Spies of the American Revolution: The Culper Ring in NYC

Tour Highlights:

• Be the first to experience Untapped New York's new Revolutionary War walking tour — and share your feedback with the tour's creator, Untapped New York's Chief Experience Officer Justin Rivers
• Gain free admission to the Fraunces Tavern Museum — where George Washington bid farewell to his troops in 1783, at the conclusion of the tour
• Walk in the footsteps of the Culper Spy Ring — the secret intelligence network that helped win the war for the Patriots
• Discover a hidden artifact from a Revolutionary War prison — one of the only surviving physical remnants of British occupation in New York City
• Visit one of NYC’s oldest continuously operating businesses — a print shop open since before the Revolutionary War and still serving customers today
• See Manhattan’s only surviving Revolution-era townhouse — later home to a notorious venue for illegal sporting events
• Stand at the site of the Battle of Golden Hill — a forgotten conflict that predates the Boston Massacre

About this Tour:

Before it was the city of skyscrapers and subways, New York was a gritty, high-stakes battleground where patriots, loyalists, spies, and soldiers crossed paths daily. On this immersive walking tour, step back into the turbulent years of the American Revolution and trace the dramatic events that shaped the fate of a nation.

With a Revolutionary War-era map in hand, you’ll walk the very streets where strategy, danger, and history collided. At the heart of the tour is the Culper Spy Ring, George Washington's secret intelligence network. You’ll uncover methods and visit locations where their covert espionage work unfolded in the Seaport District and beyond.

Along the way, you'll visit Manhattan's only surviving Revolutionary War-era townhouses, built just before the war began. You'll stand at the site of the Battle of Golden Hill — a little-known clash between colonists and British troops that erupted weeks before the Boston Massacre, revealing how tensions were already boiling over in New York. You'll uncover the first monument ever erected to honor a fallen American general, hiding in plain sight for centuries. And you'll learn more about sites around Lower Manhattan that were pivotal to the Patriot cause.

The experience culminates at George Washington’s favorite New York City tavern, still operating today. At the Fraunces Tavern Museum, you’ll hear stories of revolutionary intrigue over the same threshold once crossed by patriots and plotters, and then we will bid farewell as Washington did at the same site in 1783.

Please note that free admission to the Fraunces Tavern Museum is a special perk for this preview tour, on 4/18, only. For all future tours, admission is an add-on cost.