2
The British Naval Signals Missions of 1781
byRichard Peters’ letter of October 19, 1781, to Gen. George Washington mentioned two missions to obtain copies of certain British naval signals and convey…
espionage
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8
Ten Graves of Patriot Spies
bySpies. They lived in the shadows playing a very dangerous, life-or-death game while they served in various roles of espionage for the patriot cause…
This Week on Dispatches: Ken Daigler on Nathanael Greene and His Spy Network
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews espionage expert, former CIA operations officer, and JAR contributor Ken Daigler on General Nathanael Greene and his…
2
General Nathanael Greene—Intelligence Manager
byIt is well known that George Washington was Nathanael Greene’s mentor in many ways, but luckily for many of us he did not completely…
41
Tracing Major John André’s Steps Along the Hudson: A Video Tour
byIf you draw a 150-mile radius around New York City, you’ll find so many locations relevant to the American Revolution that it’s almost overwhelming….
1
This Week on Dispatches: Douglas R. Dorney, Jr. on Captain John De Treville—Continental Officer and British Spy
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews architect and JAR contributor Douglas R. Dorney, Jr., on his research about Capt. John La Boularderie De…
2
Captain John De Treville: Continental Officer and British Spy
byIn late June 1780 a messenger arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, with intelligence for Lt. Gen. Charles, Earl Cornwallis. The messenger, Capt. John La Boularderie…
7
Enoch Crosby: A Hudson Valley Spy in Fact and Fiction
byJames Fenimore Cooper published his wildly popular second novel, The Spy: a Tale of the Neutral Ground, in 1821. The book tells the story…
This Week on Dispatches: Charles Dewey on the Dangerous Duty of Double Agents
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews Charles Dewey, contributor and military intelligence officer in the US Army National Guard, about espionage and double agents…
1
The Double Spy: The Service and Suffering of Caleb Bruen
by“But while a confidence trickster, a play actor or a gambler can return from his performance to the ranks of his admirers, the secret…
13
The “Hynson Business”—The Story of a Double Agent
byWars have a way of creating strange alliances, and the American Revolution was no exception. I encountered one such unusual relationship while researching my…
10
Alexander Clough: Forgotten Patriot Spymaster
byTelevision 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…
22
The Death and Resurrection of Major John Andre
byJohn Andre’s body hung in silence for thirty minutes before being taken down. It was placed carefully in a simple open coffin crudely painted…
4
Charles Craig’s Final Statement
byIn his last moments, with calculated efficiency, he bolted the bedroom door so no one could interrupt the execution of his final act. Charles…
John the Painter: Terrorist for America
byUpon our arrival, I did behold a most curious Sight, which gave me further Cause to wonder about the true Safety we might here…
3
General Washington’s First Spy, and Why His Mission Was Doomed from the Start
byOn July 15, 1775, less than two weeks after he arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to take command of the Continental Army, Gen. George Washington…
7
George Washington’s Agent Z: The Curious Case of Lt. Lewis J. Costigin
byOne of the things that make human intelligence operations so interesting is that you never know how, and for that matter whether, an operation…
3
A Spy Wins a Purple Heart: The Amazing Tale of Daniel Bissell and the Military Order of Merit
byOn June 8th, 1783, Gen. George Washington issued the following orders to the Continental army from his headquarters in Newburgh, New York: Serjeant Bissel…
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9 Rules of Spying That Nathan Hale Failed to Follow
byIn the late summer of 1776, Nathan Hale was a handsome, tall, charismatic twenty-one-year-old school teacher from Coventry, Connecticut with no battle experience but…
12
5 Great Intelligence Successes
byGood Revolutionary War commanders understood the value of intelligence on their adversaries. The great eighteenth century military theorist Marshal de Saxe, who was on…
18
4 Infamous Intelligence Failures
byBattles are complicated events where conflicting or unclear information can confuse even good generals. Here are some examples of when American intelligence systems failed,…
2
The Culper Spy Ring Was not the First to Warn the French at Newport
byOn July 10, 1780, a French fleet of seven ships of the line and four frigates under Admiral Chevalier de Ternay, along with thirty-six…
Ann Bates: British Spy Extraordinaire
byWith the recent popularity of spies in the Revolutionary War, led by AMC’s TURN cable television series and the bestselling book George Washington’s Secret…
AMC’s “Turn”: Everything Historians Need To Know
byDanger, secrets, intrigue and revenge were all part of the Culper spy ring, and the new AMC series “Turn,” premiering April 6 (Sundays 9/8…
2
Westholme Publishing: Four Selections
byI write the following book reviews to promote a small, but well-respected, outfit specializing in publishing Revolutionary War books (as well as other nonfiction…
10
James Rivington: King’s Printer
and Patriot Spy?
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This article was originally published in Journal of the American Revolution, Vol. 1 (Ertel Publishing, 2013). Solving “the Most Astounding” Mystery of the American…
8
British Spy Plot to Capture
Fort Ticonderoga in 1777
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Peter Livius, chief justice of the province of Quebec and former justice of New Hampshire, wrote a letter on June 2, 1777 to American…
The Committee of Secret Correspondence
byAs the struggle between Great Britain and her colonists in the thirteen North American colonies entered a state of armed resistance against British military…
Nathan Hale: A Hero’s Fiasco
byDear Mr. History: What’s the story on Nathan Hale? Like countless American schoolchildren, I was taught that he was executed for spying and said…