May 1778
Molly was trailing behind Caleb. He had just returned from a mission, one he had been gone on for the last couple of weeks, and now he was back at camp and insisting that Molly come with him to Ben's tent. She had no idea what this was about, but she feared there might be bad news, and that frightened her.
When they reached the tent, Molly stepped in first. She nearly fell over when she saw who else was in the tent. Ben was there… but so was Anna Strong.
Molly didn't hesitate, "What's she doing here?"
Caleb was behind her, lightly pushing her further into the tent. Molly tried to take in her sister-in-law's appearance. She did look harmed in any way. She looked exactly like she would if she was still staying at Whitehall.
"Moll."
She looked over and saw that Ben's expression was tense. They all found seats around the tent. Molly felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her throat. They're dead. Her mind was racing. Panicking. She was thinking the worst. Oh gosh, they're probably dead. What's become of Abe and Mary?
"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Ben said.
It was clear that Caleb was already informed of everything. They no doubt spoke about it on the boat ride to New Jersey. So, Anna began her explanation.
A few days after Molly fled from Setauket, Abraham and his father got into an argument. Anna didn't know what they talked about, but Judge Woodhull was furious. He was so furious, he went to Major Hewlett, and he revealed that Abe was a spy for the rebels. Because of her close friendship with Hewlett, she learned that Abe was to be arrested. So, Anna decided that she would try to salvage what was left of the ring.
She feigned romantic love towards Hewlett, and she convinced him that Selah had contacted her in want of a divorce. She forged divorce papers. She had convinced Hewlett that she could get divorced, and then they could elope. When they got married, Hewlett agreed that he would resign his commission, and they would move back to his home in Scotland.
Within the month Molly was gone, the plans were made, and Anna and Hewlett were set to be married. However, at their wedding ceremony, Judge Woodhull announced that he knew the divorce papers were fake. Knowing his interference would ruin her plan, Anna panicked, and she lied.
She told all the wedding guests that the entire scheme had been Hewlett's idea, and that he was forcing her to go through with the wedding. She expected him to arrest her. But he didn't. Hewlett agreed with her lie. He resigned his commission that same day, and by the end of the week, he had left Setauket. She always knew he had fancied her, but she never imagined that he would protect her like that.
With Hewlett gone, so was her protection. Judge Woodhull ordered her out of Whitehall. That, in addition to the fact that Caleb's mission had failed, led to her fleeing Setauket.
Caleb gave his account of his mission next. From the intelligence from Anna and Abe, he knew Simcoe was patrolling Setauket and the neighboring towns in search of rebels and rebel sympathizers. However, that meant that the Queen's Rangers were visiting every home to make inquiries.
Caleb had taken a few soldiers, and their plan was to hide at one of the estates in Oyster Bay. When Simcoe visited, they planned to ambush him, and (hopefully) kill him. The plan hadn't worked though. Somehow, Simcoe had discovered foul play, and Caleb found himself being ambushed instead. He and only one of his men survived and managed to flee. But Simcoe was still alive. Anna was waiting for Caleb when he got back to his boat in Setauket, and they left together.
As she listened to the end of their stories, Molly thanked God that she had chosen to leave while she could. She couldn't imagine how disastrous it would have been if she had been involved in that mess. That's what it was: a mess.
"What of Abe though?" Ben asked. "His father will surely turn him in again?"
Anna shook her head, "No, I don't think he will. It was me he was angry with." She sounded sad, "He hated my staying at Whitehall, and he hated my friendship with the Major. He blames me for Abe's involvement with the ring, even though he has no proof of my own involvement."
They said more, but Molly was only half listening. Her mind was on Setauket and the ring. Now the ring was down two members. She knew that wasn't good. Abe had no support in Setauket now. He was all alone. It was just him and their man in New York. They were the only ones gathering intelligence.
It's my fault, she thought, if I had just stayed home, I could've stopped this. What was I thinking? Trusting Abe and Anna? Since the beginning, they can hardly trust themselves.
"…Molly, you have already established a presence among the followers. I need you to do the same for Anna."
Molly blinked, ripped from her thoughts, realizing she was being addressed.
"R-Right." She stammered.
Everyone began to stand, and she realized she had zoned out longer than she thought. She grabbed Ben's hand, stopping him.
"Wait, I need to talk to you."
Ben waved for Caleb and Anna to go outside.
"What is it?" he asked.
She stood as well, but she kept hold of his hand.
"What are we going to do?" she spoke in a hushed tone. He looked confused, so she continued, "No, I mean it. What are you going to tell Washington? Surely not that Abe's been compromised! If you do that, then there will be no more ring."
Ben seemed hesitant to respond and she could tell that was thinking the same thing.
"What do you mean we?" he finally asked. "I thought you were no longer interested in this."
"I changed my mind. I can help, and now we may need it. Will you tell the General that?"
He smirked for a moment and then took her face in his hands. "I'll talk to Washington." He pecked her on the lips, then moved to exit the tent.
She stood there, watching him go, still unconvinced.
Ben and Caleb left to report to Washington, leaving Anna with Molly. Molly didn't know what to say to her sister-in-law, but she did remember her conversation with Selah. She decided that she would make amends… for him.
"It's good to see you." Anna said. "How long have you been here?"
She was following behind her as Molly led her to where the camp followers were stationed.
"Not long." She said sharply.
"You had us worried sick. I don't know how Mary was able to make those excuses for your absence." A beat. "Why did you leave?"
