Immigrant Patriot
Like so many of our first patriots, Lydia Barrington was born in Ireland, specifically Dublin, in 1729. At the age of 24, she met and married William Darragh, the tutor son of a clergyman. Not long after, the couple emigrated and landed in Philadelphia, where they became respected members of the local Quaker community. Although somewhat petite and frail, Lydia took up the trade of midwife and, as was common with many women of the time, did sewing on the side. Lydia and her husband led a prosperous and comfortable life in Philadelphia, and their large family of nine children (five surviving childbirth) attests to it. The steady Quaker, Darragh, became alarmed when one of her sons turned from the Friends to join the Continental Army with a commission as a lieutenant in the Second Pennsylvania Line. The Society eschewed any member who took an active role on either side, especially a military role.
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| Philadelphia in the 1700s |
An Occupied City
As with many Americans, life changed when the war came to Philadelphia. In October 1777, the British army under General William Howe occupied the erstwhile American capital. By chance, Lord Howe established his headquarters in the home of the patriot rebel leader, John Cadwalader, just across the street from the Darragh residence at 177 South Second Street. At some point, Howe demanded the use of the Darragh parlor for staff councils and private meetings. Most war plans of the age were developed by “councils of war,” so this was a big deal. And a big opportunity.
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| Darragh's House |
Making of a Spy
Who recruited Lydia for espionage, and how is it uncertain? What was her motivation? Her son’s military service? Concealed patriotism? Anger at the British occupation? Whether volunteering or being recruited for espionage, she clearly became part of an established network. Despite a lack of formal education, Lydia had a brilliant mind and was incisive politically and perceptive to things happening around her. She was gifted with a remarkable memory as well. Perhaps her most significant asset, at least for the service she would do for her country, was her unassuming demeanor. The ability to hide in place.
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| Lydia's family operated at the center of British-occupied Philadelphia |
Family of Spies
During the occupation, Lydia’s nursing activities enabled her to move freely through British lines. Soon, her growing family was involved in helping the cause by providing intelligence from the very center of the British high command in North America. During the winter of 1777 – 1778, the occupation of the rebel capital gave the appearance of British ascendancy and the inevitable destruction of the rebellion. After all, Washington’s pitiable army was holed up on the frozen plains of Valley Forge. While the British had a surfeit of everything, the rebel army was withering away from a lack of food, clothing, medicine, and other supplies. The British let their guard down, holding meetings with the diminutive nurse in the background. And of course, they knew that the Darraghs, as practicing Quakers, could not support either side in the war or participate in any acts contributing to it. Lydia was able to listen in on most of the meetings and discussions that took place in her parlor. Then she quickly dictated what she heard to her husband William, who carefully recorded the information in special shorthand on small paper strips. Her seamstress skills were a critical piece of her tradecraft. Lydia would stitch the thin paper strips into buttons on her 14-year-old son John’s coat. That done, she dispatched John as a courier. John would steal through the British lines and rendezvous with his older brother Charles, who was with Washington’s army. Charles understood the shorthand, transcribed the pieces, and turned them into intelligence.
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| Lydia Darragh: Nurse, Seamstress, Spy |
Secret Mission
But the spy ring’s MO and tradecraft would not play a part in what is considered Lydia Darragh’s boldest achievement. On 2 December, Lydia and her family were suddenly ordered to their rooms during an important meeting. An emergency council of war took place. This was before the Continental Army had settled in Valley Forge. Washington was still lingering near the capital, hoping for an opportunity to take some action before both sides settled into “winter quarters.” Undeterred, and perhaps stirred by the urgency of the British, Lydia put her ear to a keyhole and listened in as General Howe gave detailed instructions to his commanders. She overheard the British commander-in-chief give orders for a multi-column movement against General Washington. The date for the planned ambush was 4 December. The strike was to catch the rebels unaware and disperse their army, and perhaps nab Washington in the attempt.
