Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring

R. Royce enjoyed a leisurely lunch late one morning at Fort Belvoir's dining facility in the Spring of 1980. Two incidents happened on that particular Sunday that made it most memorable. First, a newly arrived uniformed MP took it upon himself to step forward to the front of the chow line, since he had been told by his peers that he could cut in front when on duty. Much to his chagrin and dismay, the other soldiers in line took exception to this policy. They did not exactly agree with his tactics and gave him considerable verbal abuse as a result. Several made insulting and derogatory comments in protest, while others waited patiently in line, as steamy food was being heaped onto his tray. Comments such as "Where do you think you're going, 'Lone Ranger'?" and "Heavy-Duty Harold has to hurry back to his super-hero comic book." and "In reality, he's picking up the Colonel's daughter at Falls Church in about an hour." could be heard. The second incident occurred incidental to the All-Army Cooks Championship Baking Competition, about to be judged on that very day--in fact, that very afternoon. Supposedly, the esteemed panel of guests included high-ranking officials from the Pentagon. Photographers and journalists would cover the story, and several dignitaries would preside over the awards ceremony to follow. The event was a big deal for promoting community service. A sizeable area of the dining hall had been cordoned off and a few dozen lovely decorated cakes were lined-up for display and inspection on tables covered with white linen table-cloths, ornately folded napkins, newly polished silverware, and gleaming stacks of fine china plates. It so happened that the platoon of soldiers waiting in line in fatigue uniforms had only just returned from bivouac, where they had been camping out in pup-tents and running through several days of field training exercises. Really, they had been performing typically ordinary maneuvers, only in muddy terrain, under wet-weather conditions. Wet-weather training reminded Royce of the time the Mechanized Infantry unit had driven their M60 Tank into a pond and promptly got it stuck in the muck. The recovery team had arrived on-site to pull it out using a complex block and tackle apparatus, composed of thick steel cables and multiple heavy pulleys. Royce had just returned to the field after CQ duty and noticed a single, solitary soldier standing alone near the crest of a hill at a considerable distance away from the others. Everyone else was standing up close and personal, surrounding the tank sunk in turret-depth muddy water, chatting and observing the process of extracting the tank from the pond. "Who are you?" asked Royce. "And why are you standing way over here?" "I'm the safety officer," the man explained, calmly. "I once saw somebody cut completely in two, by a broken steel cable that had whipped around and swash-buckled wildly in the air. Too much tension had been applied to the cable pulling 60-tons of machinery up a steep slippery slope." Consequently, the platoon of soldiers trooped back to the military post weary and hungry for a hot meal, where they could sit-down in more comfortable surroundings, relax, and unwind. Only, somebody forgot to tell them about the Baking Contest. They didn't notice any off-limits signs, so naturally they went for the desserts after the main course. Several soldiers sliced themselves large, generous portions from over a dozen of the most beautifully decorated prize-winning cakes that Royce had ever seen in his entire life. If the cooks didn't want the cakes to be eaten, they should have posted a guard, he figured. After lunch, Royce thought about going for a hike around the golf course to help digest the food he had eaten. Along the way, he thought about some of the tactics employed on maneuvers: parachuting out of an fixed-wing aircraft; rappelling down the side of a sheer cliff wall to the beach far below; traversing a rope bridge across the river valley; zip-lining through the forest at tree-top heights; feeling their way through mysterious caverns and underground tunnels; and wading through the swamp in chest-deep pools of water. Why couldn't they just for once canoe across a shallow, gently-flowing pool of cool, sparkling clear water one lazy sunny afternoon with a cooler full of beer on ice. The effect on morale would be sheer poetry in motion. After reading some of Alexander Rose's historical narrative in his book, Washington's Spies, published in 2006, I just couldn't resist writing a poem to commemorate the Declaration of Independence and the birth of our great nation. The title of the poem is "Washington's Pies."It goes as follows:Simply put, Herman was a pie manAnd Washington's biggest fan.Quite an inquisitive fellow was heSociable and pleasant as he could be.Toasting good company with tankards of aleThe mission he accepted could not fail.The bakery goods he would carryHid Revolutionary War-time secrets moved by ferry.Apple pastry, rhubarb, berryLemon meringue, pumpkin, cherry.While appearances can be deceivingWhat they say, seeing is believing.Ship-loads of soldiers were promised on the shoreFireworks celebrations, guaranteed galore.Ask him no questions, he'll tell you no lies;Boston's the place to look, if you're seeking spies.The next installment may seem deliciously free,But if you savor sweet peaches, shake not the tree."Paul Revere is not here, as you can plainly see,"He would exclaim with vituperations and formally decree. Alexander Rose's exceptionally well-documented book presents a factual and historical account of some of the events which helped shape the course of our early history in parts of the United States, specifically, during the time when Americans were colonial subjects ruled by King George and England, up to September 3, 1783, when the Treaty of Paris was signed. In other words, the book roughly covers the time period from the 1770's to the end of the Revolutionary War. Upon reading the book, you quickly get the distinct impression that certain individuals living in New York then had sensed the urgent need to get vital information to Washington, as soon as possible. And by Washington, the author was referring to the General of the Continental Army-- the top military leader, not a specific place on a map. General Washington, himself, as well as his Army, was constantly on the move during those years, or on the run from the British Army. There are other choice tidbits of information which the author presents or to which he alludes, including the fact that the community of Long Island, New York must have been quite a "hot-bed of political activity." Indeed, the good friends, neighbors, and pillars of the community living there were completely surrounded, thoroughly infiltrated, and totally inundated by " 'taters and traitors." " 'Taters?" you ask. Sure: dictators, agitators, and facilitators. The dictators were King George and the military leaders of the oppressive British Army and Navy representing him in the Colonies. Martial law had been imposed and was in full effect. The British military was the predominant occupying force there. Not everybody was happy with the unpopular laws that were enacted, and many of the king's "brave new world" subjects became unruly and rebellious. The agitators were a terrible grab-bag assortment of pirates, privateers, profiteers, robbers, thieves, arsonists, looters, smugglers, and counterfeiters. Many acted as common criminals, but some were sanctioned by the military. Most actions could be attributed to a long series of war-related complications, consequences, repercussions, and reprisals. To make matters worse, there was an incredible amount of retribution and retaliation. Facilitators were legitimate tradesmen and businessmen. They were buyers and sellers of commercial goods and those who provided services. They were the ones most likely to follow the rules and obey the laws. But factions of them were also members of the Continental Army and the Continental Congress, Whigs, pacifist Quakers, and other normally peaceful religious groups. Individuals from these groups wanted to create a free and independent nation. They wanted representative government. Hence, the friction that ensued during those difficult years of social strife and civil unrest. Traitors? Benedict Arnold was mentioned, and the party that exposed him and tried to turn him in, was identified in the book. Then, there were several members of a large political contingent of Tories, known as Loyalists--those loyal to England and King George. These Loyalists were perhaps less well known to history, if known at all, but they gave many of the local inhabitants quite a scare on occasion. Finally, there were what I would refer to as the "perpetrators." These were government officials, diplomats, and military leaders from two extraneous countries: France and Spain. They were not exactly disinterested parties to the proceedings. Evidently, the Continental Congress had obtained many of their far-fetched and revolutionary ideas from France. They were also assured of much needed military support from this country. Spain, on the other hand, being much more conservative, kept its distance and had its own ideas about involvement in the "New World." People from Spain began settling in and developing what would eventually become valuable winter-vacation and resort property in such diverse places as Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean Islands. I believe, the people from this country had the most insightful and far-reaching influence in the Western Hemisphere up to that time. Not that their conquistadors were among the most popular arrivals. Of course, because all of this is not explicitly or expressly spelled out in the book, I may be going off on a tangent in expressing my own opinion. There remains this certainty: within a couple of centuries later, North America would be carved up and parceled out like a full-grown Thanksgiving Day turkey at dinner-time.

