A fascinating new best-selling book,
George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That
Saved The American Revolution, by Brian Kilmeade and Don
Yeager combines history, intrigue, and adventure. It is written
in the format of a political thriller with a riveting and inspiring
story. Six covert agents for the Continental Army displayed
confidence, fearlessness, and leadership as they navigated through
the Loyalists and British army to gain intelligence.
The six agents were Robert Townsend, a newspaper editor; Austin
Roe, a bartender; Caleb Brewster, a longshoreman; Abraham Woodhull,
who traveled to and from New York; James Rivington, who owned
a coffeehouse; and a female socialite known only as Agent 355.
It is unimaginable how these people sat behind enemy lines every
day for four years, knowing they could suffer the same fate
as Nathan Hale. Readers will be surprised to find out these
true American heroes never wanted any credit, and only one actually
met General George Washington.
A great quote in the beginning of the book, “Those men
and women whose true identities are never revealed and whose
stories have never been told, but who offer their service and
their lives on behalf of their country. To each of them we owe
an inexpressible debt.” Kilmeade stated,“I wrote
it thinking of today’s military operatives. If you try
to compliment them they always deflect to someone else. They
just don’t want to take credit even though they deserve
it. They do great things because they are on a mission for their
country. This was similar to those spies in the Culper Ring.
They risked their lives because they believed in a cause. They
did it for their country and they didn’t want the praise,
they didn’t want to get paid. I think that’s reflective
of who we are as a country. Washington said, ‘never ask
their names, I will never tell.’ But he kept their letters.
That allowed us to piece the puzzle together.”
Besides these six, Kilmeade shows Washington as a great General
and strategist. He knew that the British could not be defeated
with manpower, arms, or a show of force, but with a battle of
wits. With this mindset, Washington decided to implement a network
of spies, working together, to undermine the British war strategy
in New York and Long Island. Washington was able to push these
agents to give more detail and timely information because he
was able to assess their character. A book quote from a former
British military officer shows the importance of these men and
woman to the American Revolution, “The Americans did not
outfight us, they out spied us.”
One of the most captivating parts of the book is the description
of how the Culper Ring was able to prevent Benedict Arnold from
handing over West Point to the British, and the ability of Agent
355 to determine that Arnold was a traitor. Kilmeade noted,
“She laid the groundwork for Benedict Arnold’s being
discovered as a spy. She was able to listen to the gossip in
New York City. After Arnold was nearly captured the whole crew
went into mourning because she was probably killed.”
Kilmeade also explains how the Culper Ring, the American intelligence
officer, Benjamin Tallmadge, and General Washington used a pre-Morse
Code, with numbers representing names and places, invisible
ink, encryption, and dead drops to communicate. They would send
innocuous letters, and on the back would be the important information
written with invisible ink. What is incredible is that they
were able to come up with these ideas during the war, without
any prior espionage knowledge, and understood the necessity
of keeping the dispatches from being discovered by the British.
George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy
Ring That Saved The American Revolution is a book about
American history that is insightful and riveting. Anyone who
wants a good spy thriller should read this book. What makes
it even more interesting is that this thriller is a true story.
A fascinating new best-selling
book, George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring
That Saved The American Revolution, by Brian Kilmeade
and Don Yeager combines history, intrigue, and adventure.
It is written in the format of a political thriller with a
riveting and inspiring story. Six covert agents for the Continental
Army displayed confidence, fearlessness, and leadership as
they navigated through the Loyalists and British army to gain
intelligence.
The six agents were Robert Townsend, a newspaper editor; Austin
Roe, a bartender; Caleb Brewster, a longshoreman; Abraham
Woodhull, who traveled to and from New York; James Rivington,
who owned a coffeehouse; and a female socialite known only
as Agent 355. It is unimaginable how these people sat behind
enemy lines every day for four years, knowing they could suffer
the same fate as Nathan Hale. Readers will be surprised to
find out these true American heroes never wanted any credit,
and only one actually met General George Washington.
A great quote in the beginning of the book, “Those men
and women whose true identities are never revealed and whose
stories have never been told, but who offer their service
and their lives on behalf of their country. To each of them
we owe an inexpressible debt.” Kilmeade stated,“I
wrote it thinking of today’s military operatives. If
you try to compliment them they always deflect to someone
else. They just don’t want to take credit even though
they deserve it. They do great things because they are on
a mission for their country. This was similar to those spies
in the Culper Ring. They risked their lives because they believed
in a cause. They did it for their country and they didn’t
want the praise, they didn’t want to get paid. I think
that’s reflective of who we are as a country. Washington
said, ‘never ask their names, I will never tell.’
But he kept their letters. That allowed us to piece the puzzle
together.”
Besides these six, Kilmeade shows Washington as a great General
and strategist. He knew that the British could not be defeated
with manpower, arms, or a show of force, but with a battle
of wits. With this mindset, Washington decided to implement
a network of spies, working together, to undermine the British
war strategy in New York and Long Island. Washington was able
to push these agents to give more detail and timely information
because he was able to assess their character. A book quote
from a former British military officer shows the importance
of these men and woman to the American Revolution, “The
Americans did not outfight us, they out spied us.”
One of the most captivating parts of the book is the description
of how the Culper Ring was able to prevent Benedict Arnold
from handing over West Point to the British, and the ability
of Agent 355 to determine that Arnold was a traitor. Kilmeade
noted, “She laid the groundwork for Benedict Arnold’s
being discovered as a spy. She was able to listen to the gossip
in New York City. After Arnold was nearly captured the whole
crew went into mourning because she was probably killed.”
Kilmeade also explains how the Culper Ring, the American intelligence
officer, Benjamin Tallmadge, and General Washington used a
pre-Morse Code, with numbers representing names and places,
invisible ink, encryption, and dead drops to communicate.
They would send innocuous letters, and on the back would be
the important information written with invisible ink. What
is incredible is that they were able to come up with these
ideas during the war, without any prior espionage knowledge,
and understood the necessity of keeping the dispatches from
being discovered by the British.
George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That
Saved The American Revolution is a book about American
history that is insightful and riveting. Anyone who wants
a good spy thriller should read this book. What makes it even
more interesting is that this thriller is a true story.
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