Long overlooked in the history of the American Revolution, an enslaved woman, Elizabeth, or “Liss,” was deeply connected to the lead Manhattan agent in the Culper Spy Ring, a group of spies working for the American cause. She endured treachery from both sides of the conflict in her personal fight for freedom. Historian and author Claire Bellerjeau will share the story of Liss in a one-hour program, followed by a book signing and reception, presented by the Ridgefield Historical Society on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 pm at St. Stephen’s Church North Hall, 353 Main Street. Tickets are limited and non-refundable: $15 for members of the Ridgefield Historical Society and $20 for those who are not yet members and can be purchased online here:
https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/enslavement-and-espionage-during-the-revolutionary-war-remembering-liss
Liss was enslaved by the Townsend family of Oyster Bay, New York, whose most famous member was Robert Townsend, a.k.a. “Culper, Jr.”, George Washington’s lead spy in Manhattan during the Revolutionary War. The Culper Spy Ring sent information to General George Washington using agents on Long Island, and with a whaleboat captain who regularly crossed Long Island Sound to deliver messages to Benjamin Tallmadge in Connecticut.
As Robert and Liss’s story unfolds, prominent figures cross their path, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Benedict Arnold, John Graves Simcoe, John André and John Adams. Events included were the Boston Massacre, the Battle of Long Island, and the Benedict Arnold treason plot.
Liss’s escape with the British, re-enslavement in Manhattan and later Charleston, and her complex struggle for freedom give new insight into the country’s founding era, through the eyes of an enslaved Black woman seeking liberty in a country fighting for its own.
Claire Bellerjeau is the co-author of “Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution: The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth”, published in May of 2021. In 2022 she co-founded a 501(c)3 non-profit organization called Remember Liss, with the mission to educate the community about Liss’s extraordinary life and times. Through this non-profit she co-authored and published a student version of Liss’s story, titled “Remember Liss” in 2023, with links to over 100 primary documents through the New York Archives’ teaching platform, “Consider the Source.”
Bellerjeau formerly served as Historian and Director of Education at Raynham Hall Museum in Oyster Bay, New York, where Liss was once enslaved. She has been researching the Townsend family and those they enslaved for over 20 years, including curating a yearlong exhibit on the Townsend “Slave Bible” in 2005. She has developed educational programs on the subjects of slavery in New York and the American Revolution on Long Island.
To become a member of the Ridgefield Historical Society, sign up here:
https://ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org/support-us/membership/ For more information contact the Ridgefield Historical Society at
aW5mbyB8IHJpZGdlZmllbGRoaXN0b3JpY2Fsc29jaWV0eSAhIG9yZw== or 203-438-5821.
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