Molly didn't want to look at her, "You know why."
"Why? Because of Abe's plan to kill Eastin? Molly, that plan worked."
"Aye and look where it got us!" Molly snapped. "Anna, why didn't Caleb's plan work? Why is Simcoe still alive?"
That was one of the things gnawing at her; the fact that Caleb hadn't been able to kill the dreaded Captain Simcoe.
Anna looked down at her feet. "Simcoe knows the name Culper."
Molly stopped in her tracks; she was looking at her now. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Was there more that Anna wasn't saying?
Anna continued, "He believes it to be an alias of Robert Rogers. I don't know the details, but I think Simcoe and Rogers had a falling out. Caleb said that Simcoe believed him to be Rogers during their fight."
Molly chewed on her bottom lip, lost in thought. She didn't like any of this.
Over the next couple of weeks, Molly and Anna's conversations were similar to when they were both living at the tavern… after Molly learned of the affair. It was as mundane as it was slightly awkward.
From the moment she came to camp, Anna had begged all of them, Molly, Ben, and Caleb, not to write to Selah. She was certain that if he knew, he would have her move to Philadelphia with him. Anna was adamant that she was not to be cut from the ring, even if she had already done so herself.
Molly didn't say a word about how she had already told Selah of the affair. She would keep to her promise.
They didn't talk about what had happened in Setauket. As annoyed as Molly still was with her sister-in-law, she knew when credit was due. Anna had been willing to marry a redcoat, a man she hardly knew, in order to protect the ring… of course, it had been done to protect Abraham, but Molly tried to ignore that detail.
One day, Molly was helping with laundry by the camp followers' tents. She had spent most of the morning beating the clothes dry against a rock.
"Molly."
She looked up and saw Anna was approaching her. She nodded in greeting; she was panting from the hours of work.
"I need you to speak to Benjamin."
She coughed to clear her throat, "Why?"
"I met General Washington today, but did you know that Ben-" She stopped when she saw Molly rolling her eyes.
"What did you say?" Molly sighed. If anyone was to cause trouble after meeting the General, she knew it would be her sister-in-law. Sometimes, Anna thought too highly of herself.
"I did not come here to be simply a camp follower."
Molly knitted her eyebrows in confusion. "Well of course not, neither did I. Not at first."
Anna shook her head, "Benjamin told me that we are simply meant to be camp followers. We won't be allowed to help with the ring because 'women are not allowed to serve in official capacity'." She quoted him.
"What do you expect Washington to say? That's not just his orders, it's military protocol. Come on Anna, we weren't even allowed a proper number in the codebook. We shared one."
Anna huffed in frustration, "It's not fair!"
Molly wanted to tell her what really wasn't fair, but she held her tongue.
"Will you talk to Benjamin or not?"
It turned out, Molly didn't need to talk to Ben because he already had a plan. He told her about it later that day, when she came to see him.
"Come on, I need to show you something." He said.
She followed him back in the direction she had just come from, to where the camp followers were, but he stopped before crossing the unofficial border between the followers and the rest of the camp.
"Over here." He said, turning suddenly and stopping from of a large cart with a tent pitched in front of it.
Molly had noticed the tent for the last couple of weeks. Under the tent were tables filled to the brim with random papers and items. She hadn't thought much of it.
"What?" she asked, standing beside him.
"This cart used to belong to Nathaniel Sackett. Remember? The man who wrote our code glossary… Anna doesn't want to be seen as a mere camp follower and I agreed. So this cart will set her apart from the other women." Ben must've noticed the judgmental expression on Molly's face because he continued. "Anna doesn't have an excuse to come into camp like you do. Selah's not here, so that excuse is gone. She can use the cart as a sort of trade post between the soldiers and the women. It's a good enough excuse."
Molly began to chew on the inside of her cheek as she thought – it was a habit she wished she could stop. It was a good idea; she could admit that.
"And as for you," he added, "well, I've been in need of a aide-de-camp for a while now."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Officers are allowed a aide-de-camp, but Washington ordered me not to take one on. It could be a breach in security." He cleared his throat, almost nervous as he continued, "And now that you seem to be back to your old self, I was wondering–"
"Yes." She smiled. "I'll do it."
He let out a sigh in relief, "Oh good. I was worried you'd decline. Caleb's been badgering me about the position for months."
Molly snorted in amusement. The idea of Caleb acting as Ben's secretary was amusing; Caleb was literate, but that was the only title Molly would dare grant him. His spelling was terrible.
June 1778
"Your brother's wife is a piece of work?"
Molly looked up from the papers in front of her.
Despite protocol, her new unofficial position as Ben's aide-de-camp meant that she was practically living in his tent now. She didn't mind; it meant that she was not stuck conversing with Anna and the other camp followers. After she had accepted the position, she had nearly been relieved from all her duties as a camp follower. She still mended clothing and helped with laundry, but that was more from time to time.
She had only been Ben's aide-de-camp for the past couple of weeks. She was surprised how much she enjoyed the work. Ben's primary duties as the head of intelligence included receiving, translating, and transcribing all the intelligence gained from the ring and then presenting that information into reports for Washington. In addition, he was also responsible for his duties as Major of the dragoons, which involved continuous scouting missions.
The more Molly worked on the paperwork portion of Ben's job, the more she was uncertain how he had managed so long without a aide-de-camp. When he showed her what to do, he had admitted that she was much faster at translating the code than he was. She better understood why his correspondences were so brief when they started writing to each other again.
