Memoir of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge

This book is devoted to the career of a well-known officer of the Continental army and a personal friend of George Washington's, Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge of the Second Regiment Light Dragoons. The following Memoir was prepared by Tallmadge himself, at the request of his children, and for their gratification. It is confined, principally, to those incidents of the Revolutionary War with which he was more immediately connected, and therefore more interesting to his descendants and family friends. For their convenience, and for the additional purpose of contributing to the authenticity of our Revolutionary History, Tallmadge's family decided to publish this Memoir; and, as it closes with the end of the Revolutionary struggle, they have added a brief sketch of his subsequent life.

Benjamin Tallmadge (1754-1835) was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as leader of the Culper Ring during the war, a celebrated network of spies in New York where major British forces were based. He also led a successful raid across Long Island that culminated in the Battle of Fort St. George. After the war, Tallmadge was elected to the US House of Representatives as a member of the Federalist Party.