Weekly Reader: 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring by Kit Sergeant; Female Spies Reveal Their Loyalties and Strengths During The American Revolutionary War

 

Weekly Reader: 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring by Kit Sergeant; Female Spies Reveal Their Loyalties and Strengths During The American Revolutionary War

 by Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Two years ago, I reviewed Kit Sergeant's L'Agent Double: Spies and Martyrs of the Great War, a memorable, suspenseful, character driven historical fiction novel about three female spies: Mata Hari, Alouette Richer, and Marthe Cnockeart, during WWI. Sergeant wrote other books about spies in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and WWII. I have been wanting to read the other books in The Women Spies Series. Well, with the publication of Sergeant's Sparks and Flames of Resistance: Women Spies of World War II, I thought that there is no time like the present. Here I am and I am certainly glad that I continued the series. The first book in the series is 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring, a winning masterpiece of suspense and independent characterization of three women who lived during the "times that try men (and women's) souls" to quote Thomas Paine.

 

The title and inspiration for the book comes from Agent 355, an unidentified spy who was part of the Culper Ring, who delivered missives directly to Washington himself. What is known about 355 is that she was female ("355"in the Culver code meant "lady), an American patriot, lived in New York City at the time, had a degree of social prominence or lived in a socially prominent home (not ruling out the daughter or a slave or servant of the household), and knew of and maybe interacted with Major John Andre and Benedict Arnold.

Using these tantalizing clues, Sergeant weaved her own variation on 355's possible identity and revealed the troubles that many women had while fighting for American Independence.

Like L'Agent Double, Sergeant focuses on three women who tell different sides in the story of the American Revolution: Meg Moncrieff Coughlin, the daughter of a Loyalist family whose devotion to the King is tested when she endures an abusive marriage and meets the charming Aaron Burr, Elizabeth Burgin, a pregnant mother of two whose husband Jonathan is garrisoning the East River beach, and Sarah "Sally" Townsend, a teenager whose father reluctantly swears loyalty to the British despite objections from his Patriot children.

With her three leads, Sergeant shows three women of different ages, political affiliations, and statuses, and how their lives are affected by the war. The book also reveals how the three women are able to use their roles in society as advantages in their spy careers.

Meg comes from a well to do Loyalist family. She is considered attractive and a catch. This draws her towards men like Aaron Burr. Even though she was loyal to the Crown, her friendship with Burr causes her to see things from the Patriot's point of view. Her views become even more personal when her parents force her into marriage to avoid a scandal. 

Incensed that she was treated as property by her father and husband, Meg understands exactly why the Americans want to break away from Britain. Before when she was a Loyalist, she passed along information to generals. As a secret Patriot, Meg continues to listen in on what her husband and his allies are planning and feeds that information to the American soldiers. Of course her Loyalist front proves an advantage as they don't know that they are confiding in the enemy. The British soldiers think that they are talking to someone sympathetic to their cause.

As an older woman, Elizabeth is in a different place than Meg. After the death of her husband and subsequent birth of her child, Elizabeth is left without many opportunities or assistance. She vows to do something to help others and to aid the Patriot cause in which her husband gave his life. With her friend, Mary, Elizabeth delivers food and other essentials to the men in the Jersey prison ship. 

While delivering goods, Elizabeth hides messages and delivers them to the right people, using the cover of the do-gooder widow. She also becomes a center of Revolutionary life as many prominent figures in the Revolution such as Hercules Mulligan, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington cross her path.

Sally is the youngest of the three protagonists and most volatile. Her family are Quakers and Whigs, therefore known for their ardent principles and speaking their minds which Sally does gladly. Sally is the most intelligent and well read of the Townsend sisters and is close to her brothers, William and Robert who are fighting the Patriot cause. Even though Sally is young, she isn't above infatuations such as with Major John Andre, the charismatic and handsome British spy.

Sally is furious that her father compromises his values and vows allegiance to the British. At first she stands up to the British soldiers who quarter themselves into the Townsend home. However, she uses this bad situation to the benefit of the Patriots by overhearing the soldier's plans and passing them along to people like her brother, Robert. 

Unlike the women in L'Agent Double who act independently from each other and only hear of one another by reputation, the three women of 355 interact quite often developing into a friendship. They first encounter each other at a ball and their stories overlap in many unusual ways. Meg is heartbroken to learn that information that she gave as a Loyalist resulted in Elizabeth's husband's death. While working as spies, Elizabeth develops a romance with Robert Townsend, Sally's brother. Meg also carries a fondness for Andre who also captures Sally's heart. 

All three women become instrumental in the Culper Ring by passing information and missives to Washington's people. Their information becomes important when all three become involved in the Battle of West Point and the actions of one Benedict Arnold. 

355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring is a great first book in looking at the inside lives of women during war time and how they proved important and necessary responsibilities to the causes.