"What did she do this time?"
Since Anna had arrived at camp, Ben was becoming more and more annoyed with her. Molly found the entire thing very amusing; she felt justified.
"I don't know what she wants from me. I give her Sackett's cart, to make her still feel involved in the ring, and yet she's not satisfied. She knows that we're all lying to cover for her, yet she's so ungrateful!"
Ben had decided not to tell Washington the real reason for Anna's arrival into camp. Molly remembered when Ben had explained everything to Anna:
"You tried to marry a British officer. Now, I know that doesn't change what side you're on, but do you think Washington knows that? He doesn't know you… I told him that there were whispers of adultery with Culper and rather than implicate him and the ring, you left Setauket because of social shame… Look, I'm sorry. I had to explain your leaving to him somehow."
Anna had been furious, but what could she really say? She was just as foolish as Molly had been when she ran away.
Molly watched him pace in his tent for a few moments. Finally, he waved his hand, trying to remember something, "What does Townsend say?"
Molly had learned a lot about the ring over the last couple of weeks. In Setauket, she had purposefully kept ignorant about certain aspects of the ring. For example, she knew that they had a man in New York, but she had no idea who he was or what he did.
Their man in New York was a man by the name of Robert Townsend. His code number was 723 and his codename was Culper Jr. (seeing as Abe was the one who recruited him). He was the co-owner of a tavern. Apparently, his tavern was a popular spot for high ranking redcoats to drink. Like Molly and Anna, he used his position as a tavern owner to discover information.
Townsend was a very private man, and the system he and Abraham had worked out for delivering messages was one of the most convoluted ones Molly had ever seen.
Townsend's business partner was a man named Rivington. He co-owned the tavern as well, and he also operated a Tory newspaper out of the same building. Townsend would place an advertisement in Rivington's paper using keywords. When the newspaper was distributed, Townsend's father would then visit his son in New York and pick up the written information (courtesy of their invisible ink). Meanwhile, Abe would travel to Oyster Bay, the town next to Setauket, to visit Robert's father. Robert's father would pass the papers to Abe, and then Abe would return home, use the solvent to uncover the invisible words, and then transcribe the information into code and leave it at the dead drop.
Abe was transcribing Townsend's information to help save time on the back end, when Ben eventually received the letters. But, since Molly was now involved in the process, Ben had sent word to Abe to stop transcribing the papers and just send them directly to the dead drop. Molly had only transcribed one of Townsend's letters so far, yet she had already grown fond of their man in New York. His messages were concise, yet extremely detailed. He left out exposition, unlike Abe, so his messages were easier to get through.
"This report's just numbers." She replied. "I'll have it done in a few minutes."
"Good. Do you mind transcribing my report as well?"
"Not at all."
Later that day, Molly hiked to the opposite side of camp, where Washington's tent was located. She wasn't going to see the General; she was going to see his aide-de-camp, who had claimed a tent next to the General's and used it as an office of sorts. She was going to deliver the newest reports.
"Are you decent?" she asked, stepping inside the tent anyways.
Washington's aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton, glanced over at her. He was sat at his desk, frantically scribbling on a piece of parchment. But he wasn't alone.
Molly felt a blush rising in her cheeks when she realized he was in the middle of a meeting.
"When have I ever been indecent?" Hamilton teased, continuing to write.
She smirked. Hamilton was around Ben's age, and some days, he certainly acted younger than his age. Since the moment they were introduced, Hamilton had proven to be very flirtatious. It didn't seem to matter that he knew she was engaged. He enjoyed bantering, and she encouraged it because (truth be told) she didn't mind it at all.
None of that mattered now though.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude!" She made a move to exit the tent, but Hamilton waved her over.
"No, it's nothing. Come in. Are those the reports?"
"Aye." She handed them to him.
He placed them on the edge of his desk, for later.
"Oh, um, this is General Charles Lee. Charles, this is Tallmadge's wife, Ms. Molly."
Half of the soldiers who had met her referred to her as Ben's fiancée, the others referred to her as Ben's wife. The title didn't matter, either way, their connection granted her more access into camp than she should be allowed.
Molly eyed General Lee, trying to size him up. She remembered the letters Ben had written, the ones where he constantly complained about Lee's character. Lee was openly opposed to Washington's leadership.
"Madame." Lee said, taking her hand and kissing it.
"General."
Molly fought the urge to roll her eyes. She always felt silly whenever a soldier reacted that way; after all, she was dressed in a soldier's patchwork coat. She found it silly to be behaving so formally, given the situation.
Lee continued, "I was unaware that Tallmadge had a wife."
"My husband is a very private man." She fibbed.
I wonder if he still has any copies of that damned pamphlet? She thought. The one that got Ben so upset. What was it called? Was it 'the Thoughts of a Free Man'? Aye, I still want to read that.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries and then Lee commented, "I suppose we'll be seeing more of you at the officers' dinner?"
Molly shot Hamilton a look and he smiled reassuringly. She hadn't heard any word of a dinner.
"Oh, am I allowed to attend?" she asked, trying to act unphased.
"Well, of course." Lee chuckled, "Though, I fear it may only be you and Washington's wife. Not many of the officers' families have the patience to follow the army."
Because the officers tend to be wealthier. Molly thought. They can afford to stay home.
"I forget." She added, "When is the date again? Is it this week?"
"Yes, this Friday." Hamilton replied.
