Читать книгу The Secrets of Spies - Weldon Owen - Страница 37
ОглавлениеCHAPTER 2 | 1600s–1800s
38
GEORGE WASHINGTON:
AMERICAN SPY CHIEF
Few of history’s major military commanders were as well-versed
in the art of spying as George Washington. In the secret intelligence
war between the British and the fledgling American Republic, he ensured
that it was the Americans who came out on top.
Washington’s involvement as a spy chief during the American Revolutionary
War (1775–1783) began as early as July 1775, when he sent an anonymous
agent into Boston to “establish a secret correspondence for the purpose of
conveying intelligence of the enemy’s movements and designs.” A year later,
Washington agreed to allow a volunteer, Nathan Hale, to infiltrate British-held
New York. Hale was an enterprising young man, but lacked the necessary
skills of a good spy. He was arrested after just two weeks in the city and
condemned to hang on September 22, 1776.
THE CULPER RING
In light of the Hale misadventure,
Washington adopted a more professional
approach, appointing Benjamin Tallmadge
as his deputy in intelligence matters in 1778.
Tallmadge created a spy network in New
York that provided information in British
movements and intentions. Known as the
Culper Ring, after the code-names of the
leading members, the spies were New
Yorkers who were well known in the city
and able to conceal their true sympathies.
The Culper Ring provided Washington
with a steady stream of information,
its most valuable contribution
coming in 1780. The American spies discovered that the British were
about to send a large force to intercept newly landed French
troops, sent to help the Americans, in Newport, Rhode Island.
This information was relayed to Washington, who promptly
made bogus preparations for a full-scale march on
New York. Hearing of this, the British commander
countermanded the attack on the French in order to
defend New York against an assault that somehow
failed to materialize.
Above: Benjamin Tallmadge
Right: George Washington
