AMC Series “Turn” (Sundays 9/8 Central)

Danger, secrets, intrigue and revenge were all part of the Culper spy ring, and the new AMC series “Turn,” premiering April 6 (Sundays 9/8 central), offers a fascinating look into how these intrepid American spies helped win the Revolutionary War. “Turn” opens in the autumn of 1776 with the British capture of New York City and the surrounding area. Woodhull hopes to stay out of the conflict but British troops occupy Long Island and the king’s soldiers are ever-present.

A minor altercation with a British officer lands Abraham in trouble with Crown authorities, and his father Richard (Kevin R. McNally) lists the Setauket families that support the Rebel cause saying they chose the wrong side. New York City is now a British base and the Americans need spies in the city to report on Crown plans, but as a Continental dragoon commander tells his subordinate, Captain Benjamin Tallmadge, “We have no friends in New York.” The forward-thinking Tallmadge (Seth Numrich) plans to develop a spy ring in the city, and it involves civilians including his boyhood friend, Abraham Woodhull.

Alexander Rose’s excellent book Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring, provided the basis for the series and as Executive Producer Barry Josephson explained in a telephone interview, Rose was integral to production. Working with Rose, the production staff strove for historical truthfulness in everything from plot to set details. The series accurately depicts the major factors that brought the Culper Ring together, such as how the Continental Army had to build an intelligence arm from nothing in the midst of the New York campaign and how Tallmadge formed a spy network with people who knew each other in Setauket.

John Graves Simcoe truly detested the Rebels but some of the significant things that happen with him in the series simply did not occur in real life. The elements I noted above are certainly important to the Culper Ring story but they are not its core. Human interactions were the essence of Revolutionary War spying and that makes “Turn” a character-focused tale.

Robert Rogers and John Graves Simcoe were the bane of Rebels on Long Island, though the series takes some liberties with their roles. As television, this is good watching. Daniel Henshall plays Caleb Brewster with relish, as does MacFayden as Rogers and Samuel Roukin as Simcoe.

Watch More:

Who Wrote Washington’S Spies: The True Story Of America’S First Spy Network?

But I did manage to find time to watch the first season of AMC’s Turn: Washington’s Spies. Given that the average historical TV show is lucky to have more than 25% of its characters be real people, I find myself kinda impressed. It helps that the series is rooted in a specific book, Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies: The True Story of America’s First Spy Network (New York: Bantam, 2007).

That patchwork of Loyalists and Patriots created challenges for men and women trying to live their lives and go about their business. Merchants traveling for business might have to cross the lines between Patriot and Loyalist communities, and Patriot farmers might have to sell their produce to the British Army. The fact that New York City and Long Island were linked through the city’s need for food from the farms and yet the region was not far from Connecticut particularly created an opportunity for Patriots on Long Island to spy on New York City for General Washington, who was badly in need of information about troop movements, preparations for military campaigns, and the like.

Between 1778 and 1781, the Culper Ring had a number of major successes. Abraham Woodhull Abraham Woodhull was a farmer in Setauket who was recruited by Tallmadge in 1778 to act as a spy because selling his produce gave him a good excuse to be heading into New York City occasionally. Anna and Selah Strong In the show, Anna and her husband Selah (Robert Beitzel) run what appears to be a very successful tavern in Setauket, given that they own that tavern, a very large house, and a substantial number of slaves (who seem to be farmhands, suggesting that Selah is also a farmer).

Beyond that, her only known contribution to Woodhull’s espionage was occasionally pretending to be his wife as he traveled to New York City (a man traveling alone was more likely to be suspected of espionage than a husband and wife traveling together). She may have used Tory family connections to get Selah freed from his imprisonment. Afterward, he took the family’s children to Connecticut, while Anna remained on Long Island, probably because if they had both left their house in Setauket, the British authorities could legally have confiscated the property as abandoned.

Benjamin Tallmadge and Caleb Brewster The series is actually pretty faithful to the facts of Tallmadge’s life. So Tallmadge is the one who established the Culper Ring (which, incidentally, was named by Washington, not Woodhull as the show claims). Also note that the attack on the church happened before the establishment of the Culper Ring, not after it.

What Was The Title Of The Original Painting Of George Washington?

Greeting, TURNcoats, and Happy Finale Day! As Season 2 of TURN: Washington’s Spies comes to a close, there are certainly lots of plot points both factual and fictional to reflect upon. In the original painting, titled “The Prayer at Valley Forge,” Washington is meant to be praying to God.

This blog was flooded with questions about whether or not there was any historical basis for Washington having a mental breakdown at Valley Forge, e.g.: “In a recent episode George Washington appeared to have a mental breakdown as he struggled to make a decision. Mary V. Thompson writes: All of the questions you’ve received are basically asking the same thing and would get the same answer. There is no evidence at all that George Washington was dealing any kind of mental breakdown either at Valley Forge, or any other time in his life.

As she did for all eight years of the Revolution, Martha Washington spent the winter at Valley Forge with her husband. This is what Mrs. Washington had to say about that winter after it was over: “…we were sorry that we did not see you at the Camp – there was not much pleasure thar the distress of the army and other difficultys th’o I did not know the cause, the pore General was so unhappy that it distressed me exceedingly.” Again, her husband was unhappy and preoccupied, but nothing worse.