"Of course." She faked a smile, "I look forward to seeing you both there."
It was Friday, and Molly was once again making the hike across camp. This time, she was intending on seeing General Washington.
After her brief conversation with Hamilton and Lee, she returned and asked Ben about the officers' dinner. He had only heard about the dinner as well. Washington was planning to engage the British in battle in a few weeks, so many of his high-ranking officers were returning to Middlebrook with their men, to plan for the battle.
One of those officers included General Lee. Ben explained that Lee had fallen out of favor with Washington many months ago when Lee attempted to prematurely retreat from a battle. Since then, he had been trying to get back on good graces with Washington.
Lee's theory about the officers' wives had proven to be correct. Ben had talked to Washington's slave, Billy, and Billy told him that Washington's wife was visiting camp specifically for the dinner. Mrs. Washington typically spent winters traveling and organizing the camp followers. During the rest of the year, she returned to her home to oversee the family's property.
Ben had asked Washington if Molly could borrow a dress from Mrs. Washington for the dinner. The General and his wife had agreed. So that's where Molly was off to now. She was looking forward to getting out of her borrowed clothes. They were comfortable, yes, but Molly also knew how disheveled she must seem in her patchwork clothes.
When she arrived to Washington's tent, she found the General and his wife inside. She stopped abruptly when she recognized the woman beside Washington. It was Martha; the woman from when she had first arrived in camp; the one who provided her with her clothes.
"Martha?" she asked in disbelief.
"It's good to see you again!" She noticed her husband's confused expression, "We've met before."
"Oh, good." Washington replied. "Well, I'll leave you to it." He nodded warmly, "Ms. Strong." And with that, he exited the tent.
Once again Molly found herself accepting clothing from Martha.
"I had no idea," she began, "that you were Martha Washington."
Martha chuckled, "Well I had no idea that you were engaged to my husband's head of intelligence."
Molly dressed quickly, still feeling embarrassed for not realizing Martha's true identity. She knew it was silly to feel embarrassed about it, but she couldn't help it. Then they left for the dinner.
Molly had not necessarily been looking forward to the dinner. So, she was not surprised when it happened to be rather dull. For much of it, she walked beside Ben and let him introduce her to the other officers.
The only thing keeping her going was the random bits of gossip Ben kept whispering to her – well, that and the copious amounts of alcohol. They had not been in a social situation like this in a long time, and Molly was glad to find that Ben had truly not changed a bit. Just like before the war, during any events or dinners or balls, Ben would spend much of his time passing on any new information to her.
Their conversation was interrupted when a voice called across the room.
"Tallmadge!"
They turned and a rather tall man was loping towards them. Ben quickly went to greet him.
"General."
"Can you believe the state of the stables? You'd think the lads there had never seen a horse before." the man began to rant.
He said more, but Molly found herself tuning him out. Frankly she didn't care about the state of the stables. Ben clearly didn't care either.
"Um, General Arnold," Ben was desperately trying to change the subject, "may I present my fiancée."
Molly and the officer both bowed their heads slightly in greeting. She remembered that name from Ben's letters. She was trying to remember what the context was.
"I was unaware you had a wife, Tallmadge." The man boomed.
Molly nearly rolled her eyes. He clearly wasn't listening to what they were saying.
"She has only recently decided to join the encampment." Ben explained, but he sounded nervous. Molly wondered why. Was it just because this man was a general?
Even if he was one, Molly felt no nervousness. They were on the same side, after all. Arnold turned back to Ben to finish their conversation. Molly ignored their words though; she was still trying to remember where she recognized his name from. Finally, it came to her.
"Mrs. Tallmadge."
She snapped out of her daze, realizing that General Arnold was ending the pleasantries, and she managed to bow her head in Arnold's direction. "General."
As soon as he was gone, she turned to face Ben. "That's the men who says we're cowards?"
General Benedict Arnold at one time asked Ben to be his aide-de-camp. Ben ultimately declined the offer, but not before Arnold made a few judgmental remarks about his opinion regarding espionage. He stated that spying was a cowardly profession. Ben had stopped writing about him after that. Molly did not fully have an opinion on the man. But now she did. She decided the man was rude and therefore would prove to be insufferable if interacted with for too long.
Ben rolled his eyes. He seemed annoyed to be reminded, "Aye."
Molly suppressed a snicker.
"What?"
"You were honestly worried about that man's opinion of you?"
"What's wrong with that?" Ben was on the defensive, "He's a fine soldier."
She lowered her voice, "He's an ass."
Ben didn't deny it.
Finally it was time to eat and Molly remained quiet for the dinner itself. She knew she was tipsy, and she had nothing to say, so she focused on her plate in front of her. She had nearly zoned out entirely when the men began to discuss the upcoming battle. She perked up at that news and responded by draining another glass of wine.
Since she'd been in camp, there had not been a single battle. They had been smaller skirmishes that the scouting parties had faced, but that was it.
"We have control of Philadelphia, yes," Washington was saying, "but we have only just begun to reestablish our presence in the city. It would be easy for the British to come into the city and overpower our forces. After all, the people of Philadelphia had no problem turning against us before. Who's to say they won't do it again." A beat, "I've received intelligence from a reliable source that the General Clinton," one of the British officers, "intends to retake the city in the coming months."
Molly remembered transcribing that information from Abe's message. She began to chew on her lip as she listened more intently.
"That is why I have called you all here. We need to attack Clinton in the coming weeks, to ensure he does not reach the city."
