Revolutionary War Spying

The successes, and sometimes failures, of the Continental Army during the American Revolution were often the result of work “behind the scenes” by intelligence and reconnaissance operatives. George Washington and his colleagues, frequently faced by an enemy with the advantages of superior numbers and better training, had to rely on information about British movements and intentions to make victory possible, or to prevent crushing defeats. Through the use of false leads, feints, and double agents, the Americans also did their best to throw the enemy’s own sophisticated spying network off the scent.

The sampling of documents below captures some of the drama and danger of Revolutionary War espionage. The Gilder Lehrman Collection is especially rich in documents concerning the most famous spying episode of the war – American general Benedict Arnold’s attempt to hand West Point over to the British, an act that made his name a synonym for treachery and betrayal. In addition to Arnold and John André, his British handler, correspondents range from George Washington, Israel Putnam, and Francis “The Swamp Fox” Marion, to American spymaster Benjamin Tallmadge and his British counterpart George Beckwith.

Discovered by the enemy: An American spy in Canada

“I saw a party of Regulars coming towards me . . . I made my Escape as fast as possible”

A contemporaneous copy of Lieutenant Benjamin Whitcomb’s journal of his three-week spying mission to Quebec in July and August of 1776. In the accompanying cover letter, General Horatio Gates requests that the copy be forwarded to the head of the Northern Department, General Philip Schuyler. Gates had already sent the original of the journal directly to General George Washington. The report covers British and Indian troop strength and supply transport, and also mentions Whitcomb’s firing on a British officer. (His shot killed Brigadier General Patrick Gordon.)  (GLC01072)

Whitcomb’s mission took place after the Continental Army’s unsuccessful Canadian campaign (August 1775 to June 1776), in which American general Richard Montgomery was killed, and Benedict Arnold, still fighting for the patriot side, was forced to evacuate his troops from Quebec. Gaining a foothold in the province would have been an early coup for the Americans. British control over the region threatened vital positions in New York and New England, and bases along the Canadian border served as staging areas from which British and Indian forces could raid American settlements along the frontier.

With a 50-guinea price on his head (offered by Sir Guy Carleton), Benjamin Whitcomb had already achieved a measure of fame when Congress promoted him to a captaincy in October of 1776. Whitcomb was ordered to form two companies of rangers to provide reconnaissance capability for the Northern Department of the Continental Army. Whitcomb’s men, primarily from New Hampshire and the New Hampshire grants (now Vermont) traveled behind British lines disguised as Canadians or Indians, gathering intelligence along the way. The men also took part in the battles of Hubbardton, Fort Anne, Bennington and Saratoga. The units were disbanded in 1781, as part of a general reorganization of the Continental Army.