The Dayton-Mersereau-Hendricks spy ring was General George Washington’s first organized intelligence network, predating the more famous Culper spy ring. Washington set up the Mersereau ring in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in early December 1776 when he asked Staten Islander Joshua Mersereau to recruit operatives that would report critical information from behind enemy lines on Staten Island.  Colonel Elias Dayton of Elizabethtown, an officer in the New Jersey militia, became involved with the Mersereau ring in 1777, expanding the network by adding more operatives including New Jerseyans Captain Baker Hendricks and his brother John Hendricks, and John Meeker. Operating primarily between Staten Island, New Jersey, and the lower Hudson River Valley, the Dayton-Mersereau-Hendricks ring passed intelligence to Washington about the British military’s numerical strength, its tactical operations, artillery positions, supplies, and naval assets. The network supplied critical information to General Washington and carried out important clandestine tasks that facilitated his crossing of the Delaware River in December 1776. It also provided intelligence on the British fleet, which helped shape Washington’s late-war strategy, and played a role in exposing General Benedict Arnold’s treason in 1780.

Phillip Papas received his Ph.D. in History from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is Senior Professor of History at Union College of Union County, New Jersey (UCNJ), and the author of That Ever Loyal Island: Staten Island and the American Revolution (NYU Press, 2007), Renegade Revolutionary: The Life of General Charles Lee (NYU Press, 2014), and co-author of Port Richmond (Arcadia Publishing, 2009). His book That Ever Loyal Island inspired the documentary film Loyalty & Rebellion (2019) in which he appeared. 

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The New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance (NJSAA) is an interdisciplinary organization dedicated to advancing teaching and research about New Jersey. The organization brings together educators, historians, geographers, museum professionals, archivists, and librarians. As a proud RevolutionNJ Partner, NJSAA is excited to collaborate with Flounders Brewing in Hillsborough, NJ, to present a series of talks highlighting New Jersey and the 250th commemoration of the American Revolution. These talks are open to everyone and are all about making New Jersey’s Revolutionary past fun and easy to explore. Grab a drink, join the conversation, and connect with fellow history lovers and neighbors in a Revolutionary War era barn.