The Culper Ring was a spy ring organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge under the orders of General George Washington in the summer of 1778 during British occupation of New York City at the height of the American Revolutionary War. Their name was derived from the aliases taken by two of its main members, Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend, who were known as "Samuel Culper, Sr." and "Samuel Culper, Jr." respectively.