1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: me Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. If you have listened 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,479 Speaker 1: to or had the extremely good porton to see the 5 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: incredible popular Broadway musical Hamilton's, you've probably heard that George 6 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: Washington knew his plan for the Battle of Yorktown was 7 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,519 Speaker 1: going to work because he's had a spy on the inside. 8 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: That's right, Hercules Mulligan's who we're talking about today. I 9 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: kind of want to do I kind of want to 10 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: say it like they say it in the song in 11 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: the play, but I would have to go way off 12 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: the microphone because it's very energetic. Uh. Hercules Mulligan, like 13 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: the other people in Hamilton's, was indeed a real person, 14 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: and he passed intelligence to George Washington mostly through two 15 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: different means. One was an enslaved man named Kato and 16 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: the other was the culper spy ring. But before or 17 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: he started spying on the British for the future president 18 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: of the United States, he was this kind of rabble 19 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: rousing New York member of the Sons of Liberty, which 20 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: is the same organization that in Massachusetts had pulled off 21 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: the Boston tea Party. So Hercules Mulligan's story, it's kind 22 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: of a long one, and it spans a lot of 23 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: the Revolutionary War, some elements of which require a little 24 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,399 Speaker 1: bit of a refresher if you are not steeped in 25 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,559 Speaker 1: Revolutionary War history. So we're gonna tackle it in two parts. 26 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: That's right, We're doing two parts about Hercules Mulligan. I 27 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: know folks are probably tempted to pause right now and 28 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: start emailing us about all the other people from Hamilton's 29 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: that we should do episodes. I just wanna. I want 30 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: to assure you we already have that list, like, uh, 31 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:49,559 Speaker 1: every possible person, place, event and pamphlet has been suggested 32 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: except actually Hercules and Mulligan. Nobody asked us to talk 33 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: about Hercules Mulligan. I just wanted to, which is kind 34 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: of funny that. I mean, it's one of those things 35 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: where we have gotten show the request for basically every 36 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: bit of minutia related to that play. That I'm shocked 37 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: that this particular stone went unturned because it's a pretty 38 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: fascinating one. M So to kick it off, Hercules Mulligan 39 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: was born in Ireland in seventeen forty two, Hugh and 40 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: Sarah Cook Mulligan. Around seventeen forty six, his parents immigrated 41 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:25,920 Speaker 1: to the colonies with him, his brother Hugh, and his 42 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,239 Speaker 1: sister Sarah, and at that point Hercules was the youngest, 43 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: although another brother, Cook was born after they arrived. So 44 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: the reasons for immigrating aren't really documented anywhere, but it's 45 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: likely that the family paid their own way rather than 46 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: traveling under an indenture that would have to be worked off, 47 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: which is another common way that people made their way 48 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 1: to the colonies. The elder Hugh Mulligan appears on the 49 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: New York list of Freeman of the City in seventeen 50 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 1: forty seven, approximately a year after they arrived, and indentured 51 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: servants weren't considered freeman, and since in the typical indenture 52 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: asked for about seven years, it's unlikely that the Mulligan's 53 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: had ever been subject to one. At first, Hercules his 54 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: father worked as a wigmaker, and he moved from there 55 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: into work as a merchant. Eventually he got a job 56 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: in law enforcement, which was a very common occupation for 57 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: Irish immigrants in the colonies for centuries. I would ask, yeah, 58 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: I mean there's still that's still sort of a a 59 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:28,800 Speaker 1: little bit of a trope at this point. