Calling All Revolutionary Spies!

Ever wonder how spies get their aliases? Well, I can't speak for modern-day ones, but I happen to know how George Washington and company came by the names for those in the Culper Ring, the first organized American spy ring. And as part of the launch for Ring of Secrets, I thought it would be fun to lay it all out so we can all come up with our own code names!

I'm Evelyn Pitt... Who are you?

How the Culpers came to be the Culpers

George Washington and his intelligencers, when looking to assign code names to their primary agent, started with the initials of the head of intelligence—Charles Scott, C.S. Then they reversed them—S.C. This would be the initials of the primary Culper officer. For the “C,” Washington chose a place he had fond memories of, Culpeper County, Virginia, where he worked as a lad. Then he shortened it to Culper. For the “S,” Tallmadge (the head officer of the ring) decided on “Samuel,” his younger brother’s name, and a good friend of the man who would be adopting the identity. So there we have it! Samuel Culper, the creation that became the bane of the British.

 

Let's Create Our Name!

  1. Start with a name of a teacher, parent, or boss  

I'm going to pick Patricia Egan, one of my favorite bosses from my college days

2. Take their initials and reverse 'em

So P.E. becomes E.P.

 

3. Think of a place important to you that starts with the second initial  

I'm going to pick Pittsburgh, because it's the closest major city whose sports teams we like

4. Shorten, lengthen, or otherwise alter the place name into a surname   

So Pittsburgh becomes Pitt. No relation to Brad, ahem. ;-)

5. Think of a family member or friend whose name begins with the first initial
(not the same one you got the name from!)

E, in my family, is for Evelyn.
My great-grandmother's name, and the middle name of my grandmother, mom, and daughter.

So there you have it! Who are you??

 

~*~

Roseanna M. White pens her novels under the Betsy Ross flag hanging above her desk, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When she isn’t writing fiction, she’s editing it for WhiteFire Publishing or reviewing it for the Christian Review of Books, both of which she co-founded with her husband.