, 1753 – March 7, 1838) was a member of the Culper Ring during the American Revolution. He operated in New York City with the aliases "Samuel Culper, Jr." and "723" and gathered information as a service to General George Washington. He is one of the least-known operatives in the spy ring and once demanded that Abraham Woodhull ("Samuel Culper") never tell his name to anyone, even Washington.
Townsend was the third son of ten children of Samuel and Sarah Townsend from Oyster Bay, New York. His father was a Whig-slanted politician who owned a store in Oyster Bay. Little is known about his early life. His mother was an Episcopalian and his father was a liberal Quaker. His father arranged an apprenticeship during his mid-teens with the merchant firm of Templeton and Stewart, where Robert lived and worked among soldiers and residents of Holy Ground, New York City's biggest red-light district during the war. Templeton and Stewart catered to the working-class residents of the district.
According to Alexander Rose, Townsend's early years were dedicated to making a fortune, not to demonstrating his patriotism. Rose suggests that Townsend fared well financially during the war by operating a store even as he was spying for Washington.
Several factors led Townsend to the Culper Spy Ring, including the influence of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the British harassment of his family, and his relationship with Woodhull. Even among those who were not members of the Quaker faith, its philosophies were widespread in much of the northeast at the time and colored the thought of many people; this included the sect's adherence to pacifism. However, Pennsylvania had experienced a break between "political" Quakers and "religious" Quakers during the 1750s. Essentially, the "religious Quakers" accused the "political Quakers" of breaking with traditional values, which resulted in political Quakers resigning from office and leading to a wave of "purification" within the movement. The remaining Quakers pledged to embrace nonviolence and never to rebel against a legal government, and the Quakers generally emerged as the strongest supporters of British rule.
Despite some historians' claims that Townsend was a Puritan, there is actually no evidence of this; in fact, his family were faithful members of the Oyster Bay Baptist Church, where the names of his father, mother, sister Sally, and several people enslaved by the family all appear on the membership roles. Nevertheless, Townsend seems to have been torn between his moderate upbringing and, as a result of Paine's pamphlet Common Sense. Paine had also been brought up in the Quaker tradition and advocated in Common Sense the early Quaker views of struggling against corruption and narcissism. Paine also advocated resistance as the means to achieve those goals, which put him directly at odds with the newly reformed Quaker movement. Paine argued that those espousing "pacifism at any price" were not authentic Quakers. His pamphlet inspired a small number of Quakers to join the struggle against Britain, as well as others who, like Townsend, were not Quaker but were also not political firebrands.
A few months after Paine's pamphlet was published, Townsend volunteered for a logistics post in the Continental Army, which would not require him to kill.
Another factor that led Townsend to join the fight against British rule was the treatment of his family by British soldiers in Oyster Bay. Several British officers thought that anti-British sentiment had been ingrained into the colonists' spirit and believed that "it should be thrash'd out of them [because] New England has poyson'd the whole." That led to numerous incidents of violence and pillage directed at colonists. Colonel John Graves Simcoe of the Queen's Rangers and roughly 300 of his men were stationed in Oyster Bay during the winter months. Simcoe took the Townsend home as his headquarters, and he and his men used the home whenever and however they wanted. Townsend's father, Samuel, was distraught about his prized apple orchard being torn down by Simcoe's men. Adding to the insult, the Townsends were forced to either swear allegiance to the King or go to prison.
A final factor was Townsend's relationship with Abraham Woodhull. They knew and trusted each other well enough by June 1779 that Townsend accepted when Woodhull asked him to join a new spy ring for Washington.
Here are Washington's instructions for Woodhull (Culper, Sr.) and Townsend (Culper, Jr.):
Culper Junior, to remain in the City, to collect all the useful information he can-to do this he should mix as much as possible among the officers and refugees, visit the coffee houses, and all public places. He is to pay particular attention to the movements by land and water in and about the city especially. How their transports are secured against attempt to destroy them-whether by armed vessels upon the flanks, or by chains, booms, or any contrivances to keep off fire rafts.
The number of men destined for the defense of the City and environs, endeavoring to designate the particular corps, and where each is posted.
To be particular in describing the place where the works cross the island in the rear of the City-and how many redoubts are upon the line from the river to river, how many Cannon in each, and of what weight and whether the redoubts are closed or open next the city.
Whether there are any works upon the Island of New York between those near the City and the works at Fort Knyphausen or Washington, and if any, whereabouts and of what kind.
To be very particular to find out whether any works are thrown up on Harlem River, near Harlem Town, and whether Horn's Hook is fortified. If so, how many men are kept at each place, and what number and what sized cannon are in those works.
To enquire whether they have dug pits within and in front of the lines and works in general, three or four feet deep, in which sharp pointed stakes are pointed. These are intended to receive and wound men who attempt a surprise at night.
The state of the provisions, forage and fuel to be attended to, as also the health and spirits of the Army, Navy and City.
These are the principal matters to be observed within the Island and about the City of New York. Many more may occur to a person of C. Junr's penetration which he will note and communicate.
Culper Senior's station to be upon Long Island to receive and transmit the intelligence of Culper Junior...