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 60 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: For a long time though, like that, the recent Irish 61 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: immigrants were one of the major contributions to law enforcement 62 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: labor force. Hercules education came through a private tutor and 63 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: by the standards of the day, it seems like he 64 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: was quite well educated. He also grew up to be 65 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: tall and personable and very flamboyant. He retained an Irish accent, 66 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 1: and he he tended to gain people's trust really quickly 67 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: and including total strangers. He was one of those people 68 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: who was everybody's best friend basically from the moment that 69 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: they met. He was all that, such a good storyteller 70 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: that people like to say that his family was from Blarney, 71 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: which they were not. They were from a town called 72 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: Coleraine in the camp In County and Trimp. Both of 73 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: hercules brothers became merchants, which was a trade that Hercules 74 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: tried his hand dead, but he didn't really take to him. 75 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: He later became a clothier, ultimately running his own business, 76 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: employing several skilled tailors. Over the first few years of 77 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 1: his career, he moved his shop from one location to another, 78 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,480 Speaker 1: as various circumstances demanded it. By seventeen seventy one, he 79 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 1: was described as New York's most fashionable merchant Taylor. One 80 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: of Hercules Mulligan's most famous friends was Alexander Hamilton's. Hamilton's 81 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: was born on the island of Nevas in seventeen fifty five, 82 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: making him about fifteen years younger than Mulligan. When Hamilton's 83 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: came to the Colonies from the Caribbean in seventeen seventy two, 84 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,680 Speaker 1: he brought with him several letters of introduction. One of 85 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: them was directed to the New York office of a 86 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,720 Speaker 1: trading company where Hamilton's had worked in St. Croix. That 87 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: firm was the house of Cartwright and Company. Hercules brother 88 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 1: Hugh was part of the and company. He was a 89 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: junior partner in this particular firm. He would eventually buy 90 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: out his partners and own the firm outright, which made 91 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: him a really powerful family connection for Hercules to have. 92 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: So it was through Hugh Mulligan that Hercules and Hamilton's 93 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 1: first met, and Hamilton's made a good first impression on Hercules, 94 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,160 Speaker 1: who took an immediate liking to him. Hercules helped get 95 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: him enrolled in school, and later on he allowed Hamilton's 96 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 1: two board in his home while he was attending King's College, 97 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: which later became Columbia University. Hamilton's continued to live with 98 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: Hercules Mulligan after the latter married Elizabeth Sanders on October 99 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy three. She was the niece of an admiral 100 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: in the Royal Navy, and in seventeen seventy six, Mulligan 101 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: moved his home and his business to twenty three Queen Street, 102 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,720 Speaker 1: just off Wall Street. This is a much nicer kind 103 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: of uh fancier area of town than where he had 104 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,599 Speaker 1: been located before. It was where his business would stay 105 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:03,600 Speaker 1: for the rest of his life, and that is also 106 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: when Hamilton's stopped living with him uh and that shop 107 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: really became known as one of the finest clothiers in 108 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 1: New York. This move to Queen Street was in the 109 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: early years of the Revolutionary War, so to very briefly recap, 110 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:22,599 Speaker 1: Patriots were seeking American independence from Britain. Loyalists, on the 111 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: other hand, were loyal to the Crown. Hercules Mulligan was 112 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:30,039 Speaker 1: a patriot through and through, Like his family's reasons for 113 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:32,840 Speaker 1: immigrating to the colonies. His reasons for this point of 114 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: view aren't really documented anywhere, and most biographies simply boil 115 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: it down to, well, he was Irish and the Irish 116 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:44,120 Speaker 1: were overwhelmingly in favor of independence. That's really there, you go. 117 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:46,480 Speaker 1: It's like some of them the tone is like, well, 118 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: obviously he was Irish, do um, which I would just 119 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:55,200 Speaker 1: like to say, Irish people are not monolithic in their 120 00:06:55,279 --> 00:07:01,360 Speaker 1: vieunds uh toward toward England. But overwhelmingly, yes, uh, overwhelmingly 121 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 1: Irish folks were more in favor of independence. Um. When 122 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: it came to independence. Hercules Mulligan was really committed and outspoken, 123 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: to the point that some historians suggest that he might 124 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: have actually influenced Alexander Hamilton's in his views. Hamilton's political 125 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: opinions upon arriving in North America from the Caribbean