The table erupted into a storm of voices. Suddenly all the officers had something to say, and they refused to wait for their opinions to be heard as they talked over each other.
The dinner had been over for several hours, but the officers were still bustling inside the tent they had used for their meal. They were now discussing strategy and voicing other opinions – many of which did not need to be voices.
Molly and Martha had been sent away hours ago, but Molly refused to return to her tent. So, she was waiting outside. She briefly considered going to see Caleb, but then she remembered that he wasn't even in camp. She rarely saw him anymore. He was constantly on scouting missions or visiting the dead drop.
So, she was sat at a nearby campfire with some soldiers. They hadn't met before, but after they saw her come from the officers' tent, they didn't question her presence. It was the middle of the night, and she was trying to keep warm.
It was a long time before Ben finally emerged from the tent. As soon as she caught sight of him, she rushed over so they could walk back to his tent together.
"Hey."
"Hey." He sounded as tired as he looked. "Washington wants the armies to march out in three days."
"What can I do?" she asked immediately.
He scoffed, "Well, you can wait here of course. And pray that we're successful."
"No." She grabbed his arm, stopping their pace. "No, I want to help."
He furrowed his eyebrowed in confusion.
"I'm serious." She said, "There's not been a single battle since I arrived. Whatever happens at this battle, it would potentially mean the end of the war?"
"I don't about that." He said slowly, then paused. "But I suppose it depends."
"If you're going, I want to be there too. What can I do?"
"No. Molly, I need you here. If anything does happen, Washington will need you to aide in transcribing intelligence."
"And if anything does happen, what's to say Washington even survives the battle? If he falls, the army will fall. You told me that. And you also told me how the General likes to be at heart of the battle, not on the sidelines."
Ben looked away for a second, his lips pursed.
"You know I'm right. Now what can I do? I could serve in the infirmary. Act as a camp follower still as the army moves to the battle site. Hell, I've even be a pitcher girl. I'll do anything."
"Please," he began to rub his eyes, "can't we talk about this in the morning? My head is pounding, and I just want to go to bed."
Molly's head was pounding as well, but hers was more alcohol induced than anything else.
"So it's a yes?" she asked, beginning to grin.
"Please, we'll talk about it in the morning."
June 28, 1778
The Battle of Monmouth; that's what this battle would come to be known as.
It took two days, but the Continental Army had marched south and broken into their different regiments for the battle. The battle officially began that morning. General Lee was supposed to lead an ambush on the British forces camped near the Court House in Monmouth, New Jersey. The plan was for Lee to ambush them, forcing Clinton's forces to retreat east.
Waiting to the east was the rest of the Continental Army. Once the British forces had arrived, the rest of Washington's forces could spread across the area, outflanking Clinton and engaging in (mainly) artillery battles. They hoped that once Clinton's forces were surrounded, the General would be forced to surrender.
That was the plan. However, Washington's forces soon heard word that Lee had botched his mission. Lee was supposed to scout the area to ensure that his men affectively outflanked Clinton's. Apparently, Lee had underestimated the size of Clinton's forces, and their attack was ill-performed. Rather than ambushing them from the west, Lee ambushed them from the north. So, rather than have his entire force move east, Clinton ordered his forces to split up, with one half retreating east, while the other retreated west.
Lee's forces were too limited to ambush both sections of Clinton's army, so Lee decided to focus on attacking the portion retreating east. However, as soon as he did so, some of Clinton's men from the west came to ambush Lee's forces in return. Soon, Lee had signaled a total retreat, and Lee found himself retreating towards Washington's position with Clinton being the one leading the ambush.
Since that incident, the rest of the battle had been utter chaos. The breakdown in command led to a brief instance of mass confusion among Washington's forces waiting to the west. Soon, the army found itself with Clinton upon it too suddenly, and the army was not able to launch their strategy to surround and outflank Clinton's forces.
Rather than having the battle be artillery focused, the Continental Army found itself forced to engage in close combat. The Continental dragoons (led by Ben) and infantry had already launched a new attack to meet Clinton's army head on. Meanwhile, the artillery forces were repositioning their attack in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Unlike Washington's forces, Clinton's retreat meant that his artillery was not prepped, and it would take much time for Clinton's men to fully begin any artillery attacks.
Molly found herself running constantly behind the artillery lines. She and Ben decided that it would be best if she served as a pitcher girl during the battle. She was responsible for running to and from a nearby spring to provide her assigned regiment with water. She was also responsible for providing water that the artillerymen would use to douse and cool down their cannons.
Molly quickly found herself drenched in sweat. The morning passed quickly, and now the army was stuck fighting in the humid midday heat of summer. As soon as the first signs of battle began, Molly knew she was in over her head, and she began to regret her decision to want to help the army during the battle. Working by the cannons was loud, and she kept choking on the smoke in the air, and her throat was dry from yelling to be heard over the sounds of battle.
Where she was, the soldiers were positioned on even ground. They were ordered to advance behind the Continental dragoons and infantry and provide aide and reinforcements as needed.
"Molly!"
"Pitcher!"
"Water!"
"Pitcher!"
"Molly, pitcher!"
She heard those words probably a thousand times within the first hour of the battle. Hearing that name made her think of Alex, but she pushed those thoughts aside. She knew she couldn't afford to become nostalgic; it might get her killed.
So she continued running back and forth, giving a man a drink here and there, and then hurrying over to whatever cannons needed her.