I suppose many prospective readers of “Washington’s Spies” will also be enthusiastic viewers of the AMC Original Series “Turn,” which is loosely based on the book. The key word, readers will find, is “loosely.”The core cast of characters in “Washington’s Spies” will be familiar to any faithful watcher of “Turn”: The Yale educated intelligence chief of the Continental Army Benjamin Tallmadge, the swashbuckling Caleb Brewster, the antsy Long Island farmer-turned-spy Abraham Woodhull and his even more antsy New York-based accomplice Robert Townsend. Other key characters in “Turn" (such as Robert Rogers, Anna Strong and John Simcoe) are only bit players in Alexander Rose’s narrative. In other words, the writers at AMC used Rose’s rich tableau of real life characters to create a largely fictionalized account of the famed Culper Ring.New York City served as the headquarters for the British Expeditionary Force from 1776 till the end of hostilities in 1783. Washington desperately needed timely and accurate intelligence from inside the enemy-held city in order to most effectively husband his resources while parrying British offensives. He presented the challenge of establishing an espionage network to the young and enterprising Major Tallmadge, who was, according to Rose, “one of Washington’s most promising golden boys.” He used boyhood contacts from his home in Setauket on the northern shore of Long Island to crack the British veil of secrecy around New York. Rose describes in fascinating detail the tradecraft employed by the so-called Culper Ring (after Woodhull’s alias of Samuel Culper) to communicate via ciphers and codebooks and clandestine dead drops.The Culper Ring was the most extensive and successful espionage network of the entire war, but it was far from the only effort. The Continental Army spent just under 2,000 pounds total on acquiring intelligence during the war, according to Rose, a full quarter of which went to supporting the Culper Ring. What Rose does not do is detail how the other 75% was spent, although he does emphasize that third party verification of information was critical to the commander in chief of the Continental Army. “Washington … appreciated the craft of intelligence far more than did [British commander] Clinton (or other senior commanders),” he writes, “and naturally grasped the need to acquire reports from myriad, often contradictory sources behind the lines, to cross-reference their information to distinguish between fact and fiction, and to analyze and evaluate their timeliness and utility before acting.” Unfortunately, we hear almost nothing about these other “myriad, often contradictory sources.”“Washington’s Spies” is more than just the story of the Culper Ring, however. It is also a history of life in British occupied New York and Long Island. If the British were fighting a Patriot insurgency, Rose argues that they did a terrible job of pacification and winning the hearts & minds of the locals. “Loyalists had sided with the British, who they believed were defending their rights as free Englishmen against the tyrannical American revolutionaries,” he says, “yet in the very epicenter of Loyalism [western Long Island], such customary Englishman’s rights as trial by jury, privacy, sanctity of property and elected representation did not exist.” Indeed, one of the key members of the Culper Ring, Robert Townsend, was likely converted to the rebellion in response to British depredations he witnessed in and around New York. In the words of one British officer, “We planted an irrecoverable hatred wherever we went, which neither time nor measures will be able to eradicate.” Washington took advantage of such alienation to the fullest.Finally, Rose also tells a number of fascinating side stories often neglected in other narratives of the American Revolution. For instance, shortly after the defection of Benedict Arnold in 1780, Washington approved an audacious plan to kidnap the traitor from British-held New York, a story told in a dramatic way in Turn. A young and ambitious sergeant from Virginia, John Champe, volunteered for the assignment. He succeeded in “defecting” from his Continental Army unit and made it behind enemy lines to New York to join Arnold’s new Loyalist unit. Arnold barely escaped the attempted kidnapping and Champe managed in a harrowing journey to defect back to his American compatriots. It’s an incredible story and one that I had never heard before.In sum, “Washington’s Spies” is an informative and satisfying read. Fans of “Turn” may be disappointed to learn that what they watched over four seasons was almost completely fictionalized, but they will be better off knowing the true story of Benjamin Tallmadge and his Culper Ring.

