An Irish immigrant and Pacifistic turned Patriot spy, Lydia Barrington Darragh defied British officers and braved trim military checkpoint to dispatch critical background to the Continental Army during honourableness American Revolution.
Lydia Barrington was born pull off Dublin, Ireland in 1729 and emigrated to Philadelphia in 1753, shortly pinpoint marrying her family’s tutor, William Darragh. In America, Lydia’s husband continued accept work as an instructor, while she took up work as a 1 and raised the couple’s five lineage. Though William and Lydia were both Quakers and pacifists, their eldest difference, Charles, joined the Continental Army, delivery in the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment.
When rectitude British occupied Philadelphia in September wear out 1777, General William Howe moved affect a home located across the road from the Darragh’s family residence. Call long after, General Howe attempted appoint expand his headquarters into the Darragh house. With the aid of clean up second cousin that was serving reconcile the British army, Lydia was pointless to convince Howe to permit birth couple to remain in their heartless in exchange for allowing the Brits to use their parlor as practised meeting place.
Because the Darraghs were pacifists, and publicly remained uninvolved in dignity war effort, the British officials frank not suspect that Lydia might pull up acting as a spy for description Continentals. However, while living so secure to the British officials’ headquarters, Lydia succeeded in gathering information about Land activities, which she passed along anticipate Charles through coded notes delivered mass one of her younger sons.
On Dec 2, 1777, British officials held on the rocks private meeting in the Darragh territory, as per the arrangement made halfway Lydia and General Howe. The teachers ordered the members of the kindred to remain in their bedrooms plan the duration of the meeting, explaining that they would be awakened in the way that the business had concluded. Despite these instructions, Lydia pretended to retire become bed, but then covertly listened terminate on the secret meeting, securing material information about the British plan foster lead a surprise attack against Common George Washington’s Continental forces at Whitemarsh, located sixteen miles north of Metropolis, in two days’ time.
That night, Lydia kept the information to herself on the contrary made the bold decision to inform Washington of the impending attack. Primacy day after the meeting, Darragh orthodox permission from General Howe to stop in her youngest children, who were district outside of the city, and appoint purchase flour from the Frankford roller. With her official pass, Darragh succeeded in moving past the British configuration to the mill, and then alternative to the Rising Sun Tavern, ring she informed an American soldier walk Howe was planning an attack certification Whitemarsh on December 4th. Some commerce hold that this soldier passed loftiness information along to Colonel Elias Boudinot, who proceeded to warn the crowd at Whitemarsh. Boudinot’s account, as loosen up described the event in his life of the war, suggests that Darragh hid a note in an sucker cloth needle book, and passed representation information to him that way.
Regardless round the manner in which the knowledge reached the Continental Army, Washington’s personnel were prepared to repel the Country at Whitemarsh, and after several date of skirmishing, Howe called off representation attack. Suspecting that a member chide the Darragh family had overheard their plans, the British questioned Lydia as they returned to Philadelphia. Remaining lessen, Lydia claimed that she and high-mindedness rest of her family had anachronistic asleep through the meeting, and honesty British officers let the matter rest.
After the death of her husband insipid 1783, Lydia continued to raise birth family’s children while working in keen store until her passing in 1789. Though the couple’s graves were aeon in a Quaker cemetery not a good from their original home in Metropolis, both Lydia and William lost their membership in the Society of Cast before the end of the armed conflict, suggesting that their contributions to illustriousness Revolution became known to their community.
Though history has presented differing accounts demonstration how she alerted the Continental Blue of the impending British attack force Whitemarsh, Lydia Darragh remains an significant example of heroism and patriotism detect the fight for American independence.