"Molly Pitcher!" one of the artillerymen shouted.
She forced the injured man on the ground to finish his drink quickly, promising she'd return. Then she rushed to the cannon. She put her bucket on the ground and the one soldier took the cannon ramrod and stirred it in the bucket, then he lifted it to clean the remaining gunpowder from the inside of the cannon barrel.
Molly took the rest of the water in the bucket and poured it over top of the cannon, to cool down the barrel of the gun. If the barrel was too hot, the next time a shot was being prepared, the gunpowder could ignite too quickly and result in a misfire.
"More water!" Another man ordered.
Molly nodded, breathlessly and rushed back to the spring. The thing she hated was, as their artillery line advanced, the spring became further and further away, and she was forced to run even more.
She returned within a few minutes and the men began the process on the second cannon. The man with the ramrod was desperately trying to prepare the cannon. Several of their gunners had been shot from stray bullets from the infantry battle in front of them. They were about a hundred feet away, but still close enough for the bullets to reach the.
Molly leaned over for a moment, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. But then she screamed in horror. The man in front of her collapsed to the ground, a fresh bullet hole in his head, and his blood had splattered across Molly's face and neck.
She fell to the ground with the man, checking to see if he was still alive. He was dead. She turned, trying to drag him away from the cannon, but then she noticed that there was no soldier beside her to take his place dousing and reloading the cannon. She heard men shouting orders behind her, but the soldiers were just as disorganized as they had been earlier that day, when the news about General Lee came.
She turned back and looked towards the infantry battle. They were advancing with or without the cannons. In that instant, Molly acted on total impulse. She dragged the man's body away from the cannon enough so that she could take his place. She took the ramrod in her hands she picked up where he left off, dousing the barrel of the cannon, and then she turned and began packing in the next bundle of gunpowder and the cannonball. The entire time praying that it didn't misfire on her.
None of the men said anything in protest. Soon she found them shouting new orders at her. The cannon was even louder from her place besides the barrel now, and her ears were ringing, and suddenly everything felt very much like a dream; like it wasn't real. But she continued to work, and she didn't know how, but she found herself calling out for water and someone was bringing it to her now.
She didn't know how long she did this. She was only aware of when she stopped. When she was reaching for the next bundle of powder, she had her feet planted quite far apart, to keep her balance. That's when she paused and yelped in surprise when she felt a burning sensation on her leg. She looked down and saw that her skirts were in tatters. She forgot all her modesty and lifted her skirts up. Her right calf appeared to be singed; The skin was pink and raw. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and looked over at the artilleryman beside her.
He was staring at her with an incredulous look on his face.
"What happened?" she slurred, her tiredness suddenly catching up with her.
"You really didn't notice?" the man laughed aloud. "My God, I doubt I'll ever see anything like that ever again in my life. A enemy cannonball went right between your legs."
She didn't know why, but she snorted in amusement, "Well I suppose I'm lucky it didn't pass a little higher."
The man burst into a fit of laughter, and they continued their work at the cannon.
The infantry battle ended not long after that. The rest of the artillery had finally repositioned on the surrounding hills and they were able to outman Clinton's forces. The men refused to surrender though, and instead they retreated west in the direction they came.
The artillery regiment that Molly was with had already begun to pack up their supplied. They were done fighting in this battle.
"You're bleeding."
Molly wasn't exactly sure who said it, but she looked down, and sure enough, she was. There was a small red circle staining her shirt on her upper should. She didn't know how long it had been there. But suddenly she realized that her entire body ached. There was a dull throbbing coming from her shoulder, and she once again became aware of a burning sensation on her leg. It was much more intense than before, and she felt like crying out in pain.
"Oh." She said breathily. "I suppose I am."
She felt herself falling, and then everything went black.
It took Ben five days after the battle to find Molly.
"Ben! I found her." It was Caleb who found her. She was in one of the medical tents. She had been injured during the battle, but she was still very much alive. The tent she was in was for the soldiers with more minor injuries.
As soon as Ben reached the infirmary, he noticed that it was strange that they had not separated Molly from the other men in the tent. She was towards the one corner of the tent, but she was busy chatting with the other injured soldiers.
"Molly!" he cried out.
She looked over, a lopsided grin forming on her face. "Hello!"
"You Tallmadge?" One of the nearby soldiers said.
Ben furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but nodded.
"Aye, the Sergeant here's told us all about you." Another man broke in.
"She's been wanting to escape for days, but the doc won't let her."
The men laughed bawdily, but Ben ignored them, taking a seat beside Molly on her cot.
"Are you alright?" he asked, trying to examine her. She looked to be physically alright. He could see that her shoulder was bandaged up, and that there were bandages on her right leg. "What happened?"
"I'm okay." She said, "The doctor says the bullet injury is minor. As for my leg, I got burned pretty bad. It'll probably scar."
"Burned?" he scoffed, "How did you get burned?" It didn't make any sense to him. She had been serving as a pitcher girl, after all.
"Have you heard about the woman during the battle? The one who manned the cannon?" one of the men butted into their conversation.
Molly swore at him to stay out of it, and the man chuckled in amusement.
It took Ben only a moment to realize. "That was you?" he demanded.
She smiled sheepishly and nodded.
"I thought that was only a rumor."
"I couldn't even tell you why I did it. I just did. And now all the men around here have decided to nickname me Sergeant Molly." She paused, lightly smirking, "I suppose I like it better than Molly Pitcher."