Although the story about Washington praying in the snow at Valley Forge has been discredited, it does seem to me that, if Washington turned to anyone about the terrible months at those winter quarters, it would have been to his God. How it will end, God in his great goodness will direct. We are told that we shall soon get the army completed, but I have been told so many things which have never come to pass, that I distrust every thing.”

George Washington to his favorite brother, John Augustine Washington, December 18, 1776 “You can form no Idea of the perplexity of my Situation. No Man, I believe, ever had a greater choice of difficulties and less means to extricate himself from them. However under a full persuasion of the justice of our Cause I cannot [but think the prospect will brighten, although for a wise purpose it is, at present hid under a cloud] entertain an Idea that it will finally sink tho’ it may remain for some time under a Cloud.”

Providence has heretofore saved us in a remarkable manner, and on this we must principally rely….” —————————————————————————— Mary V. Thompson is a Research Librarian at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington in Mount Vernon, VA. She is currently responsible for research to support programs in all departments at Mount Vernon, with a primary focus on everyday life on the estate. Mary has authored a variety of articles, as well as chapters in a number of books, and entries in encyclopedias.

She was a major contributor to both The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association: 150 Years of Restoring George Washington’s Home and Dining with the Washingtons: Historic Recipes, Entertaining, and Hospitality from Mount Vernon, published by Mount Vernon in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

What Do We Use To Ensure That We Give You The Best Experience On Our Website?

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.

Who Is The Founding Father Of Amc?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The world of espionage has been brought to life by characters such as James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer on film and television, but a new AMC drama is going back to spy origins with America’s own founding father, George Washington. “Turn,” which premieres on Sunday, tells the story of four childhood friends who find themselves pulled together as spies during the height of the American Revolutionary War in 1778 in New York’s Long Island, under the orders of General Washington. The series is based on Alexander Rose’s 2007 book “Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring.”

Abe, played by British actor Jamie Bell, is the symbol of the “everyman,” reluctantly drawn into the Culper Ring because he is forced to stand by his beliefs and try and change the country for the sake of his baby son’s future. “He’s not a hero. He’s not a spy.

He wants the war to disappear. He doesn’t want to be one of these people who wants to step up,” Bell said of his character. “Even though they are muted in the show, his politics are that a man should be in his own country and make decisions for himself.”

While the series is based on true events, not much is known about the real lives of some of these characters, some of whom were uncovered only through their correspondence with Washington, who kept the letters instead of burning them. “We had to take a bit of liberty because there was nothing known about him. We knew he was a farmer and we knew he was terrified, but that’s all we knew,” Bell said of Abe.

Craig Silverstein, executive producer of the series, said he believes AMC Networks Inc found a programming “commonality” with “Turn.” “Before ‘Breaking Bad,’ there wasn’t a show like that, and there really wasn’t anything like ‘Mad Men,’ and there wasn’t anything on TV like the ‘Walking Dead,’” Silverstein said. “There’s nothing on TV like ‘Turn.’

They make their success by taking risks.” The occupation of spying has become glamorized by the likes of the suave James Bond films, Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible” franchise, Jason Bourne in “The Bourne Identity” films and Kiefer Sutherland’s agent Jack Bauer in Fox’s television series “24,” resurrected for a new series this year. But “Turn” goes back to a time when state-of-the-art tradecraft consisted of invisible ink, laundry on washing lines, and dead letter boxes.

“The history of American espionage and spying is such a crucial asset to this country, and this is George Washington trying to figure out how to do it.” With espionage very much in the headlines these days – with U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning convicted of violating the Espionage Act and former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden charged for leaking classified documents to the public – “Turn” resonates in the current debate over spying. “It definitely shows that this is nothing new, that spying is in America’s DNA,” Silverstein said.

Who Did Mel Gibson Kill While Waving A Flag?

Hollywood has not done well by historians of the revolutionary era—and yes, I speak of The Patriot. In that 2000 film, the British sank to such depths of evil that they herded dozens of innocent American women, children, and old men into a church, barred the door, and burned it down. Never mind: it helped motivate the heroic Mel Gibson, the Southern plantation owner whose loyal black field hands were all free (! ), to kill scores of sadistic British soldiers while waving a flag.

“It’s not just that so much of The Patriot is inaccurate and downright offensive, or that its morality is so black and white,” I tried to tell my students last semester. “It’s that the film avoids what is actually interesting about the Revolution.” They looked at me, as they do, with quiet pity.

At a press conference in February in Richmond, Virginia, where much of the filming takes place, executive producer and showrunner Craig Silverstein detailed the show’s emphasis on the moral complexities of the era. “It was a kind of wild and unruly time and was not as flute-and-drum” as some might have it, he explained. Sure, Turn takes liberties with chronology and motivation, but it also draws heavily from Alexander Rose’s compulsively readable Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring (2006) in developing its main story.

The show’s focus on the bonds between comparatively unknown men like Woodhull, Tallmadge, and Brewster heightens the drama. Taken together, the action, gee-whiz historical spy craft, and emotional drama of this series raise the question of why it took so long for someone to transform Rose’s research into a show. Alexander Rose serves as a historical consultant for the show, ­providing the writers with a long list of historical resources that includes Francis Grose’s 1785 publication A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, which, in entertaining fashion, claims to glean its authority from such linguistic experts as “soldiers on the long march, seamen at the cap-stern, ladies disposing of their fish,” and “various choice flowers .

AMC’s 10-episode season of Turn premieres April 6. Alexander Rose, Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring (New York: Bantam Books, 2006), 43. Attribution must provide author name, article title, Perspectives on History, date of publication, and a link to this page.

