Ridley, Norman General George Washington - Spymaster Agent 711

The Intelligence Battle during the American War of Independence

When the American War of Independence broke out, the American, British and French intelligence services were particularly well structured, but it quickly became clear to all involved that victory depended on sound political and military information. While Britain and France had a tradition of espionage, the Americans struggled with an intelligence service that was almost always significantly inferior. Despite this disadvantage, however, it was the Americans who prevailed. From the outset, General George Washington recognised the importance of espionage and counter-espionage. Under his supervision, several spy networks operated in both close-knit circles and wider societies. The undercover agents were merchants, tailors, farmers and other extraordinary patriots with ordinary professions. Benjamin Franklin took responsibility for covert operations, while John Jay oversaw counter-espionage. All three men were honoured by the CIA in 1997 as the founding fathers of American intelligence. The British, in particular, needed information about the geography and terrain with which their forces were unfamiliar. For example, the British conducted a campaign to win over the American public, especially enslaved people of African descent. They relied in part on spies such as Benedict Arnold, whose name later became synonymous with treachery and deceit. Apart from technology, there is little difference between modern espionage and the techniques and methods used 250 years ago. Double agents, secret writing, dead letter boxes, secret meetings, coding and decoding, sabotage, bribery, deception, signals, propaganda and guerrilla warfare were widespread during the Revolution. Both sides also conducted disinformation campaigns to confuse and mislead. Not least, the outcome of a number of battles in the War of Independence, such as Lexington, Concord and Yorktown, was due to the use of intelligence information and the work of the American spy chief, Agent 711 - General George Washington.