Ben stared at her dumbfounded. Of all the things that could have happened during a battle, he would never have guessed something like this happening. He felt pride welling up in his chest. He had to admit, he was impressed. He knew that Molly could be good under pressure, but he had no idea he was capable of this.
From the rumors Ben had heard, the woman's involvement manning the cannon had done absolutely nothing to sway the battle. It was the idea of it that was getting the soldiers so excited. The idea that a pitcher girl would be just as willing as a soldier to risk her life for the Continental Army.
"We have to tell Washington it was you." Ben decided.
"If you want."
"No, we need to. If he has any doubts in his mind about your involvement in the ring, this will stop that forever."
September 1778
The last few months had been very good to Molly.
After the battle, Clinton's army had managed to retreat west and flee to New York. Meanwhile, Washington's army had returned to Middlebrook, and the officers had returned to their previous stations… well, all except General Lee. Lee's failure during the Battle of Monmouth had been the last straw for Washington. He ordered Lee court-martialed and discharged from further military service.
Molly found the entire thing very amusing because of the way Ben had secretly celebrated the downfall of General Lee. He only told Caleb and Molly about his true opinion. It didn't really matter much to her, but she supposed it was nice knowing that a more competent general could serve for the Continental Army.
Regardless, Molly was now more involved in the ring than ever. Since their (debatable) victory at Monmouth, they were receiving an influx of information from both Abe and Townsend.
Her actions at Monmouth and her position as Ben's fiancée how granted her nearly full access to all aspects of the camp. The soldiers who knew of her still called her Sergeant Molly, and she was glad that they did. Even Washington had begun requesting her presence during intelligence meetings. His orders now requested that Major and Sergeant Tallmadge be present. Those meetings were rarely exciting, but Molly was thankful and grateful to be included, nonetheless.
It had been a quiet day. There were no new reports, so Molly was spending the day napping in Ben's tent. Ben was out on a scouting mission for the day, and Caleb had been gone for the past few days to visit the dead drop. Molly knew she could go see Anna, but she didn't want to. With everything that had happened with becoming Ben's aide-de-camp and then the battle and after the battle, Molly had hardly spoken to Anna over the past few months. She wanted to feel bad, but she honestly didn't. As far as she concerned, the only way to prevent conflict was to prevent interacting with Anna entirely.
She was in a deep sleep, but she found herself suddenly ripped from it.
"Moll! Moll, wake up!"
She groaned in surprise and rolled over so that she was looking up at Caleb. He was hovering over her.
"Hey, when did you get back?" she asked tiredly.
"Just now. Come on, get up, I need your help."
She pushed herself into a sitting position and Caleb thrust a piece of paper into her hands. She rubbed her eyes for a moment and then began to skim the letter. It was written in their code, so she began to mentally translate the words.
Dear Mr. Culper,
I have challenging news. British counterfeiters are set to flood New York and elsewhere with forged Continental dollars. John André briefed 12 men, shovers, who leave midday Tuesday on a ship called the Glencairn traveling the Hudson north of Fort Montgomery to Con Hook. Where they go after that, I do not know. Aside from this, I note Major Andre has been lately down in the mouth. Woman troubles of some variety. Please tell 711 as fast as possible.
She was fully awake now. The note was from Townsend. She read through the note three more times, to ensure she was translating everything perfectly.
"Oh my gosh." She said, looking up at Caleb, "we need to get this to Washington."
It was that evening. Ben had returned from his scouting mission and now he, Molly, and Caleb were all in Washington's tent. They were all stood around various maps laid out on one of the desks. They had spent the last hour trying to figure out exactly where the shovers were going to land their boats along the coastline.
"According to Culper Jr.'s intelligence, the Glencairn has already made landfall and its shovers have dispersed with their poison dollars." Washington said. "We received this news too late." He decided.
"But, sir," Ben cut in, "we may still be able to find them through their contacts."
"But even he doesn't know where they're heading." Washington replied.
"Well, sir, we could start in Con Hook and look for their tracks." Caleb offered.
"Tracks?"
"Right."
"You're dismissed." Washington ordered.
"Sir, if you'll just allow…" Ben tried.
"Both of you." He added.
Ben and Caleb shot each other a look and they reluctantly exited the tent.
"You know, this is why people think you're a bit of an ass." Molly blurted.
"Mind your tongue, Ms. Strong."
Since Molly had begun working with Washington more often, she had come to understand why Ben was so opposed to him at one point. Washington was a very dry man when he wanted to be. He was pleasant most of the time, but during instances like these, he was cold and harsh. In many ways, he reminded Molly of her own father.
She rolled her eyes, "So what? You're going to give up? What's the point of intelligence if you dismiss it before actually attempting to utilize it?"
"No, the point of intelligence is to receive it in a timely manner. Don't you agree?"
"Of course. That's why all of us in the chain did not bother with formalities. That's why we brought it directly to you."
Washington sighed and rubbed his temples, "Yes, and I appreciate your work, Molly. But let's face it, this time, the chain was not as efficient as it could have been. It is no one man's fault." He paused for a moment. "I know you don't want to hear me go on. You are dismissed, if you wish."
Once outside, Molly rushed to catch up with Ben and Caleb. They had already started walking away from the tent.
"Hey, wait for me!" she called. When she reached them, they were in the midst of a conversation.
"Now do you really think that you could track the shovers from Con Hook?" Ben was asking.