Danger, secrets, intrigue and revenge were all part of the Culper spy ring, and the new AMC series “Turn,” premiering April 6 (Sundays 9/8 central), offers a fascinating look into how these intrepid American spies helped win the Revolutionary War. “Turn” opens in the autumn of 1776 with the British capture of New York City and the surrounding area. Woodhull hopes to stay out of the conflict but British troops occupy Long Island and the king’s soldiers are ever-present.

A minor altercation with a British officer lands Abraham in trouble with Crown authorities, and his father Richard (Kevin R. McNally) lists the Setauket families that support the Rebel cause saying they chose the wrong side. New York City is now a British base and the Americans need spies in the city to report on Crown plans, but as a Continental dragoon commander tells his subordinate, Captain Benjamin Tallmadge, “We have no friends in New York.” The forward-thinking Tallmadge (Seth Numrich) plans to develop a spy ring in the city, and it involves civilians including his boyhood friend, Abraham Woodhull.

Alexander Rose’s excellent book Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring, provided the basis for the series and as Executive Producer Barry Josephson explained in a telephone interview, Rose was integral to production. Working with Rose, the production staff strove for historical truthfulness in everything from plot to set details. The series accurately depicts the major factors that brought the Culper Ring together, such as how the Continental Army had to build an intelligence arm from nothing in the midst of the New York campaign and how Tallmadge formed a spy network with people who knew each other in Setauket.

John Graves Simcoe truly detested the Rebels but some of the significant things that happen with him in the series simply did not occur in real life. The elements I noted above are certainly important to the Culper Ring story but they are not its core. Human interactions were the essence of Revolutionary War spying and that makes “Turn” a character-focused tale.

Robert Rogers and John Graves Simcoe were the bane of Rebels on Long Island, though the series takes some liberties with their roles. As television, this is good watching. Daniel Henshall plays Caleb Brewster with relish, as does MacFayden as Rogers and Samuel Roukin as Simcoe.

Watch More:

Who Wrote Washington’S Spies: The True Story Of America’S First Spy Network?

But I did manage to find time to watch the first season of AMC’s Turn: Washington’s Spies. Given that the average historical TV show is lucky to have more than 25% of its characters be real people, I find myself kinda impressed. It helps that the series is rooted in a specific book, Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies: The True Story of America’s First Spy Network (New York: Bantam, 2007).

That patchwork of Loyalists and Patriots created challenges for men and women trying to live their lives and go about their business. Merchants traveling for business might have to cross the lines between Patriot and Loyalist communities, and Patriot farmers might have to sell their produce to the British Army. The fact that New York City and Long Island were linked through the city’s need for food from the farms and yet the region was not far from Connecticut particularly created an opportunity for Patriots on Long Island to spy on New York City for General Washington, who was badly in need of information about troop movements, preparations for military campaigns, and the like.

Between 1778 and 1781, the Culper Ring had a number of major successes. Abraham Woodhull Abraham Woodhull was a farmer in Setauket who was recruited by Tallmadge in 1778 to act as a spy because selling his produce gave him a good excuse to be heading into New York City occasionally. Anna and Selah Strong In the show, Anna and her husband Selah (Robert Beitzel) run what appears to be a very successful tavern in Setauket, given that they own that tavern, a very large house, and a substantial number of slaves (who seem to be farmhands, suggesting that Selah is also a farmer).

Beyond that, her only known contribution to Woodhull’s espionage was occasionally pretending to be his wife as he traveled to New York City (a man traveling alone was more likely to be suspected of espionage than a husband and wife traveling together). She may have used Tory family connections to get Selah freed from his imprisonment. Afterward, he took the family’s children to Connecticut, while Anna remained on Long Island, probably because if they had both left their house in Setauket, the British authorities could legally have confiscated the property as abandoned.

Benjamin Tallmadge and Caleb Brewster The series is actually pretty faithful to the facts of Tallmadge’s life. So Tallmadge is the one who established the Culper Ring (which, incidentally, was named by Washington, not Woodhull as the show claims). Also note that the attack on the church happened before the establishment of the Culper Ring, not after it.

What Was The Title Of The Original Painting Of George Washington?

Greeting, TURNcoats, and Happy Finale Day! As Season 2 of TURN: Washington’s Spies comes to a close, there are certainly lots of plot points both factual and fictional to reflect upon. In the original painting, titled “The Prayer at Valley Forge,” Washington is meant to be praying to God.

This blog was flooded with questions about whether or not there was any historical basis for Washington having a mental breakdown at Valley Forge, e.g.: “In a recent episode George Washington appeared to have a mental breakdown as he struggled to make a decision. Mary V. Thompson writes: All of the questions you’ve received are basically asking the same thing and would get the same answer. There is no evidence at all that George Washington was dealing any kind of mental breakdown either at Valley Forge, or any other time in his life.

As she did for all eight years of the Revolution, Martha Washington spent the winter at Valley Forge with her husband. This is what Mrs. Washington had to say about that winter after it was over: “…we were sorry that we did not see you at the Camp – there was not much pleasure thar the distress of the army and other difficultys th’o I did not know the cause, the pore General was so unhappy that it distressed me exceedingly.” Again, her husband was unhappy and preoccupied, but nothing worse.

