken to North Castle, where the commander, Colonel Jameson, ordered his Lieutenant, Allen, to take a note and the incriminating documents found with André to their commander, Benedict Arnold, at West Point. Tallmadge, suspecting André to be a spy, and Benedict Arnold to be his accomplice, tried to have Jameson reverse his orders. He was unsuccessful, but did convince Jameson to send a rider and take Andre to Salem, eight miles east of the Hudson River, and to send the documents to George Washington. Lt. Allen was still to report to Benedict Arnold with Jameson's note outlining the events. Later, Jameson was chastised by Washington for warning Arnold and allowing his escape. André was placed in Tallmadge's custody until André's execution.
On November 21, 1780, Tallmadge and his dragoons rowed across the Long Island Sound from Fairfield, Connecticut to Mt. Sinai, New York. The next day they proceeded to the south shore where they captured and burned down Manor St. George, which the British turned into a fort, and captured the soldiers within. On their march back to Mt. Sinai, Tallmadge stopped in Coram and ordered the burning of 300 tons of hay which the British had been stockpiling for the winter. George Washington, on hearing the news, sent the following letter to Tallmadge:
I have received with much pleasure the report of your successful enterprise upon fort St. George, and was pleased with the destruction of the hay at Coram, which must be severely felt by the enemy at this time. I beg you to accept my thanks for your spirited execution of this business.[5]
The Tallmadge Trail is marked along the route Tallmadge and his dragoons took from Mt. Sinai to Mastic Heights.
[edit] After War Years
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After the war, Tallmadge married one of the daughters of William Floyd, settled in Connecticut. In 1783 Tallmadge settled in Litchfield, Connecticut. He was appointed the town's postmaster in 1792.[2]
Tallmadge was the first president of the Phoenix Branch Bank. He served first as treasurer and eventually as secretary of the Society of the Cincinnati.
He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1801-1817. He was a member of the Federalist Party. This meant that during his entire congressional career he was part of the party that was in the minority. In 1816 he declined to be run for reelection.
Tradition has it that Tallmadge was considered one of the most handsome men of the American Revolution.
Tallmadge died in Litchfield, Connecticut on March 7, 1835.[6] He was interred in East Cemetery.
Tallmadge, Ohio is named after Benjamin Tallmadge.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b Tallmadue, Benjamin: Soldier Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, Vol. VI, pg.25, D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1889. Retrieved online at the Internet Archive 2009-05-14. Note: the scanned text at the Internet Archive includes a typo error, listing his name as 'Tallmadue, Benjamin, soldier'
- ^ a b c d TALLMADGE, Benjamin - Biographical Information
- ^ Nathan Hale
- ^ Van Doren, Carl (1969). Secret History of the American Revolution. Popular Library. p. 341. LCCN 41-24478.
- ^ Bayles, Thomas R. "The Early Years in Middle Island, Coram, Yaphank, and Ridge." Ed. Suzanne Johnson. Middle Island, NY: Longwood Public Library, 1989.
- ^ Benson John Lossing, ed. Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (vol. 9) (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1912)
[edit] Further reading
- Benjamin Tallmadge, Memoir of Col. Benjamin Tallmadge (Reprint Services Corporation, 1858) ISBN 0-7812-8377-9
- Charles Swain Hall, Benjamin Tallmadge: Revolutionary Soldier and American Businessman (Columbia University Press, 1943)
