Nationality American | Name Austin Roe | |
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Born March 2, 1749Port Jefferson, New York ( 1749-03-02 ) Died November 28, 1830, Patchogue, New York, United States | ||
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Austin Roe (March 2, 1749 – November 28, 1830) was a member of the Culper Ring, a successful spy network during the American Revolution that was organized in 1778 by George Washington.
Roe served the spy ring as a courier by secretly relaying its messages across the 55 miles that separated the spy ring's two centers of operation, Setauket, New York and New York City. During this time, Long Island and New York City were both occupied by the British. Austin Roe claimed to be conducting business as a merchant in order to avoid suspicion. Having over the course of the Revolution rode over 1000 miles swiftly on horseback, he has been called The Paul Revere of Long Island.
Austin Roe was also the owner of Roe's Tavern in East Setauket, an extant structure (now a private residence) where George Washington stayed overnight during his 1790 tour of Long Island.
In 2015, a letter from a loyalist soldier was uncovered identifying brothers Nathaniel and Phillip Roe as also assisting the Culper Ring.