Although the story about Washington praying in the snow at Valley Forge has been discredited, it does seem to me that, if Washington turned to anyone about the terrible months at those winter quarters, it would have been to his God. How it will end, God in his great goodness will direct. We are told that we shall soon get the army completed, but I have been told so many things which have never come to pass, that I distrust every thing.”

George Washington to his favorite brother, John Augustine Washington, December 18, 1776 “You can form no Idea of the perplexity of my Situation. No Man, I believe, ever had a greater choice of difficulties and less means to extricate himself from them. However under a full persuasion of the justice of our Cause I cannot [but think the prospect will brighten, although for a wise purpose it is, at present hid under a cloud] entertain an Idea that it will finally sink tho’ it may remain for some time under a Cloud.”

Providence has heretofore saved us in a remarkable manner, and on this we must principally rely….” —————————————————————————— Mary V. Thompson is a Research Librarian at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington in Mount Vernon, VA. She is currently responsible for research to support programs in all departments at Mount Vernon, with a primary focus on everyday life on the estate. Mary has authored a variety of articles, as well as chapters in a number of books, and entries in encyclopedias.

She was a major contributor to both The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association: 150 Years of Restoring George Washington’s Home and Dining with the Washingtons: Historic Recipes, Entertaining, and Hospitality from Mount Vernon, published by Mount Vernon in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

What Do We Use To Ensure That We Give You The Best Experience On Our Website?

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.

Who Is The Founding Father Of Amc?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The world of espionage has been brought to life by characters such as James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer on film and television, but a new AMC drama is going back to spy origins with America’s own founding father, George Washington. “Turn,” which premieres on Sunday, tells the story of four childhood friends who find themselves pulled together as spies during the height of the American Revolutionary War in 1778 in New York’s Long Island, under the orders of General Washington. The series is based on Alexander Rose’s 2007 book “Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring.”

Abe, played by British actor Jamie Bell, is the symbol of the “everyman,” reluctantly drawn into the Culper Ring because he is forced to stand by his beliefs and try and change the country for the sake of his baby son’s future. “He’s not a hero. He’s not a spy.

He wants the war to disappear. He doesn’t want to be one of these people who wants to step up,” Bell said of his character. “Even though they are muted in the show, his politics are that a man should be in his own country and make decisions for himself.”

While the series is based on true events, not much is known about the real lives of some of these characters, some of whom were uncovered only through their correspondence with Washington, who kept the letters instead of burning them. “We had to take a bit of liberty because there was nothing known about him. We knew he was a farmer and we knew he was terrified, but that’s all we knew,” Bell said of Abe.

Craig Silverstein, executive producer of the series, said he believes AMC Networks Inc found a programming “commonality” with “Turn.” “Before ‘Breaking Bad,’ there wasn’t a show like that, and there really wasn’t anything like ‘Mad Men,’ and there wasn’t anything on TV like the ‘Walking Dead,’” Silverstein said. “There’s nothing on TV like ‘Turn.’

They make their success by taking risks.” The occupation of spying has become glamorized by the likes of the suave James Bond films, Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible” franchise, Jason Bourne in “The Bourne Identity” films and Kiefer Sutherland’s agent Jack Bauer in Fox’s television series “24,” resurrected for a new series this year. But “Turn” goes back to a time when state-of-the-art tradecraft consisted of invisible ink, laundry on washing lines, and dead letter boxes.

“The history of American espionage and spying is such a crucial asset to this country, and this is George Washington trying to figure out how to do it.” With espionage very much in the headlines these days – with U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning convicted of violating the Espionage Act and former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden charged for leaking classified documents to the public – “Turn” resonates in the current debate over spying. “It definitely shows that this is nothing new, that spying is in America’s DNA,” Silverstein said.

Who Did Mel Gibson Kill While Waving A Flag?

Hollywood has not done well by historians of the revolutionary era—and yes, I speak of The Patriot. In that 2000 film, the British sank to such depths of evil that they herded dozens of innocent American women, children, and old men into a church, barred the door, and burned it down. Never mind: it helped motivate the heroic Mel Gibson, the Southern plantation owner whose loyal black field hands were all free (! ), to kill scores of sadistic British soldiers while waving a flag.

“It’s not just that so much of The Patriot is inaccurate and downright offensive, or that its morality is so black and white,” I tried to tell my students last semester. “It’s that the film avoids what is actually interesting about the Revolution.” They looked at me, as they do, with quiet pity.

At a press conference in February in Richmond, Virginia, where much of the filming takes place, executive producer and showrunner Craig Silverstein detailed the show’s emphasis on the moral complexities of the era. “It was a kind of wild and unruly time and was not as flute-and-drum” as some might have it, he explained. Sure, Turn takes liberties with chronology and motivation, but it also draws heavily from Alexander Rose’s compulsively readable Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring (2006) in developing its main story.

The show’s focus on the bonds between comparatively unknown men like Woodhull, Tallmadge, and Brewster heightens the drama. Taken together, the action, gee-whiz historical spy craft, and emotional drama of this series raise the question of why it took so long for someone to transform Rose’s research into a show. Alexander Rose serves as a historical consultant for the show, ­providing the writers with a long list of historical resources that includes Francis Grose’s 1785 publication A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, which, in entertaining fashion, claims to glean its authority from such linguistic experts as “soldiers on the long march, seamen at the cap-stern, ladies disposing of their fish,” and “various choice flowers .

AMC’s 10-episode season of Turn premieres April 6. Alexander Rose, Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring (New York: Bantam Books, 2006), 43. Attribution must provide author name, article title, Perspectives on History, date of publication, and a link to this page.