History is not black and white, its gray. History is never simple or what one person said or wrote or think. There are too many untold, unknown, hidden, lies, ectaras situations in history. (And in everything else also.) Washington's spies is something newly discovered! Or, rediscovered. It's very interesting to read about this.

This book is great if you like history about a period when Britain was the number 1 super power against the American colonies who weren’t even a country until ,,, they wrote the Declaration of Independence,,,, at the time there was only 13 states the capital was in Philadelphia and that’s where the declaration was signed ,,,, both sides needed to know about each other’s troop movements and where military matters regarding each other’s top generals were going to be and why ,,, for Washington it was clear he needed to know more what was going on and hence why he set up the colper spie ring the first of four ,,, depending on which side you were on said more about you and the type of person you are ,, family against family ,,, friend against friend,,,, father against son or daughter ,, if you sided for the British or for the colonies the one thing for sure what, where ,, how snd when someone was spying on you wether you did or didn’t and that was on both sides also the french played a big part in the war and were against the British who at the time had already been fighting for 10 years and were allied too the colonies also the native Indians some were used against the British and also against the colonies,,, 8 years the war lasted so for me it’s the best of history

I can't speak of the Culper Spy ring as I have no knowledge of that but the John Andre information contained in this book is wildly inaccurate. He was not born and raised in Geneva ( he spent two years there at school). He was not engaged to "someone called Anna Seward" who, incidentally was a very famous writer and poet! How can be say his father was "a cold Swiss merchant"? The evidence says otherwise. The sad thing is there were three very comprehensive Andre biographies available where he could have found the correct information. He has taken the bulk of his other research solely from Van Doren's book so perhaps he couldn't manage to read another book! I don't suppose he cares as with the TV series "Turn" being based on this book (and not historical fact either) Rose is probably laughing all the way to the bank. Not recommended if you want historical accuracy.

Whilst this book explains in some detail the workings of General Washington's intelligence operations in New York it does not set them in the context of what was an Anglo-American Civil War. Whilst the reader is informed about the New York spy ring and how Washington received reports as well as how there were local skirmishes, we are not told the big picture.The real question that requires answer is how and in what way did this intelligence contribute to the American victory. Apart from the capture of the Crown agent Major Andre and the exposure of US General Arnold as a British spy the effects of such operations appear pretty negligible save for certain reports of troop movements.The book was disappointing, for although it was well researched with many extracts of original documents and reports, it was not set in context of the war and how such reports etc., affected the military operations. What it does tell us is something about how effectively such intelligence might be obtained in those times.

Having watched the TV series I was interested in finding out more about this element of the American War of Independence. It is a very good read, well written and gives more depth to the characters depicted in the TV series. If you're expecting the book to mirror the TV series then you can expect a surprise, as a lot of poetic licence has been used. I guess this is to keep viewers in suspense.

A great read