Early Life
Patriot Leader
"Revolutionary" Intelligence
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George Washington
"Revolutionary" Intelligence
I had a passion for intelligence gathering and I recruited the best people to spy for us. I instructed this group on the techniques of spying (or tradecraft as it is called today), the use of cover stories to protect themselves, and the sending of messages in code. I didn't have a big staff so I did a lot of the intelligence analysis myself. Our methods might seem
crude by today's standards, but we got the job done. I'll say our best talents were in military deception and counterintelligence. We would often give the enemy false information, and we were so good at it, they believed us! Why I still remember when I convinced British General Henry Clinton that I was going to attack New York City when, in fact, I was moving in for the final battle of the war at Yorktown, Virginia. Well, let's just say General Cornwallis was surprised!
Sources:
O'Toole, G.J.A. Encyclopedia of American Intelligence and Espionage. New York and Oxford: Facts on File, 1988.
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