
Category: Spy: Intelligence and Spies -- See latest Revolutionary War news here.
Simon Girty Turncoat Hero: The Most Hated Man on the Early American Frontier
Phillip Hoffman's book is the closing of 19 years of research into the history of the Frontier warfare that took place during the Revolutionary War, which was not just an East Coast war, but it was also about the British attempt to control the development of the West by joining with Indian tribes to keep American settlers from pouring to the West Coast. Three key figures in the Frontier war were Simon Girty, Alexander McKee and Matthew Eliott, all American agents at Fort Pitt who decided to go to the side of the Indians and the British, partly because of the treacherous way the Indians were being treated.
by aspentimes.com :: 2008-07-27 :: Spy: Intelligence and Spies
A child spy: Springfield settler aided George Washington
The 18th-century legend tells the adventure of a brave young man who fooled the British military. Ariel Bradley was 9yo when he served George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army, in 1776 before the Battle of White Plains. The general was eager for info about the enemy's position, but the men he sent on reconnaissance missions hadn't returned. Soldiers Thaddeus and James Bradley suggested that their little brother could gather intelligence. After passing within the British lines under pretence of going to mill, he was arrested and taken to the British camp. British Gen. William Howe's underlings quizzed the boy about where he was going...
by bradenton :: 2007-02-20 :: Spy: Intelligence and Spies
The Culper Spy Ring
Article no longer available from the original source.
The existence of the so-called "Culper Spy Ring" - referring to the aliases given its agents, Woodhull: Samuel Culper and Townsend: Samuel Culper Jr. - was known to only a few: the ring's organizer Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge and George Washington. As far as anyone can tell, none of the spies ever whispered a word of it, even after the war. It 1930, when historian Morton Pennypacker was able to match the handwriting of Culper Jr. to Townsend's that the existence of the ring and the id of its main agent were revealed. Since then, the espionage ring has become a part of Long Island historical lore.
by newsday :: 2007-02-18 :: Spy: Intelligence and Spies
Revolutionary War spy - a slave James Armistead
Wars are rarely fought without the use of spies and the American Revolution was no exception. Arguably, the most important spy was a slave James Armistead. Born around 1748, he was given permission to join the revolutionary cause. Armistead, however, was used by both sides, making him a double-agent. In 1781, he joined the army and was put in service under the Marquis de Lafayette, who was trying to fight the chaos caused by turncoat soldier Benedict Arnold. His forces diminished by British General Charles Cornwallis' troops, Lafayette needed reliable information about enemy movements.
by time :: 2007-02-07 :: Heroes and Generals