aren't 126 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 1: really particularly well known or well documented. We don't quite 127 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: know what his thoughts were in that direction when he 128 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: first got to New York. Regardless, long before he became 129 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: a spy, Hercules Mulligan was an activist, and we're going 130 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: to talk a lot about that. After we first paused 131 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: for a word from one of our sponsors, Hercules. Mulligan 132 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: was already active in resistance against British rule long before 133 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: he ever met Alexander Hamilton's. In seventeen sixty five, he 134 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: arranged for the distribution of a publication that was vehemently 135 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: against the Stamp Act. To do this, he enlisted the 136 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: help of Laurence Sweeney, who was the only letter carrier 137 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: at New York in New York City at the time. 138 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: Sweeney was caught and then the publication was deemed to 139 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: be seditious, but he refused to name anyone as its 140 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: source when he was interrogated. He instead made it this. 141 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: He made this sort of off the cuff, a thing 142 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: about how it come, had come from an iron works 143 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: in New Jersey, and that became kind of an inside 144 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: joke among Patriot publications after that. They would print it 145 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: in the letters down at the bottom of their pamphlets 146 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: and stuff. The Sons of Liberty was founded at about 147 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,800 Speaker 1: the same time, and Mulligan joined, becoming one of its 148 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,440 Speaker 1: first New York members. He made no secret whatsoever of 149 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 1: this fact, and he was a prominent speaker and a 150 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: Sons of Liberty rally held in New York in July 151 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: of seventeen seventy four. Later that year, Mulligan was elected 152 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: to the Committee of Observation that was established in New 153 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: York on November. These committees were established in basically all 154 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: of the colony for the purpose of monitoring and resisting 155 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,319 Speaker 1: the so called oppressive acts. These were laws that had 156 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: been passed in the wake of the Boston Tea Party, 157 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 1: more or less to punish the colonies in Massachusetts specifically. 158 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 1: You can learn more about these laws in our podcast 159 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 1: called Thirteen Reasons for the American Revolution. As the war 160 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:21,479 Speaker 1: went on, the Committees of Observation went on to observe 161 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: loyalists in general as well. It kind of kept tabs 162 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 1: on people whose views they didn't agree with. In March 163 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 1: of seventeen seventy five, the Committee of Observation announced its 164 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: intention to hold a meeting and elect New York delegates 165 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 1: to the Second Continental Congress, which was to convene in Philadelphia. 166 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: The Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from the 167 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: thirteen Colonies, the first of which was convened in response 168 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: to Britain's intolerable acts. At a very very very basic level, 169 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: the first Continental Congress set out to decide how the 170 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:55,199 Speaker 1: colony should respond to the intolerable acts. The Second Continental 171 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,319 Speaker 1: Congress would decide how the colonies should respond to the war. 172 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: I remember sitting through what seems like extraordinarily long lessons 173 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:09,559 Speaker 1: in history class as a child on the Continental congress ees. Uh, 174 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:13,319 Speaker 1: that is not that's like not even really a synopsis. 175 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:17,920 Speaker 1: That's the tiniest possible explanation of what they were um 176 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: and what what all was discussed there. This meeting to 177 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: elect New York's delegates was to take place at the 178 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: Exchange on Mark's March sixth, and at this point New 179 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 1: York's residents included both loyalists and patriots, as well as 180 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 1: a lot of people who just wanted the war to 181 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:35,839 Speaker 1: be over and otherwise didn't particularly care when we or 182 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:39,440 Speaker 1: the other. When the Loyalists heard about this meeting that 183 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 1: the Committee of Observation was organizing, they decided to have 184 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: their own sort of pregame meeting to try to get 185 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:51,720 Speaker 1: a loyalist slate of delegates elected. The Patriots, on the 186 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: other hand, heard about the loyalists plan to try to 187 