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The Spy Who Led an Army to its Doom With Fake Newspapers and Letters

Khalid Elhassan December 5, 2021 37 min

The execution of captured American spy Nathan Hale. Painting and Frame

George Washington served as his own spy master in America's War of Independence — George Washington served as his own spymaster in America’s War of Independence. Pixels

28. George Washington Served as His Own Spy Master

In America’s War of Independence, George Washington was not just a general: he also doubled as his own spy master. His espionage attentions were most centered on New York City. When people think of the American Revolution, the city that usually first comes to mind is Boston. Among other things, we have the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, John and Samuel Adams, the nearby opening engagements at Lexington and Concord, and the Patriots’ first major military success was to force the British to leave Boston. However, New York also played a major role in the Revolutionary War.

After the war’s first few months when Boston was the focus of attention, New York took center stage for the rest of the conflict. In the summer of 1776, the British descended upon New York in force, and the largest battle of the entire war was fought at Long Island on August 27^th, 1776. George Washington and the Continental Army were defeated, and he and the remnants of his army were forced to hole up in Brooklyn. They only avoided capture there by a miraculous escape. The British then proceeded to consolidate their hold on the city and its surroundings.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.