The Culper Spy Ring:
Well-aware of the Patriots’ enormous disadvantage against the far wealthier, better-equipped and better-trained British, who possessed the most powerful fighting force in the world at that time, George Washington believed that the best — and perhaps only — chance he had to succeed was to develop a superior source and use of intelligence. After the death of Nathan Hale, hanged at 21 in Manhattan after being captured by the British as a spy, Washington also resolved that his intelligence network would be operated with discipline and cunning, and he recruited Hale’s Yale classmate Benjamin Tallmadge as his chief operative, in charge of recruiting and running the ring.
At the time he accepted to join George Washington’s intelligence network in 1779, Robert Townsend operated a Manhattan-based merchant shipping firm with his brother William and cousin John. Using his work as a merchant as a cover, Robert could move about the coffee houses, social events, shops and docks of Manhattan, eavesdropping and observing British troop movements, without arousing suspicion.
Under the code name “Culper Junior,” Robert formed the first link in a chain of agents who came to be known as the Culper Spy Ring. Using a special invisible ink formula, invented by John Jay’s brother Sir James Jay, as well as an elaborate numeric code, the spies supplied Washington with critical information about New York City and Long Island.
Robert conveyed his messages to George Washington via courier (usually Long Island tavern keeper Austin Roe) to Setauket, Long Island, whence the messages would be secreted by whaleboat (a vessel that might be rowed by six to eight men with the additional help of dismountable sails) to to shores of Connecticut, and eventually to wherever Washington was headquartered. There, Washington could apply the re-agent solution that would make the message reappear.
The process of gathering and forwarding information was slow and hazardous, and it caused continual friction between Washington and his field agents. Repeated attempts to speed the messages met with failure, and Washington’s frustration is clear from his correspondence. “It is of little avail to be told of things after they have become a matter of public notoriety,” he wrote in June of 1779.
Despite the shortcomings of the system, Robert and his comrades provided invaluable service to the American cause. By gathering information on British troop movements, they alerted Washington to the possibility of attack. Likewise, they broke the news that the British were planning to undermine the war effort by flooding New York with counterfeit American currency.
The greatest coup of the Culper Spy Ring was alerting Washington to a planned British attack on the French fleet landing at Newport, Rhode Island. With this timely piece of intelligence, Washington was able to bluff the enemy into believing he would attack New York City. This forced the British to withdraw their attack force, and the French were able to disembark without hindrance.
Info from: https://raynhamhallmuseum.org/history/culper-spy-ring/
Washington pushed the envelope with the use of innovative military intelligence practices. The tools and tactics his spies employed were, in many cases, downright revolutionary. They utilized a variety of methods to maintain secrecy and gather intelligence, including code names, ciphers, book codes, locations of “dead drops” (such as Abraham Woodhull’s farm), clothesline codes (such as the one used by Anna Strong), and propaganda. If used individually, these techniques could easily be discovered. When used together, however, they helped American troops wage a war and eventually win under advanced intelligence gathering.
Seldom remembered as a trickster, Washington was also fond of spreading disinformation. He encouraged members of the Culper Ring to exaggerate the size and strength of his forces in their conversations with British supporters. He would also spread false messages about military movements and attacks on various forts, sending them via regular post to ensure that they would be intercepted. He also turned to less-formal networks for intelligence-gathering, frequently relying on scouts to collect and convey information.
Just as he tested different tactics for espionage, Washington also pioneered new tools for the spy trade. Noting that invisible inks designed to respond to fire or acid were frequently used, he sought the help of James Jay, John Jay’s brother, to develop an ink that would only reveal itself through a chemical reaction. The chemicals used in this process remained a secret at the time, and differing opinions on the matter continue today.
While the inks and papers used for drafting secret messages were important, perhaps more critical were the codes and ciphers used to conceal message. Because correspondence was regularly intercepted by both parties during the war, codes and ciphers needed to be constantly invented and reinvented. In an era in which messages were delivered by post or by word of mouth, however, the very act of communicating a top secret code wasn’t so easy. To change a code, the author would have to set a spy network into motion to send a letter describing the new code. As a security measure, the codes were generally only given to the few people who actually needed to decode the information.
(Info taken from: https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/spying-and-espionage/george-washington-spymaster/)
Spying with Laundry