WASHINGTON SPY RING--THE MODEL FOR THE CIA

The story of the Culper Ring, the secret spy ring created by George Washington himself, is one of the lesser known heroic stories of the Revolutionary War. Over a period of five years, this small band of six men and one woman risked everything to deliver essential information about the British army and navy to Washington. Besides providing the commander with regular updates on the enemy, the ring was responsible for unearthing British secrets that helped turn the tide of the war. For example, members of the Culper Ring learned of plans by the British to intercept the French fleet and got word to Washington in time to divert the French and change landing plans. Ring members also discovered the British plan to counterfeit Continental currency and informed Washington in time to stop the total collapse of the economy of the colonies. 

And of course, the ring is credited with uncovering information which led to Washington stopping Benedict Arnold’s plan to surrender West Point to the British.

                  Now, with the country celebrating the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Americans are discovering and re-discovering a great many details about the Revolutionary War, including learning about the Culper Ring. But not many realize that the Culper Ring, the first “professional” espionage organization, became the model for the CIA in many respects. Now, don’t get the wrong impression. The members of the Culper Ring looked nothing like our modern day image of a professional spy. The Culper Ring consisted of a bookish merchant, a lowly, apathetic farmer, and a rash boatman, for example.

Nothing like the image of Bond, James Bond.

However, several of the espionage strategies common today in the CIA and other professional spy organizations were pioneered by members of the Culper Ring. For example, the Culper Ring was among the first to establish an organization where one agent or spy only knew and had contact with one or two other individuals in the ring. George Washington did not even know the identities of most of the individual spies until after the war, and he never learned the identity of one of the most important spies, Robert Townsend. (The secret of his identity was so well kept it was not discovered until 150 years later!)

The Culper Ring also pioneered the use of code names and dead drops, strategies still

employed by the CIA operatives. While these were not completely new or invented by the Culper Ring, they were developed into a professional system by these men and women. They were also among the first to employ couriers to deliver critical information from one agent to another. The Ring even developed an extensive numeric code, using two-digit and three-digit numbers to represent important people and places. That way, if the British did stop an operative and confiscate a message—which did happen, by the way—all they would have in their hands would be an indecipherable jumble of words and numbers.

But the numbers and code words were hard to memorize or kept carefully hidden from prying eyes and the composition of the messages was cumbersome and time consuming. So, the best layer of security used by the Culpers was the use of invisible ink—or sympathetic ink, as it was called by Washington—ink in which an important message could be written and once dry, the ink would “disappear” completely. The writing could then be read by applying another specific liquid which would make the words appear again.

Several of the strategies and modus operandi developed by the Culper Ring are still employed today by the CIA and similar organizations. In fact, I have it on good authority that inside the CIA building at Langley, Virginia hangs a dedication to George Washington’s Culper Ring.

Of the six men and one woman credited with being members of the Culper Ring, one, the woman, has never been identified by historians. Surviving records of secret messages mention only “a lady” or “agent 355,” but her identity has eluded experts for 250 years. I’ve taken the few clues we have in the historical record and created a fictional character to step into those shoes. The result is my newest novel, a Revolutionary War thriller, ABIGAIL TRENCH, published and distributed last month by Diversion Books and Simon & Schuster.

Critics are raving about ABIGAIL—

“A heart-pounding tale of secret espionage networks and freedom fighting”—Bookstr

“A gripping historical thriller I couldn’t put down”—N N Light Bookheaven

“A top-notch tale of courage amid our nation’s struggle for independence”—William Kent Krueger, bestselling author of the Cork O’Connor mysteries.

If you’re looking for a new, fun way to delve into the tumultuous birth of our nation, check out ABIGAIL TRENCH, available wherever you buy your books. Or simply click the link below.

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