Danger, secrets, intrigue and revenge were all part of the Culper spy ring, and the new AMC series “Turn,” premiering April 6 (Sundays 9/8 central), offers a fascinating look into how these intrepid American spies helped win the Revolutionary War. “Turn” opens in the autumn of 1776 with the British capture of New York City and the surrounding area. Woodhull hopes to stay out of the conflict but British troops occupy Long Island and the king’s soldiers are ever-present.

A minor altercation with a British officer lands Abraham in trouble with Crown authorities, and his father Richard (Kevin R. McNally) lists the Setauket families that support the Rebel cause saying they chose the wrong side. New York City is now a British base and the Americans need spies in the city to report on Crown plans, but as a Continental dragoon commander tells his subordinate, Captain Benjamin Tallmadge, “We have no friends in New York.” The forward-thinking Tallmadge (Seth Numrich) plans to develop a spy ring in the city, and it involves civilians including his boyhood friend, Abraham Woodhull.

Alexander Rose’s excellent book Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring, provided the basis for the series and as Executive Producer Barry Josephson explained in a telephone interview, Rose was integral to production. Working with Rose, the production staff strove for historical truthfulness in everything from plot to set details. The series accurately depicts the major factors that brought the Culper Ring together, such as how the Continental Army had to build an intelligence arm from nothing in the midst of the New York campaign and how Tallmadge formed a spy network with people who knew each other in Setauket.

John Graves Simcoe truly detested the Rebels but some of the significant things that happen with him in the series simply did not occur in real life. The elements I noted above are certainly important to the Culper Ring story but they are not its core. Human interactions were the essence of Revolutionary War spying and that makes “Turn” a character-focused tale.

Robert Rogers and John Graves Simcoe were the bane of Rebels on Long Island, though the series takes some liberties with their roles. As television, this is good watching. Daniel Henshall plays Caleb Brewster with relish, as does MacFayden as Rogers and Samuel Roukin as Simcoe.

Watch More:

Who Wrote Washington’S Spies: The True Story Of America’S First Spy Network?

But I did manage to find time to watch the first season of AMC’s Turn: Washington’s Spies. Given that the average historical TV show is lucky to have more than 25% of its characters be real people, I find myself kinda impressed. It helps that the series is rooted in a specific book, Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies: The True Story of America’s First Spy Network (New York: Bantam, 2007).

That patchwork of Loyalists and Patriots created challenges for men and women trying to live their lives and go about their business. Merchants traveling for business might have to cross the lines between Patriot and Loyalist communities, and Patriot farmers might have to sell their produce to the British Army. The fact that New York City and Long Island were linked through the city’s need for food from the farms and yet the region was not far from Connecticut particularly created an opportunity for Patriots on Long Island to spy on New York City for General Washington, who was badly in need of information about troop movements, preparations for military campaigns, and the like.

Between 1778 and 1781, the Culper Ring had a number of major successes. Abraham Woodhull Abraham Woodhull was a farmer in Setauket who was recruited by Tallmadge in 1778 to act as a spy because selling his produce gave him a good excuse to be heading into New York City occasionally. Anna and Selah Strong In the show, Anna and her husband Selah (Robert Beitzel) run what appears to be a very successful tavern in Setauket, given that they own that tavern, a very large house, and a substantial number of slaves (who seem to be farmhands, suggesting that Selah is also a farmer).

Beyond that, her only known contribution to Woodhull’s espionage was occasionally pretending to be his wife as he traveled to New York City (a man traveling alone was more likely to be suspected of espionage than a husband and wife traveling together). She may have used Tory family connections to get Selah freed from his imprisonment. Afterward, he took the family’s children to Connecticut, while Anna remained on Long Island, probably because if they had both left their house in Setauket, the British authorities could legally have confiscated the property as abandoned.

Benjamin Tallmadge and Caleb Brewster The series is actually pretty faithful to the facts of Tallmadge’s life. So Tallmadge is the one who established the Culper Ring (which, incidentally, was named by Washington, not Woodhull as the show claims). Also note that the attack on the church happened before the establishment of the Culper Ring, not after it.

What Was The Title Of The Original Painting Of George Washington?

Greeting, TURNcoats, and Happy Finale Day! As Season 2 of TURN: Washington’s Spies comes to a close, there are certainly lots of plot points both factual and fictional to reflect upon. In the original painting, titled “The Prayer at Valley Forge,” Washington is meant to be praying to God.

This blog was flooded with questions about whether or not there was any historical basis for Washington having a mental breakdown at Valley Forge, e.g.: “In a recent episode George Washington appeared to have a mental breakdown as he struggled to make a decision. Mary V. Thompson writes: All of the questions you’ve received are basically asking the same thing and would get the same answer. There is no evidence at all that George Washington was dealing any kind of mental breakdown either at Valley Forge, or any other time in his life.

As she did for all eight years of the Revolution, Martha Washington spent the winter at Valley Forge with her husband. This is what Mrs. Washington had to say about that winter after it was over: “…we were sorry that we did not see you at the Camp – there was not much pleasure thar the distress of the army and other difficultys th’o I did not know the cause, the pore General was so unhappy that it distressed me exceedingly.” Again, her husband was unhappy and preoccupied, but nothing worse.