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: work up a strategy to send only loyalist delegates, so 188 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:00,319 Speaker 1: the Patriots had their own meeting as well to try 189 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,839 Speaker 1: to figure out how to beat the Loyalist numbers once 190 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 1: the vote was held. In the end, the Loyalists did 191 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:09,080 Speaker 1: muster up a pretty large number of voters to attend 192 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,600 Speaker 1: this meeting at the Exchange. The Patriots, though, had a 193 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: lot more thanks to Hercules Mulligan, Captain Isaac Sears, and 194 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:20,319 Speaker 1: Richard Livingston who basically marched through New York and rounded 195 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:22,599 Speaker 1: up every person they could possibly find to bring to 196 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:26,720 Speaker 1: the meeting themselves. They basically vote brigaded this meeting, and 197 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 1: the Loyalists not surprisingly cried foul, saying that only people 198 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: listed on the official voting roles should be able to vote. 199 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:37,839 Speaker 1: The Patriots countered that this was undemocratic and that every 200 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: citizen should be able to vote. The Committee of Observation 201 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: agreed with the Patriots, and the patriots slate of delegates 202 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:47,320 Speaker 1: was elected to the Second Continental Congress, which would ultimately 203 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 1: go on to adopt the Declaration of Independence. This really 204 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 1: just feels like a flame war on Reddit to me, well, 205 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: it feels a lot like modern politics in many regards. Yeah. Also, 206 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,079 Speaker 1: in ste In teen seventy five, afterward of fighting in 207 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:05,400 Speaker 1: Lexington and conquered Massachusetts, reach New York, the Sons of 208 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: Liberty decided to try to ban British vessels from entering 209 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 1: or leaving the port of New York, and to do 210 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: this they stole the Crown the crown collector's keys to 211 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: the Customs House. If they controlled the Customs House, then 212 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,080 Speaker 1: they would control who entered and left the harbor. The 213 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 1: Sons of Liberty would later go on to establish a 214 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,680 Speaker 1: Committee of Inspection to make sure that British goods couldn't 215 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 1: enter or leave the port. Hercules Mulligan was involved in 216 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 1: this effort and was on that committee as well. While 217 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:34,840 Speaker 1: all of this was going on, the Sons of Liberty 218 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: also moved to try to take over the running of 219 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: New York itself, choosing a committee of one hundred people 220 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 1: to handle things until a permanent government could be established. 221 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: On this committee, known among other things as the Committee 222 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: of one hundred, was Hercules Mulligan. He was very committee busy. 223 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 1: There were so many committees going on in UH in 224 00:12:55,720 --> 00:13:00,319 Speaker 1: the early days of the Revolutionary War, so Mulligan's attivities 225 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 1: as a patriot in the early days of the revolution 226 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,120 Speaker 1: went on from there. Some of them were above board 227 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 1: and some of them were not. On top of all, 228 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: these committees and this administrative work. He also, for example, 229 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 1: aided in the theft of muskets from the Loyalist City Corporation, 230 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 1: which they then distributed to members of the Sons of Liberty. 231 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 1: A little later on in the war, he was one 232 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: of the people who helped tear down the statue of 233 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:25,920 Speaker 1: King George the Third and on the Bowling Green on 234 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,439 Speaker 1: July nine, seventeen seventy six, just after a public reading 235 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:33,200 Speaker 1: of the newly signed Declaration of Independence. He's reported to 236 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 1: have actually been the person who broke down the gate 237 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:37,720 Speaker 1: to get to the statue and then tied the rope 238 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,680 Speaker 1: that was used around it around the King's neck. He 239 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:43,800 Speaker 1: put his skills as a tailor to work for the 240 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 1: war effort as well. Mulligan had been helping to recruit 241 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,440 Speaker 1: and organize military units in New York. When Alexander Hamilton 242 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:54,599 Speaker 1: was commissioned as a captain of the Provincial Company of Artillery, 243 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: Mulligan was the one who made a uniform for him 244 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,160 Speaker 1: and then helped recruit the necessary men, which was one 245 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:02,520 Speaker 1: of the terms for Hamilton's being given the role in 246 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: the first place. Yeah, it's basically okay, if you're gonna 247 