Nicole's Reviews > Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring

I was inspired to read this after enjoying the TV show Turn, and I think I would've found the book frustratingly discursive and disorganized if I hadn't seen the show and been able to use the "main characters" as a sort of anchor. I loved hearing the real life stories behind the characters - and small wonder it got turned into a show, because it's pretty screen-worthy stuff. I also, of course, appreciated all the Yale references - Benjamin Tallmadge and Nathan Hale met there as students - and it sounds like the left-leaning, rebellious spirit that I knew it for goes way back.

It's a really fascinating look at the earliest days of American intelligence, with Sackett as the first sort of American spymaster, inventing and pioneering tradecraft. The Culper ring out-performed their more experienced British opponents, who stuck to the more "gentlemanly" tradition of tactical military intelligence obtained by scouts; spies were regarded with distaste. But the vastness of the American territory and guerrilla nature of the conflict necessitated better intelligence and spies (it wasn't like Europe where units stuck to predictable lines of communication and movement was easily predictable based on the location of supply depots.) The British approach changed with Benedict Arnold (run by Tallmadge's British counterpart, the dilettante John Andre) as they realized the value. Washington truly understood how to play the game and was a sophisticated consumer of intelligence reporting, seeking corroboration and displaying patience with what was always a tedious jigsaw puzzle, where each piece could be interpreted differently. Tallmadge managed the ring personally, because he'd grown up with members Woodhull and Brewster), and knew how best to deal with them; the British system suffered by being more impersonal, although it was more durable, since Tallmadge was indispensable.

Lots of interesting tidbits abound about the dynamics in colonial American that turned people toward Patriotism (or against it), like the role of Thomas Paine's Common Sense in getting people to turn Patriot, or the corruption and abuse by the British troops stationed on Long Island alienating the local Loyalist population and having the same effect. The glimpse of the Whaleboat War (starring the pugnacious and adventurous Caleb Brewster) is also interesting.

It was also really satisfying to hear how life turned out for the members of the Culper ring, since I've grown emotionally attached to them. Woodhull became a county judge, and two of his offspring married Brewster children. Brewster himself, ironically, joined the predecessor of the U.S. Coast Guard. Tallmadge became a wealthy humanitarian and also member of Congress.