Today it is easy to communicate with anyone anywhere in the world. Whether it is through the internet, a text, phone call, or formal letter, sending a message has never been easier. Aside from being convenient in everyday life, this level of efficiency becomes critical in times of great conflict. For example, during times of war instant communication is of paramount importance. Every decision affects countless lives, and needs as much information and input as possible.
However, in America’s infant stages there was no internet or telephone. The only way to reach another who was far away was through a letter delivered by horse. This caused little difficulty amongst communities, but made quick decisions on a larger scale tougher to make. During a war generals didn’t have the luxury of having every advisor on speed dial. They had to make decisions based on what intelligence could be scrapped together on a short notice. If reinforcements were needed it could take days before the closest army could be reached.
All of this makes the American Revolution more impressive. America had no trained army or a navy and Britain had both. To win America was going to need to communicate, be resilient, and have luck on their side. Often America focuses on the heart of the soldiers and leaders that fought off the British Invaders. But a surprisingly interesting and not often noticed aspect to the war was the aspect of communication, and spies that were used by both of the armies.
Both sides had spies amongst themselves. The CIA lists both George Washington and Benjamin Franklin as two of “the founding fathers of American intelligence” (www.cia.gov) due to their work in the Revolutionary War. George Washington had a group of spies he called the Culper Gang which was stationed in New York City. (Culper Gang) The group had an elaborate scheme to avoid detection. They would drop the letters off at a convenience store, take the letter by horse 110 miles, cross a bay, and give the letter to the head of the gang. All of this involved codenames, secret signals, and the use of invisible ink. Only once was a letter intercepted. Luckily, all it said was to look into someone as a possible new member, and did not give away any of the identities of any current members.
The British also had loyalists who worked as spies. One of the most famous ones is Benjamin Thompson, a loyalist who sent letters with information in both regular and invisible ink. In one letter he warned “an Army consisting of 30,000 effective men is speedily to be raised” (Spy Letters of the American Revolution). Another famous spy for the British was Ann Bates. She was a loyalist schoolteacher who posed as a peddler to listen in on conversations by soldiers. She not only passed on information, but also helped other spies find shelter. (Ann Bates)
When urgent news was learned through spies or word of mouth ones only option was to jump on a horse and sprint to where the information needed to be taken. Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride is the most famous example of this. When he learned of the coming British assault he “Rowed to the Charlestown shore” and “Galloped into Lexington”. (Longfellow, Henry W) He didn’t have the luxury of calling the locals and the American forces. He had to row across a river and ride a horse. Revere was lucky to be close enough to warn of the coming British attack. But what it he had learned of an attack that was over a two days ride, and couldn’t reach in time? Then it would have been too bad, and the American forces would have been attacked unprepared.
The Americans may have had the advantage of being on their home soil. But they were outnumbered by a more experienced force. This made the aspect of communication that much more important, because effectively coordinating attacks was the only way to beat the British. Great leaders like George Washington obviously helped. Also, the troops were fighting for their homes, which is some of the best motivation possible. Yet all of that would have been useless if the Americans didn’t have better intelligence than the British, and work off it well.
Works Cited
"The Culper Gang." University of Michigan. <http://www.si.umich.edu/spies/index-stories.html>.
Longfellow, Henry W. "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." <http//www.nationalcenter.org/PaulRevere'sRide.html>.
Polmar, Norman, and Thomas B. Allen. "Ann Bates." Random House. <http//www.randomhouse.com/features/spybook/spy/961128.html>.
Rose, P.K. Cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency, 16 Mar. 2007. <https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-teh-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/the-founding-gathers-of-american-intelligence/art-1.html>.
"Spy Letters of the American Revolution." University of Michigan <http://www.si.umich.edu/spies/index-stories.html>.
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