Eric: Talking about the intelligence war between both sides in the American Revolutionary War on the occasion of Independence Day

Let's take the opportunity of Independence Day to talk about the espionage warfare between both sides during the American Revolutionary War.

A faction, transitioning from a group of scholars to a political group, is prominently marked by a shift from discussing theory to deploying espionage. Especially in asymmetric confrontation, intelligence is often more decisive than mere military force.

During the American Revolutionary War, espionage was one of the key factors. Under Washington's personal promotion, the American side established a relatively professional and efficient intelligence network, while the British side relied on Loyalists and a loose network led by officers. Both sides traded blows; spy infiltration, intelligence gathering, cipher encryption, invisible ink, counter-espionage reconnaissance, deceptive propaganda... together they painted a brilliant page in the history of human espionage.

The American Side:

Washington deeply understood the importance of intelligence, repeatedly emphasizing that "spies are one of the most important weapons in war." Under his impetus, the Continental Army and the Continental Congress established multiple intelligence systems.

Formed in 1776 by Colonel Thomas Knowlton, the Knowlton's Rangers was the earliest regular intelligence and reconnaissance unit of the United States. Nathan Hale, who left behind the famous last words—"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country"—was a member of these rangers. He disguised himself as a schoolteacher and infiltrated British-occupied New York, but was discovered (likely betrayed by a traitor) and sacrificed.

In turn, the Continental Congress established multiple intelligence systems, such as the Committee of Secret Correspondence (later renamed the Committee for Foreign Affairs), and the Committee for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies. The famous Benjamin Franklin, while in France, executed the tasks of the Committee of Secret Correspondence, recruiting and leading the overseas spy network while also taking charge of propaganda, diplomacy, and covert activities. The Committee for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies was responsible for reconnaissance and arrests regarding counter-espionage.

Among the multiple spy networks operated by the American side, the most famous was the prototype of the American TV series TURN: Washington's Spies—the Culper Ring, established by Major Benjamin Tallmadge with Washington's personal approval.

Core members of this network:

Benjamin Tallmadge, code name 721, direct manager;

Abraham Woodhull, code name 722, Setauket farmer, Long Island coordinator;

Robert Townsend, code name 723, New York merchant and journalist, operating in the core British-occupied territory;

Austin Roe, code name 724, primary courier;

Caleb Brewster, code name 725, whaleboat captain, responsible for delivering intelligence across the Long Island Sound;

James Rivington, code name 726, Loyalist newspaper owner, actually a double agent;

Anna Strong, code name 355, used a clothesline and garments to transmit signals;

And of course, Washington himself, whose code name was the same as a convenience store chain—711.

The members of this network did not know each other's true identities, and its operations were extremely innovative. For example, they compiled cipher dictionaries, converting names, places, and verbs into numbers; they used invisible ink, writing between the lines of ordinary letters which appeared normal on the surface and required a specific reagent to reveal the encrypted information. Of course, some secrets left no written records and became permanent mysteries.

The role played by this spy network was of history-reversing magnitude: for instance, learning about the British plan to raid Connecticut, rescuing Washington from an ambush, thwarting the British plan to raid French troops in Newport, discovering the British plan to forge Continental currency which enabled Congress to recall old currency and defeat the scheme, and exposing Arnold's treasonous plan to betray the West Point fortress, and so on. Without much explanation, you can sense how these spies rewrote the course of the war.

The British Side:

Compared to the American side, the British side appeared somewhat loose and amateurish.

Early intelligence work was handled concurrently by General Henry Clinton, and was only nominal.

It was not until 1779, when John André was appointed head of Secret Service for the British forces in North America, that the British attempted to establish a more formal spy network, starting to use ciphers and expanding the espionage network beyond New York.

Precisely because their intelligence work lagged behind, the British relied heavily on local Loyalists and traitors. Unfortunately, some among the Loyalists were double agents from the start, and among the traitors, the most famous was General Arnold, but his biggest and most dangerous plan—betraying the West Point fortress—was thwarted by Washington's spies.

Although there were many sources among Loyalists providing intelligence to the British army, given the insufficient emphasis and poor management of intelligence work itself, even though they achieved many successes at the tactical level, they could not change the continuous loss of ground at the strategic level and their ultimate failure.

Looking back at history, in this espionage war full of adventure, sacrifice, and wisdom, spies helped Washington avoid multiple catastrophic outcomes, including his own assassination, British raids, economic sabotage... directly or indirectly contributing to the victories of key battles like Trenton, Saratoga, and Yorktown.

Just as a British officer later commented: "Washington did not really defeat us; he simply knew how to use spies better than we did."