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| General Howe's secret plans to surprise and destroy The Continental Army would spur a bold gambit |
She would not leave this critical mission to her young son. Instead, she developed a quick “cover for action” and slipped out of town on 3 December with sacks, hoping to replenish them with flour at a mill near Frankford, between the opposing army lines. The risk was significant as patrols by both sides roamed the area. And it was a 13-mile trek in winter. Undeterred, she went to Pearson’s Mill and left the empty sacks for the owner to fill. She would pick them up on her return. Her cover thus established, Lydia continued her real mission: to deliver the British plans to the American forces.
Clandestine Meeting
There are two versions of what happened next. In one, she encounters a friend, Colonel Thomas Craig, along the road. She told him what she had learned, and he galloped off to report to Washington. Lydia then secured her flour and made her way home. In the other version, Lydia makes her way to a tavern called The Rising Sun. There, she met with Colonel Elias Boudinot, Commissary-General of Prisoners, who also operated as an intelligence officer. Allegedly, Lydia walked into the pub and handed him an old, tattered needlebook and left. When he searched the book, Boudinot found a roll of paper in one of the pockets. The paper indicated that General Howe would attack Whitemarsh the next morning with 5,000 men, 13 cannons, and 11 boats on wheels. Boudinot mounted his horse and galloped to Washington’s headquarters. He provided her report to Washington but protected Lydia’s cover by naming “captured prisoners” as his source. This is evidence of the critical role Lydia and the Darragh family played in providing intelligence from Philadelphia. The fact that Lydia knew Boudinot might be at the tavern is a further indicator of the sophisticated nature of the spy ring. I tend to favor the latter version.
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| Darragh at The Rising Sun |
An Army Saved
Lydia's intelligence, a form of indications and warning (I&W), enabled Washington to prepare the Continental Army, which repulsed General Howe’s “surprise” attack at White Marsh. The multi-day battle saved the army and the cause, enabling it to eventually settle at Valley Forge. The British returned to Philadelphia in disgust.
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| The series of skirmishes at White Marsh ended the 1777 campaign with a modest American victory |
A Critical Source
Upon her return, Darragh was questioned by the British, who suspected treachery. She could disarm them and convince them she was unaware of their plans. But Lydia and her family continued to pump information from the heart of the British high command throughout the winter. As Washington trained the army at Valley Forge, reports from the capital were critical as he prepared for the spring campaign he knew was coming. So the commander in chief was not caught off guard when Howe was relieved of command in the spring, and the British Army left Philadelphia on 18 June of 1778. The departure of the British ended the need for the spy rin,g and Lydia and her family’s service faded into the shadows like so many effective clandestine operations.
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| Darragh's espionage continued into 1778 |
Banned by The Friends
In June 1783, William Darragh died. The Society of Friends was not so friendly when rumors of the Darragh family’s role began circulating. The Friends expelled Lydia later that year. Her oldest son John had already been expelled in 1781. In 1786, Lydia moved from South Second Street into a new house and, with her children, ran a store there until her death in 1789. She was laid to rest with other family members in a Quaker cemetery not far from where she lived out her post-war life.
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| Lydia returned to a "normal" life after the war, but lost her standing with her "Friends" |
Shadow Heroes
As with so many of the espionage and covert actions of the American Revolution, Lydia Darragh's tale came under scrutiny. Darragh’s daughter, Ann, published the story of her mother’s spy work in 1827. But many were suspicious of the tale and discounted its veracity. Speculation subsided in 1909 when Elias Boudinot’s memoirs were published, corroborating Darragh’s role. In the memoir, he wrote of a woman who fit Darragh’s profile, although he, for obvious reasons, did not mention her by name. And General Washington often lamented the inability to reveal and properly thank all those first patriots who served in the shadow war, unable to gain recognition or recompense for their risks. I, for one, think Lydia Darragh and her family are among those shadow heroes.
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| Elias Boudinot's memoirs shed light on Lydia Darragh's wartime espionage |
