Author: Charles Dewey

Charles Dewey holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in History with a concentration in military history from the Virginia Military Institute. He has interned and published articles for the History News Network, and is currently a military intelligence officer in the US Army National Guard and a historical interpreter and educator at Fort Lee Historic Park. He received the Walter S. Hinman Award for his thesis on the Sterling Ironworks and the creation of the West Point chain. His research interests include intelligence operations, politics, and social changes in the Hudson Valley and the greater New York City area during the Revolution, as well as the influence of American political thought on the French Revolution.

Espionage and Cryptography Posted on

Amicus Reipublicae; or, Abraham Bancker, Friend of the Republic

Abraham Bancker gave in to temptation on September 10, 1789, when he petitioned George Washington for a federal appointment as compensation for his service during the American Revolution. He had been reluctant to write for some time, feeling as though his competitors were superior in ability and more reasonable in their requests. “This Application proceeds […]

by Charles Dewey
Loyalists Posted on

Terror in the Ramapos

While there were many Revolutionary-era outlaws, Claudius Smith and the Cowboys of the Ramapos stand apart. Their story has long been exaggerated and romanticized through local legends, but the true account of their actions is far more violent. Smith and his band—comprised of his children, outlaws, deserters, Native Americans, and local Tories—terrorized the Whigs of […]

by Charles Dewey
Conflict & War Posted on

Alexander Clough: Forgotten Patriot Spymaster

Television series and popular books such as TURN: Washington’s Spies and Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring recreate and immortalize the exploits of intelligence officers and spymasters such as Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge, Lt. Caleb Brewster, and Maj. John André. In the late summer of 1778, Washington’s intelligence services did provide him with reports […]

by Charles Dewey