Although the story about Washington praying in the snow at Valley Forge has been discredited, it does seem to me that, if Washington turned to anyone about the terrible months at those winter quarters, it would have been to his God. How it will end, God in his great goodness will direct. We are told that we shall soon get the army completed, but I have been told so many things which have never come to pass, that I distrust every thing.”

George Washington to his favorite brother, John Augustine Washington, December 18, 1776 “You can form no Idea of the perplexity of my Situation. No Man, I believe, ever had a greater choice of difficulties and less means to extricate himself from them. However under a full persuasion of the justice of our Cause I cannot [but think the prospect will brighten, although for a wise purpose it is, at present hid under a cloud] entertain an Idea that it will finally sink tho’ it may remain for some time under a Cloud.”

Providence has heretofore saved us in a remarkable manner, and on this we must principally rely….” —————————————————————————— Mary V. Thompson is a Research Librarian at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington in Mount Vernon, VA. She is currently responsible for research to support programs in all departments at Mount Vernon, with a primary focus on everyday life on the estate. Mary has authored a variety of articles, as well as chapters in a number of books, and entries in encyclopedias.

She was a major contributor to both The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association: 150 Years of Restoring George Washington’s Home and Dining with the Washingtons: Historic Recipes, Entertaining, and Hospitality from Mount Vernon, published by Mount Vernon in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

What Do We Use To Ensure That We Give You The Best Experience On Our Website?

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Who Is The Founding Father Of Amc?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The world of espionage has been brought to life by characters such as James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer on film and television, but a new AMC drama is going back to spy origins with America’s own founding father, George Washington. “Turn,” which premieres on Sunday, tells the story of four childhood friends who find themselves pulled together as spies during the height of the American Revolutionary War in 1778 in New York’s Long Island, under the orders of General Washington. The series is based on Alexander Rose’s 2007 book “Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring.”

Abe, played by British actor Jamie Bell, is the symbol of the “everyman,” reluctantly drawn into the Culper Ring because he is forced to stand by his beliefs and try and change the country for the sake of his baby son’s future. “He’s not a hero. He’s not a spy.

He wants the war to disappear. He doesn’t want to be one of these people who wants to step up,” Bell said of his character. “Even though they are muted in the show, his politics are that a man should be in his own country and make decisions for himself.”

While the series is based on true events, not much is known about the real lives of some of these characters, some of whom were uncovered only through their correspondence with Washington, who kept the letters instead of burning them. “We had to take a bit of liberty because there was nothing known about him. We knew he was a farmer and we knew he was terrified, but that’s all we knew,” Bell said of Abe.

Craig Silverstein, executive producer of the series, said he believes AMC Networks Inc found a programming “commonality” with “Turn.” “Before ‘Breaking Bad,’ there wasn’t a show like that, and there really wasn’t anything like ‘Mad Men,’ and there wasn’t anything on TV like the ‘Walking Dead,’” Silverstein said. “There’s nothing on TV like ‘Turn.’

They make their success by taking risks.” The occupation of spying has become glamorized by the likes of the suave James Bond films, Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible” franchise, Jason Bourne in “The Bourne Identity” films and Kiefer Sutherland’s agent Jack Bauer in Fox’s television series “24,” resurrected for a new series this year. But “Turn” goes back to a time when state-of-the-art tradecraft consisted of invisible ink, laundry on washing lines, and dead letter boxes.

“The history of American espionage and spying is such a crucial asset to this country, and this is George Washington trying to figure out how to do it.” With espionage very much in the headlines these days – with U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning convicted of violating the Espionage Act and former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden charged for leaking classified documents to the public – “Turn” resonates in the current debate over spying. “It definitely shows that this is nothing new, that spying is in America’s DNA,” Silverstein said.

Who Did Mel Gibson Kill While Waving A Flag?

Hollywood has not done well by historians of the revolutionary era—and yes, I speak of The Patriot. In that 2000 film, the British sank to such depths of evil that they herded dozens of innocent American women, children, and old men into a church, barred the door, and burned it down. Never mind: it helped motivate the heroic Mel Gibson, the Southern plantation owner whose loyal black field hands were all free (! ), to kill scores of sadistic British soldiers while waving a flag.

“It’s not just that so much of The Patriot is inaccurate and downright offensive, or that its morality is so black and white,” I tried to tell my students last semester. “It’s that the film avoids what is actually interesting about the Revolution.” They looked at me, as they do, with quiet pity.

At a press conference in February in Richmond, Virginia, where much of the filming takes place, executive producer and showrunner Craig Silverstein detailed the show’s emphasis on the moral complexities of the era. “It was a kind of wild and unruly time and was not as flute-and-drum” as some might have it, he explained. Sure, Turn takes liberties with chronology and motivation, but it also draws heavily from Alexander Rose’s compulsively readable Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring (2006) in developing its main story.

The show’s focus on the bonds between comparatively unknown men like Woodhull, Tallmadge, and Brewster heightens the drama. Taken together, the action, gee-whiz historical spy craft, and emotional drama of this series raise the question of why it took so long for someone to transform Rose’s research into a show. Alexander Rose serves as a historical consultant for the show, ­providing the writers with a long list of historical resources that includes Francis Grose’s 1785 publication A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, which, in entertaining fashion, claims to glean its authority from such linguistic experts as “soldiers on the long march, seamen at the cap-stern, ladies disposing of their fish,” and “various choice flowers .

AMC’s 10-episode season of Turn premieres April 6. Alexander Rose, Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring (New York: Bantam Books, 2006), 43. Attribution must provide author name, article title, Perspectives on History, date of publication, and a link to this page.

