Template:Did you know nominations/Anna Strong (spy)


 * The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as |this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 08:39, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

Anna Strong (spy)

 * ...that American spy Anna Strong signaled members of the Culper Ring during the American Revolutionary War with her petticoat?
 * Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/William H. Barnes (jurist)
 * Comment: Anna Strong and the Culper Ring are portrayed in the current AMC (TV channel) series Turn

Created by Donner60 (talk). Self nominated at 03:50, 10 May 2014 (UTC).


 * Symbol question.svg A comprehensive well-referenced article that meets DYK requirements of newness and length. My quibble is with the hook. The article states "According to widely accepted local and family tradition ..." so I suggest this alternative hook (I've also changed the spelling of "signaled", or is this correct in American English?): Cwmhiraeth (talk) 06:03, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
 * ALT1 ...that according to tradition, American spy Anna Strong signalled members of the Culper Ring during the American Revolutionary War with her petticoat?


 * That is OK with me since I had written that proviso in the article. I did not put it in the hook simply because I had also said the petticoat story was "widely accepted." Also, it is known that Strong had contact with Brewster and was under suspicion for helping the American cause. So she must have done more than just cheered them on, so to speak. Members of the ring were so secretive, and disclosed nothing even in later life, and their exploits were so well concealed, that it is not surprising that some of the details of their work come from tradition. The references to the sentence with the statement about the petticoat and the additional references in the next sentence which refer to the petticoat and the handkerchiefs, and a few of the other references, all state the petticoat story without qualification. Yet, at least two reputable sources qualify the statement so I thought that full disclosure required that to be stated even though several reliable sources support the story outright. Donner60 (talk) 06:31, 10 May 2014 (UTC)


 * I forgot to answer that is the Wikipedia spelling of signalled. I wrote it with two ls and got a red underline signal. So I thought maybe that one l was the preferred spelling despite my thought that the other spelling was correct, or at least preferred. I have always spelled it with two ls. One can't trust the spell checker 100% of the time, I guess. Donner60 (talk) 06:36, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Symbol confirmed.svg Going with ALT1 then. This article is new enough and long enough. The hook is well sourced and is much safer with the proviso included. I saw no evidence of any copyright violations or close paraphrasing. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 08:33, 10 May 2014 (UTC)