George
Washington's Secret Spy War: The Making of America's First Spymaster
by John A. Nagy
New York: St. Martin's Press, 2016
Review By Walt Giersbach
George Washington is many things as
an iconic leader in the formation of our country, but rarely is he remembered
as our first spy extraordinaire and
most imaginative of tacticians. “George
Washington’s Secret Spy War” increased my education in our country’s Revolutionary
history soon after I met Ida Nagy, a neighbor and member of an editorial team
on which I serve. She and I both share
an interest in history, and she gifted me this copy of her late husband’s book.
Ida told me her husband John spent
20 years of research and nine months writing the book. It was somewhat intimidating to note a
13-page index, a 10-page bibliography, and a 61-page section of notes. This is a book that’s both an educational
experience and an authoritative reference,
Tragically, Nagy died the day that his manuscript was delivered to his
publisher, St. Martin’s Press.
I was surprised to learn that our
founding father had been a major tactician when the British were fighting
against the French and Indians in 1753 near what is now Pittsburgh. As a 22-year-old adjutant, he was able to use
an innate ability to organize intelligence to learn what the enemy was doing. And he was successful in battle again and
again.
Washington made his first trek into
the Northern District in1753 as a major in the Virginia militia. He knew this area from his earlier work as a
surveyor. The area west of the Allegany
Ridge was disputed, as the French had “invaded” the Ohio Country and were
building forts there. Successive forays into the area in the following years brought
Washington the tactical intelligence he needed and to cement relations with
Indians.
“George Washington’s Secret Spy War: The
Making of America's First Spymaster” is not only a masterful work of research,
but a detailed tactical story on the creation of our nation.
The publisher calls the author John A. Nagy “the nation’s leading
expert on the subject, discovering hundreds of spies who went behind enemy lines
to gather intelligence during the American Revolution, many of whom are
completely unknown to most historians.”
Nagy, who passed away in 2016, was a
Scholar-in-Residence at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Penn, and a
consultant on espionage to The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of
George Washington and the William L. Clement Library. He was also the program director for the
American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia. He received a Robert H. Smith International
Center for Jefferson Studies fellowship to study Thomas Jefferson and
cryptology.
Yes, the Colonials paid their
spies. In one example. the rebels were
chased out of New York in 1776. Washington
moved his small army from Trenton across the Delaware River to the safety of
Pennsylvania. Then, Washington
intercepted a letter written in invisible ink indicating that Gen. Howe
intended to take Philadelphia. (Curiously,
Washington’s inquiring mind had earlier read a 1763 encyclopedia entry on
invisible ink. Perhaps as a result of
this information, Washington wrote Col. Cadwalader of the Pennsylvania militia authorizing
him to hire and pay spies.) On Dec. 14, 1776,
Cadwalader sent someone to Mount Holly, N.J., who discovered the Hessian mercenaries
had five brass field pieces.
Washington pulled his boats to the
Pennsylvania side of the Delaware, foiling a British crossing. He knew the British would cross as soon as
the river had frozen, and so devised a plan to cross back over the Delaware in three
places the night of Dec. 25.
Cadwalader got his men across, but
without artillery he had to abandon the attack.
Washington crossed and headed south
to Trenton, Then he split his
army, with Gen. John Sullivan’s division attacking Trenton from the north and
Gen. Greene going inland to attack from the northern high ground. Three Hessian regiments quickly formed to a
drumbeat as the force led by Washington attacked. The gamble worked, giving him in one hour a
crucial victory and strategic advantage.
Nine hundred Hessians and their arms were captured.
The book continues with an emphasis
on how both sides used spies.
Throughout, Nagy’s entries are footnoted, making for a thorough and
academic work, but one that is often intimidating in its detail and lack of
storytelling.
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