Danger, secrets, intrigue and revenge were all part of the Culper spy ring, and the new AMC series “Turn,” premiering April 6 (Sundays 9/8 central), offers a fascinating look into how these intrepid American spies helped win the Revolutionary War. “Turn” opens in the autumn of 1776 with the British capture of New York City and the surrounding area. Woodhull hopes to stay out of the conflict but British troops occupy Long Island and the king’s soldiers are ever-present.

A minor altercation with a British officer lands Abraham in trouble with Crown authorities, and his father Richard (Kevin R. McNally) lists the Setauket families that support the Rebel cause saying they chose the wrong side. New York City is now a British base and the Americans need spies in the city to report on Crown plans, but as a Continental dragoon commander tells his subordinate, Captain Benjamin Tallmadge, “We have no friends in New York.” The forward-thinking Tallmadge (Seth Numrich) plans to develop a spy ring in the city, and it involves civilians including his boyhood friend, Abraham Woodhull.

Alexander Rose’s excellent book Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring, provided the basis for the series and as Executive Producer Barry Josephson explained in a telephone interview, Rose was integral to production. Working with Rose, the production staff strove for historical truthfulness in everything from plot to set details. The series accurately depicts the major factors that brought the Culper Ring together, such as how the Continental Army had to build an intelligence arm from nothing in the midst of the New York campaign and how Tallmadge formed a spy network with people who knew each other in Setauket.

John Graves Simcoe truly detested the Rebels but some of the significant things that happen with him in the series simply did not occur in real life. The elements I noted above are certainly important to the Culper Ring story but they are not its core. Human interactions were the essence of Revolutionary War spying and that makes “Turn” a character-focused tale.

Robert Rogers and John Graves Simcoe were the bane of Rebels on Long Island, though the series takes some liberties with their roles. As television, this is good watching. Daniel Henshall plays Caleb Brewster with relish, as does MacFayden as Rogers and Samuel Roukin as Simcoe.

Watch More:

Who Wrote Washington’S Spies: The True Story Of America’S First Spy Network?

But I did manage to find time to watch the first season of AMC’s Turn: Washington’s Spies. Given that the average historical TV show is lucky to have more than 25% of its characters be real people, I find myself kinda impressed. It helps that the series is rooted in a specific book, Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies: The True Story of America’s First Spy Network (New York: Bantam, 2007).

That patchwork of Loyalists and Patriots created challenges for men and women trying to live their lives and go about their business. Merchants traveling for business might have to cross the lines between Patriot and Loyalist communities, and Patriot farmers might have to sell their produce to the British Army. The fact that New York City and Long Island were linked through the city’s need for food from the farms and yet the region was not far from Connecticut particularly created an opportunity for Patriots on Long Island to spy on New York City for General Washington, who was badly in need of information about troop movements, preparations for military campaigns, and the like.

Between 1778 and 1781, the Culper Ring had a number of major successes. Abraham Woodhull Abraham Woodhull was a farmer in Setauket who was recruited by Tallmadge in 1778 to act as a spy because selling his produce gave him a good excuse to be heading into New York City occasionally. Anna and Selah Strong In the show, Anna and her husband Selah (Robert Beitzel) run what appears to be a very successful tavern in Setauket, given that they own that tavern, a very large house, and a substantial number of slaves (who seem to be farmhands, suggesting that Selah is also a farmer).

Beyond that, her only known contribution to Woodhull’s espionage was occasionally pretending to be his wife as he traveled to New York City (a man traveling alone was more likely to be suspected of espionage than a husband and wife traveling together). She may have used Tory family connections to get Selah freed from his imprisonment. Afterward, he took the family’s children to Connecticut, while Anna remained on Long Island, probably because if they had both left their house in Setauket, the British authorities could legally have confiscated the property as abandoned.

Benjamin Tallmadge and Caleb Brewster The series is actually pretty faithful to the facts of Tallmadge’s life. So Tallmadge is the one who established the Culper Ring (which, incidentally, was named by Washington, not Woodhull as the show claims). Also note that the attack on the church happened before the establishment of the Culper Ring, not after it.

What Was The Title Of The Original Painting Of George Washington?

Greeting, TURNcoats, and Happy Finale Day! As Season 2 of TURN: Washington’s Spies comes to a close, there are certainly lots of plot points both factual and fictional to reflect upon. In the original painting, titled “The Prayer at Valley Forge,” Washington is meant to be praying to God.

This blog was flooded with questions about whether or not there was any historical basis for Washington having a mental breakdown at Valley Forge, e.g.: “In a recent episode George Washington appeared to have a mental breakdown as he struggled to make a decision. Mary V. Thompson writes: All of the questions you’ve received are basically asking the same thing and would get the same answer. There is no evidence at all that George Washington was dealing any kind of mental breakdown either at Valley Forge, or any other time in his life.

As she did for all eight years of the Revolution, Martha Washington spent the winter at Valley Forge with her husband. This is what Mrs. Washington had to say about that winter after it was over: “…we were sorry that we did not see you at the Camp – there was not much pleasure thar the distress of the army and other difficultys th’o I did not know the cause, the pore General was so unhappy that it distressed me exceedingly.” Again, her husband was unhappy and preoccupied, but nothing worse.