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 1: be given this role, you need to you need to 248 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:13,440 Speaker 1: recruit this many people to fill your to fill your team, 249 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: and Hercules Mulligan helped him do that. Based on all 250 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: of this extremely obvious activism and having his name repeatedly 251 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 1: associated with patriotic activities, Hercules Mulligan might not seem like 252 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 1: the most logical choice for undercover espionage on behalf of 253 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: the Patriots. He was, I mean widely known as a 254 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 1: patriot and a member of the Sons of Liberating Liberty, 255 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: but he wound up being a spy anyway, which people 256 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 1: talk about. After a sponsor break in the summer of 257 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy six, David Matthews, mayor of New York and 258 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: a loyalist, needed a new coat. He went to Mulligan's shop. 259 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 1: By this point it had moved to its final location 260 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: at number twenty three Queens Street, which had a reputation 261 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 1: of being extremely fine and well stocked with quality fabrics, 262 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: laces and trims, and which employed a number of very 263 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,840 Speaker 1: skilled tailors. As we mentioned earlier, apart from the clothier's 264 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: reputation for quality, Matthews had been a regular customer there 265 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 1: for quite some time. Mulligan provided his customers with food 266 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,720 Speaker 1: and beverages during their visits, and Matthews had a reputation 267 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 1: for being a heavy drinker. Eventually, alcohol seems to have 268 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 1: gotten the better of Matthew's judgment, and he started talking 269 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: about how the British we're going to kidnap George Washington 270 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 1: and if that plan failed, their backup was to poison 271 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: his favorite meal of buttered peas ham and lettuce. According 272 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: to Matthews, many of Washington's own guard had not been 273 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: paid and they were bitter enough about it to be 274 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: willing to betray him to the Loyalists in exchange for money. 275 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 1: Buttered peas ham and lettuce. It kind of makes me laugh. 276 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,720 Speaker 1: That's uh an interesting favorite meal to have. Uh. Mulligan 277 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 1: took advantage of this situation. He angled for more details, 278 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 1: and when it seemed clear that this kidnapped attempt was 279 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: going to take place within the next few days, he 280 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 1: finished Matthews fitting. He closed up his shop, and he 281 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 1: headed to Washington's home in Greenwich Village. He ran into 282 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: Alexander Hamilton's along the way and told him about this 283 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: plot and went back to work, apparently having the forethought 284 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 1: to realize that being seen going into Washington's headquarters would 285 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 1: mean no other loyalist would ever be so careless around 286 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 1: him again. Soon Mulligan's information was confirmed through some other sources. 287 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 1: There were men who were captured in conjunction with other 288 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: crimes who, when they were interrogated, named some of Washington's 289 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 1: guard as having turned trader. A man named Thomas Hickey 290 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: was arrested, and he and several co conspirators were court 291 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,840 Speaker 1: martialed on June seventy six. Hicky's defense was that he 292 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,360 Speaker 1: had not actually planned to go through with this whole plan. 293 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: He was just trying to get the money and then 294 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: not do any of the things that he had promised 295 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: to do in exchange for that money. That defense failed, 296 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: and he was hanged on Jean thirteen. Other co conspirators 297 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: were imprisoned, and Mayor Matthews fled New York for England. 298 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:09,680 Speaker 1: People often like to call Hercules Mulligan the man who 299 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: saved George Washington's life twice, and this was but the 300 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 1: first time. In July of seventeen seventy six, British and 301 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,880 Speaker 1: Hessian troops started to land in Staten Island. Soon British 302 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:23,879 Speaker 1: General Sir William Howe had established a headquarters there, and 303 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 1: he started recruiting loyalists from around New York, which, as 304 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 1: we said before, there were plenty actually living in New York. 305 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 1: While New York had been roughly even in its proportion 306 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: of loyalists to patriots at that patriots, at this point, 307 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:39,560 Speaker 1: this huge influx of British troops really tipped the balance. 