“The American Revolution was
one of the great upsets of history. A small colonial force, made up mostly of
militia, eventually defeated the splendid disciplined ranks of the professional
British Army, with a grateful nod to French naval power. It was a vision that
shaped the American Army over the centuries to come. The ideas of freedom and
democracy would cloak the Americans in invulnerability.”[1] The War for American
Independence was an important one to win. The American Colonists wanted to
distance themselves from Britain and be able to govern themselves. This War and
those who served in it is considered the beginning of American Military
History. “The Revolutionary War was one of generalship, tremendous courage and
suffering, and, not surprisingly, military intelligence.”[2] Military Intelligence was
crucial to help get information to the Patriots. General George Washington
relied heavily on the use of the information that the spies passed through
various channels. General Washington is said to have helped organize and depend
on various spy rings: Knowlton Rangers, Mersereau Spy Ring and
the Culper Ring.
Prior
to the American Revolution, Britain did not spy on the American Colonists. They
were dealing with other threats of security and did not think that there was a
need to spy on the colonists. “The
British were content to let the colonies govern themselves as long as trade
flourished and the Crown benefited. The colonies purchased half the ironware,
cotton, and linen produced in Britain, which in turn was the major consumer of
raw materials from its new World subjects.”[3]
This appears to be a case of I scratch
your back, and you can scratch mine.
Once the British economy had started
to take a nosedive they needed to recoup their losses to be able to survive.
So, like governments have done in the past, they decided impose a series of
taxes on the American Colonists. The taxes that King George III had imposed
were steep and harsh. The colonists were in disbelief. They started to divide
themselves into two groups. The Patriots and the Loyalists.
George
Washington is considered to be the founding father of Intelligence Collection.
“Washington's first experience in intelligence
collection came in 1753, when he was 21 years old. The British colonial
government sent him to the Ohio Territory to gather information about French
military capabilities. He was instructed to observe French forts, determine troop
strengths, and try to ascertain French intentions and plans for responding to
the expansion of British colonization into the region.”[4] He was
good at what he did – and he made sure to learn the craft and learn it well.
George
Washington was born near Fredericksburg, Virginia, on April 30, 1732.
Washington spent his formative years as a surveyor and soldier. In his later
years he served with the British Army in the French and Indian War. The French
Indian War is where he got his first taste of intelligence. While accompanying
General Braddock they missed intelligence that could have been gathered and
prevented a surprise attack at the Battle of the Monongahela. This missed
information resulted in General Braddock’s death. This left an impression on
Washington and he wanted to learn more about intelligence gathering.
Washington
knew that correct and efficiently collected information was very important to
the British defeat. He would send his agents behind enemy lines, he would make
sure that travelers that went through his camp would be properly questioned. He
also relied on counterintelligence. He was able to make sure the British were
fed misinformation to throw them off the path.
Without Washington’s stellar military experience he would not have been
able to offset Britain’s Military and Power. If this had happened the American
Revolution may not have been successful.
Washington
knew that properly collected intelligence was going to be important. “Espionage was even more important to
the revolutionary cause. The colonials faced a better-armed and more
experienced enemy, and colonial commander in chief George Washington realized
that intelligence on British troop strengths and
movements could even the odds.”[5] He knew
that he had to defeat the strong British Army somehow, and some way.
One of the things that historian Christopher Andrew notes in
his book: For the President’s
Eyes Only, Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency from Washington to
Bush is that “Washington became his own spymaster, using
intelligence from his numerous spies to maneuver his troops away from premature
contact with the stronger British forces.”[6] This was possible due to
the two spy rings that fell underneath the
involvement of George Washington. The Culper Spy Ring and the Mersereau Spy
Ring.
[1] Finley, James P. U.S. Army
Military Intelligence History: A Sourcebook. Fort Huachuca, AZ: U.S. Army
Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, 1995. Pg. 11
[2]
Ibid. Pg. 9
[3]
Sulick, Michael J. Spying in America: Espionage from the
Revolutionary War to the Dawn of the Cold War. Washington, DC: Georgetown
University Press, 2012. Pg. 15
[4] "The Founding Fathers of
American Intelligence." Central Intelligence Agency. 2008. Accessed July
04, 2016.
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/the-founding-fathers-of-american-intelligence/art-1.html.
[5]
Sulick, Michael J. Spying in America: Espionage from the
Revolutionary War to the Dawn of the Cold War. Washington, DC: Georgetown
University Press, 2012. Pg. 17
[6] Andrew, Christopher M. For the
President's Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency from
Washington to Bush. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995. Pg. 10-11
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