Although the story about Washington praying in the snow at Valley Forge has been discredited, it does seem to me that, if Washington turned to anyone about the terrible months at those winter quarters, it would have been to his God. How it will end, God in his great goodness will direct. We are told that we shall soon get the army completed, but I have been told so many things which have never come to pass, that I distrust every thing.”

George Washington to his favorite brother, John Augustine Washington, December 18, 1776 “You can form no Idea of the perplexity of my Situation. No Man, I believe, ever had a greater choice of difficulties and less means to extricate himself from them. However under a full persuasion of the justice of our Cause I cannot [but think the prospect will brighten, although for a wise purpose it is, at present hid under a cloud] entertain an Idea that it will finally sink tho’ it may remain for some time under a Cloud.”

Providence has heretofore saved us in a remarkable manner, and on this we must principally rely….” —————————————————————————— Mary V. Thompson is a Research Librarian at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington in Mount Vernon, VA. She is currently responsible for research to support programs in all departments at Mount Vernon, with a primary focus on everyday life on the estate. Mary has authored a variety of articles, as well as chapters in a number of books, and entries in encyclopedias.

She was a major contributor to both The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association: 150 Years of Restoring George Washington’s Home and Dining with the Washingtons: Historic Recipes, Entertaining, and Hospitality from Mount Vernon, published by Mount Vernon in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

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Who Is The Founding Father Of Amc?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The world of espionage has been brought to life by characters such as James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer on film and television, but a new AMC drama is going back to spy origins with America’s own founding father, George Washington. “Turn,” which premieres on Sunday, tells the story of four childhood friends who find themselves pulled together as spies during the height of the American Revolutionary War in 1778 in New York’s Long Island, under the orders of General Washington. The series is based on Alexander Rose’s 2007 book “Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring.”

Abe, played by British actor Jamie Bell, is the symbol of the “everyman,” reluctantly drawn into the Culper Ring because he is forced to stand by his beliefs and try and change the country for the sake of his baby son’s future. “He’s not a hero. He’s not a spy.

He wants the war to disappear. He doesn’t want to be one of these people who wants to step up,” Bell said of his character. “Even though they are muted in the show, his politics are that a man should be in his own country and make decisions for himself.”

While the series is based on true events, not much is known about the real lives of some of these characters, some of whom were uncovered only through their correspondence with Washington, who kept the letters instead of burning them. “We had to take a bit of liberty because there was nothing known about him. We knew he was a farmer and we knew he was terrified, but that’s all we knew,” Bell said of Abe.

Craig Silverstein, executive producer of the series, said he believes AMC Networks Inc found a programming “commonality” with “Turn.” “Before ‘Breaking Bad,’ there wasn’t a show like that, and there really wasn’t anything like ‘Mad Men,’ and there wasn’t anything on TV like the ‘Walking Dead,’” Silverstein said. “There’s nothing on TV like ‘Turn.’

They make their success by taking risks.” The occupation of spying has become glamorized by the likes of the suave James Bond films, Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible” franchise, Jason Bourne in “The Bourne Identity” films and Kiefer Sutherland’s agent Jack Bauer in Fox’s television series “24,” resurrected for a new series this year. But “Turn” goes back to a time when state-of-the-art tradecraft consisted of invisible ink, laundry on washing lines, and dead letter boxes.

“The history of American espionage and spying is such a crucial asset to this country, and this is George Washington trying to figure out how to do it.” With espionage very much in the headlines these days – with U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning convicted of violating the Espionage Act and former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden charged for leaking classified documents to the public – “Turn” resonates in the current debate over spying. “It definitely shows that this is nothing new, that spying is in America’s DNA,” Silverstein said.

Who Did Mel Gibson Kill While Waving A Flag?

Hollywood has not done well by historians of the revolutionary era—and yes, I speak of The Patriot. In that 2000 film, the British sank to such depths of evil that they herded dozens of innocent American women, children, and old men into a church, barred the door, and burned it down. Never mind: it helped motivate the heroic Mel Gibson, the Southern plantation owner whose loyal black field hands were all free (! ), to kill scores of sadistic British soldiers while waving a flag.

“It’s not just that so much of The Patriot is inaccurate and downright offensive, or that its morality is so black and white,” I tried to tell my students last semester. “It’s that the film avoids what is actually interesting about the Revolution.” They looked at me, as they do, with quiet pity.

At a press conference in February in Richmond, Virginia, where much of the filming takes place, executive producer and showrunner Craig Silverstein detailed the show’s emphasis on the moral complexities of the era. “It was a kind of wild and unruly time and was not as flute-and-drum” as some might have it, he explained. Sure, Turn takes liberties with chronology and motivation, but it also draws heavily from Alexander Rose’s compulsively readable Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring (2006) in developing its main story.

The show’s focus on the bonds between comparatively unknown men like Woodhull, Tallmadge, and Brewster heightens the drama. Taken together, the action, gee-whiz historical spy craft, and emotional drama of this series raise the question of why it took so long for someone to transform Rose’s research into a show. Alexander Rose serves as a historical consultant for the show, ­providing the writers with a long list of historical resources that includes Francis Grose’s 1785 publication A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, which, in entertaining fashion, claims to glean its authority from such linguistic experts as “soldiers on the long march, seamen at the cap-stern, ladies disposing of their fish,” and “various choice flowers .

AMC’s 10-episode season of Turn premieres April 6. Alexander Rose, Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring (New York: Bantam Books, 2006), 43. Attribution must provide author name, article title, Perspectives on History, date of publication, and a link to this page.