308 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 1: It also made things increasingly precarious for George Washington and 309 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: the Continental Army. Washington had about eighteen thousand troops on 310 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,680 Speaker 1: Long Island defending New York, but several of his advisers 311 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,480 Speaker 1: thought it would be wise to secretly evacuate because their 312 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 1: positions were not easy to defend. Washington, however, did not 313 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:01,439 Speaker 1: take this advice, and as a result, the Battle of 314 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:04,120 Speaker 1: Brooklyn Heights, also known as the Battle of Long Island, 315 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:08,440 Speaker 1: was devastating for Washington's fighting force, especially after they wound 316 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 1: up essentially penned in by the ocean. It took a 317 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: diversion and a nighttime escape made possible by sailors from Massachusetts, 318 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: for Washington to evacuate ten thousand or so remaining troops 319 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,000 Speaker 1: to Manhattan, using much of the same strategy that had 320 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:28,200 Speaker 1: been suggested for an earlier secret escape. Washington thought Manhattan 321 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,960 Speaker 1: would be nearly impossible to defend, especially considering how much 322 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 1: water around it was now controlled by the British. Congress 323 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 1: denied his proposition to burn the city down so that 324 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 1: loyalists couldn't have use of it. After a second assault 325 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:46,760 Speaker 1: on September, the Patriot forces escaped through Harlem Heights, leaving 326 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:48,919 Speaker 1: the British and full control of New York City and 327 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 1: ready to punish any Patriots they found. One of the 328 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:54,960 Speaker 1: first orders of business was to basically draw up the 329 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:57,880 Speaker 1: names of everyone who had been disloyal from their point 330 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: of view, and one of the names on Realist was 331 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: Hercules Mulligan on every committee, on every list. I think 332 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,320 Speaker 1: people might have just liked saying Hercules Mulligan, because I do. 333 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,239 Speaker 1: On the night of September seventy six, part of New 334 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: York caught fire, and there's still debate about whether it 335 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: was deliberate, and if so, who would have set that 336 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:26,720 Speaker 1: fire and why, And while he was trying to evacuate 337 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: his wife and two year old son, Mulligan was arrested 338 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:32,479 Speaker 1: for the first time. While his wife and child were 339 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 1: allowed to continue on their way, he was taken to 340 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:40,200 Speaker 1: Provost Prison, nicknamed for British Provost Marshall William Cunningham, who 341 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 1: with whom Mulligan did not get along. Cunningham happened to 342 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:47,000 Speaker 1: have been with the patrol that had first captured Mulligan 343 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,120 Speaker 1: while he was evacuating, and it was under his orders 344 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 1: that he had been taken into custody. Mulligan spent about 345 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 1: the next two months in jail. This is one of 346 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: those things that's not particularly clearly documented about when he 347 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,280 Speaker 1: went in and when he went out again. But while 348 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:04,119 Speaker 1: he was there, his respected work as a clothier and 349 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,120 Speaker 1: his clientele that included a lot of British officers, turned 350 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:09,320 Speaker 1: into a huge asset. He spent a lot of his 351 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,159 Speaker 1: time and friendly conversation full of lots of name dropping 352 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:14,639 Speaker 1: and references to his personal relationships with a lot of 353 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 1: well known, powerful loyalists and officers. Soon the order came 354 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,240 Speaker 1: down that he was to be released, thanks in part 355 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:23,199 Speaker 1: to what a service he had done by making all 356 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: those officers uniforms. He was freed under the condition that 357 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:31,119 Speaker 1: he not leave New York. In spite of this order, 358 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: he crossed the river into Hackensec, New Jersey on November 359 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: seventeenth of seventeen seventy six, for reasons that, once again 360 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 1: are not entirely clear. It's possible that he wanted to 361 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,920 Speaker 1: join up with Alexander Hamilton's artillery company, which was in 362 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: camp there, but regardless of why, he did run into 363 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:51,520 Speaker 1: Hamilton's who persuaded him to return to New York. So, 364 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 1: among other reasons, he could keep tabs on the British 365 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: for the Patriots, and that's what he did. And we're 366 00:20:57,520 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 