During the denouement of the women - labor spy thrillerThe 355(2022 ) , Jessica Chastain ’s case , Mason , ultimately explains the import of the number355 : It ’s a nod to the codename of a female spy who servedGeorge Washingtonthroughout theAmerican Revolution . According to Mason , she was n’t called “ Agent 355 ” because nobody knew her name , as mass take on , but rather , because “ they just did n’t want the world to know it . ”
But the story behind this anonymous agent is a footling more tenuous — and even more mysterious — than Mason propose .
The Code of the Culper Spy Ring
In November 1778 , more than three eld into the Revolutionary War , George WashingtontaskedMajor Benjamin Tallmadge with mold a mysterious inspection and repair that could spot on British operation in New York City . Tallmadge was from Setauket , a little village on Long Island , and it was there that he established hisCulper Spy Ring . ( Culperwas a shortness ofCulpeper , a Virginia county where a teenage Washington had once ferment . )
Many of Tallmadge ’s recruits were supporter and acquaintances from Setauket , admit his boyhood sidekick Abraham Woodhull , sailor Caleb Brewster , and tavern owner Austin Roe . Robert Townsend , a merchant from Oyster Bay , was another major role player . sure Culper undercover agent took regular trip to Manhattan to glean intel , while others ferried their letter to Tallmadge in Fairfield , Connecticut , where they ’d get send on to Washington himself .
Most of the private eye had false name : Tallmadge was John Bolton ; Woodhull was Samuel Culper ; and Townsend was Samuel Culper , Jr. Tallmadge also devised anextensive codethat substitute turn for sure words—763 in sum , along with a jumbled ABCs key so the spy could spell out out terms that were n’t already give a number .
On August 15 , 1779 , Woodhullpenned a letterto Tallmadge explaining that the British were open all the mail that entered New York and seemed to know about the Culper Ring ’s courier route . And thenhe said this : “ I intend to chat 727 before long and think by the help of a 355 of my acquaintance , shall be able to outwit them all . ”
727was computer code forNew York , and355waslady . In other news , Woodhull was heading to the city , where a female confidante would help the ring evade enemy surveillance . That cite of355 — the only metre the number was used in surviving correspondence — deliver the legend of “ Agent 355 . ”
More Than One 355
The Culper spies ’ aliases were attached to code phone number — John Bolton , for case , was 721 ; and Samuel Culper was 722 . So it ’s not surprising that mass have jumped to the conclusion that 355 was also a specific agentive role . But establish on the codebook — supported by Woodhull ’s use of “ a355 , ” rather than “ 355”—it seems clear that she was n’t .
That ’s not to say we ca n’t infer anything from these lingual choice morsel . The codebook has a freestanding number for the wordwoman(701 ) , which some historiographer have taken to mean that our elusive 355 was a “ lady”in the social sense . If she did hail from high high society , she would ’ve been in a choice position to hobnob with well - connected British loss leader — likeJohn André , the wizard major who get laid a good company and greatly enjoyed the companionship of char . Much of the Culper Ring ’s most useful intelligence — include the tip - off aboutBenedict Arnold’sbetrayal , which André facilitate facilitate — was cumulate during stop when André was in town .
The portrayal of Woodhull ’s 355 as a designing socialite who impart an spike to André is one of several theories about her indistinguishability . Many scholars trust she was Anna Smith Strong , a Setauket - based friend ( and cousin by matrimony ) of Woodhull . As the tale goes , Strong station signal to other Culper spy byhanging sure laundryon her clothesline . If Brewster saw ablack petticoat , he ’d know Woodhull had a message for him to take to Fairfield . To have sex which cove to meet at , they ’d count how many white handkerchiefs she ’d immobilize to the agate line . Thoughhistorians disagreeon whether this story is apocryphal , they do loosely check that Strong was likely a penis of the Culper Spy Ring in some way or another .
Strong ’s revolutionary history mayexplainhow another 355 hypothesis came to be . According to this one , 355 was Townsend ’s vernacular - police wife , who was imprison on the British prison house ship HMSJersey , where she died ( and possibly gave birth to Townsend ’s son beforehand ) . There ’s alack of evidenceto support this taradiddle . Strong , however , wasbelieved to have visited theJersey . InJanuary 1778 , British military unit incarcerated her married man , Selah , for corresponding with the Patriots . allot to home accounts , heended up on theJersey , where his wife was permitted to deliver solid food to him .
It ’s also been state that 355 was Townsend ’s adolescent babe , Sally Townsend , who reportedly spied for the Culper Spy Ring . Or , it could ’ve been Woodhull ’s own baby , Mary Underhill : Woodhull stayed at her Manhattan boarding business firm whenever he visited the city to spy .
Though we may never know the identity of Woodhull ’s 355 , we can middling reason that woman were a part of the Culper Spy Ring ’s espionage efforts . So you could reason that the lesson of this mystery parallels the point made inThe 355 : It ’s really about charwoman , not a woman .