"No," Caleb admitted, "they'll likely take boats."
"Any other ideas?"
Caleb glanced at Molly for a moment then averted his gaze. He shook his head slightly.
"What?" she asked.
"I know how much you despise your sister-in-law, so forget it." Caleb replied.
She rolled her eyes, "I don't despise her."
"Well…" Ben began.
"Stop it!" she snapped, "What? Is your idea to consult Anna about this? Because at this point, I would not oppose it."
"Really?" Ben asked.
"Yes, I am still cross with Anna, alright? I'm probably always going to be, so you both need to get used to that." Molly added when she noticed Caleb beginning to grin. "Listen, this is the most urgent news we've received in a long time. We could use all the help we can get."
So, they went to see Anna. They explained their predicament and showed her Molly's sloppily written transcription of Townsend's letter. She reread the letter over and over again.
"If they've already landed, what'll you do?" Anna finally asked.
"We've as much clue as a horse's arse." Caleb said.
"Right, but we were hoping you might have a different perspective seeing as you've been in enemy territory longer than either of us." Ben added. It was a lie, but Molly was glad he was lying. He was trying to mend what was left of Molly and Anna's relationship.
"Well, I've been thinking about where the shovers would do their shoving." Anna replied, "If they have all this money to unload, they can't just spend it at some general store. They'd need someone who could take thousands in one go and spend it fast."
"Well, loyal Tories, right?" Ben asked, "I mean, they could spend it, but they'd have to do it over time."
"No. No, too slow." Caleb protested, "The British need a flood, not a trickle."
Anna waved her hand to get their attention again. "When Maarten DeJong bought Selah's tavern, he switched to buying cheap rum from privateers."
Molly had completely forgotten about that. Even after DeJong took over the tavern, Anna always did the books. The most Molly ever did was inventory.
"So," she continued, "Patriot privateers have access to our lands and waterways. They trade on the black market with anyone and might be greedy enough not to ask questions about who they're selling to or why."
They all stood there in disbelief. It made sense.
"Christ." Caleb stammered, "She's... she's got it, Ben. She got it." He wrapped an arm around Anna's shoulder and kissed her on the forehead, "You got it!" She laughed and then Caleb continued, "All right, last week I heard a couple of whipjackets who do business in Moodna Creek, right? They closed their shop. They stopped selling. They pulled all their tobacco off the London trade. They pulled all of it."
"Wait, how much did they have?" Molly asked.
"A shit ton, give or take."
"But the only reason they'd take their inventory off market is if they thought they had someone who could buy it all, right?" Ben asked.
"Right." Caleb laughed.
"One big sale." Anna said.
"Yeah."
"Well, do you know where their hideout is?"
"Yeah."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Anna smiled, "Give 'em hell!"
They all looked at each other briefly, and then Ben and Caleb rushed off to find some men to take with them.
That left Molly and Anna. They stood there for a moment, saying nothing. Finally, Molly spoke up, "Listen. I know I may have been acting a bit harsh towards you."
"That's alright." Anna replied, "You have every right to be upset."
"No, don't lie to me to appease me. Don't do that." She paused, "I'm sorry."
Molly rarely apologized, and Anna knew that.
"I accept your apology."
"Can we try being friends again?"
"We were never friends, Molly."
"Sisters then?"
"Aye, I'd like that."
Author's Note:
The Martha Washington reveal fell about as flat as I thought it might. Oh well...
As I've mentioned before, the timeline in the tv show becomes an utter nightmare to work with in Season 3.
In the show, they have the Battle of Monmouth take place in the Season 2 finale. However, they refer to the location only as "Kerr Field" (which was a field used during the battle), and the logistics of the battle are all wrong. However, the show was historically accurate by showing both Ben and Simcoe were present at that battle. So, that's fun to keep in mind...
However, in the subplots taking place in Setauket, it's still implied that Season 2 ends at the very beginning of the year 1778. So that doesn't make sense.
Anyway, here's some historical context for anyone who cares: The Battle of Monmouth was a semi-big deal because it was one of the Continental Army's first major victories in 1778. - As for the Charles Lee stuff, Lee was historically never a spy for the British. But his failure at the Battle of Monmouth (combined with similar failures at previous battles), led to him being court-martialed and dismissed from military service.
As for Molly, I've always had an interest in the legend of Molly Pitcher. She was a real person. There's some debate whether or not she was one woman or if there were multiple women who happened to do the same thing during different events. - Regardless, I decided to go with the story following Mary Ludwig Hays at the Battle of Monmouth. She was serving as a pitcher girl during one of the battles and her husband was an artilleryman in the Continental Army. Something happened and he ended up getting injured, so Mary took his place at the cannon. - We know she was a real person because after the war, she was commended by Washington for her bravery and she was even granted a military pension by Congress. Also, after the battle, a lot of soldiers heard about her and they gave her the nickname "Sergeant Molly". She had that nickname for the rest of her life.
Speaking of Molly: Would Washington have really allowed Molly to attend all these meetings and work as Ben's unofficial aide-de-camp?
Honestly, I think it's debatable. I mean, she's only been allowed into the meetings concerning intelligence, so possibly? Historically, no one in the actual spy ring was married/engaged, and, even if they were, their spouses probably wouldn't have been allowed to help directly in the ring. However, seeing as Molly was actually serving as a spy…All I know is that stranger things happened. Knowing how the historic Washington felt about Molly Pitcher, he may have allowed it.