1: going to talk more about that next time, when we'll 367 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:03,119 Speaker 1: get into how he gradually went from sort of spy 368 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:10,040 Speaker 1: work by happenstance to being an official, basically full time spy. Exciting. Uh, 369 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,360 Speaker 1: do you have some listener mail that tied us over 370 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: while we cliffhaning these poor people I do. This is 371 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:18,960 Speaker 1: nor mail is from Megan, and Megan says, Hello, Holly 372 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: and Tracy. I'm a graduate student spending a year in Nanjing, 373 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:26,159 Speaker 1: China writing my dissertation on theater history. Your podcast have 374 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: kept me company on many of my commutes around the city, 375 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,199 Speaker 1: so I'm glad that I finally have something interesting to 376 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,879 Speaker 1: share with you as a small gesture of thanks. A 377 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: few weeks ago, I visited the Jungha Memorial Shipyard here 378 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: in Nanjing. The park is very quiet and mostly full 379 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 1: of grandparents flying kites with their children in the shadow 380 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:47,639 Speaker 1: of an impressive statue of jung Ha. However, history fans 381 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:51,359 Speaker 1: will appreciate the fact that this idyllic urban landscape is 382 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:54,640 Speaker 1: built around three remaining trenches out of the many that 383 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,639 Speaker 1: jung Ha used to construct the treasure ships. After construction, 384 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:00,639 Speaker 1: he would flood these pits with or in float the 385 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 1: boats out to the yank Ze River, yet another marvel 386 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:06,680 Speaker 1: of engineering. As you mentioned in the podcast, the key 387 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,159 Speaker 1: attraction is an enormous recreation of one of Jungha's smaller 388 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 1: treasure ships floating in one of the canals. I have 389 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:15,360 Speaker 1: to say that it's still difficult to comprehend the scale 390 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:17,919 Speaker 1: of these vessels, even when you are staring straight up 391 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:20,960 Speaker 1: at one, or even walking around on the deck. My mother, 392 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,920 Speaker 1: a huge Western exploration buff was visiting me at the time, 393 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:26,439 Speaker 1: and the two of us were simply in awe. Recent 394 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: excavations have also uncovered some artifacts such as construction tools 395 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 1: and masts from the bottom of the trenches that you 396 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 1: can see in a small museum to the side of 397 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 1: the entrance. If you ever come to Nanjang. There are 398 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: many other remnants of the Ming dynasty that you can 399 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,119 Speaker 1: still visit today, the city walls, the Ming Tombs, the 400 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,640 Speaker 1: ruins of the Imperial Palace, and Lion Hill, where Jungha 401 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 1: lived for the last years of his life. The Chinese 402 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:51,480 Speaker 1: conception of what should be preserved, rebuilt, or completely reconstructed 403 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,760 Speaker 1: differs of it from what we might expect in the US. Still, 404 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 1: it is remarkable to see how some things, such as 405 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 1: the construction of these treasure ships have left indelible mark 406 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:02,880 Speaker 1: on the geography of the city. Hinching is the kind 407 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:05,800 Speaker 1: of place where history is always evident around you. Thank 408 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: you for talking about Jong Hunt and giving other people 409 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,399 Speaker 1: the chance to learn more about it. All the best, Megan, 410 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:16,160 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Megan. Megan's pictures were great. Um. 411 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,119 Speaker 1: I had seen sort of at the stock image places 412 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:22,360 Speaker 1: where we get our imagery for a lot of things 413 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:26,399 Speaker 1: on our website pictures of the ship, but uh, having 414 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: one that was taken from somebody actually standing on the 415 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:33,040 Speaker 1: deck of it was pretty awesome. So thank you again, Megan. 416 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 1: And if you would like to write to us about 417 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,800 Speaker 1: this or any other podcast where at History podcast that 418 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 1: at how Stuff works dot com. We're also on Facebook 419 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: at Facebook dot com slash miss in history and on 420 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 1: Twitter at miss in history. Are tumbler is missed in 421 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:48,200 Speaker 1: History dot tumbler dot com, and we're also on Pinterest 422 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:51,160 Speaker 1: at pinterest dot com slash miss in history. Our instagram 423 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: is missed in History. We tried to stay consistent and 424 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: put everything under the name missed in History. 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