Washington's Spies

by Alexander Rose

  My parents and siblings—Olivia, Zoë, Ari—as well as Stephen and Craig, have all stood by through thick and the thinnest of thins, for which I’m truly grateful. Thanks and accolades, too, must be bestowed upon Erna Olafson, David and Carolyn Hellerstein, Chad and Elizabeth, and Ben and Jamie. Neither may I forget Sabrina and Romy, Kyla and Iliana.

  And finally, the real secret agents behind all that Washington’s Spies is and will be are my beloved wife, Rebecca, and fine son, Edmund. To them I owe everything.

  Chapter One: “As Subtil & Deep as Hell Itself”: Nathan Hale and the Spying Game

  1. “The Testimony of Asher Wright,” in George Dudley Seymour, Documentary life of Nathan Hale, comprising all available official and private documents bearing on the life of the patriot, together with an appendix, showing the background of his life (New Haven, privately printed, 1941), pp. 315–18. Throughout this book, I have tended to modernize and standardize the original spelling, punctuation, and capitalization of writers. I have strived, however, not to alter grammar unless the meaning is unclear.

  2. William Hull, who had begged his friend not to go spying a day or two before, had died in 1825. Stephen Hempstead, Hale’s faithful sergeant and his escort to the ship that would transport him from Connecticut across Long Island Sound, had died in faraway St. Louis, Missouri, four years earlier. And Captain Charles Pond, who had commanded the sloop that had taken Hale over the water into British-held territory, had followed Hempstead to the grave seven months later.

  3. “Testimony of Asher Wright,” in Seymour, Documentary life of Nathan Hale, pp. 315–18.

  4. On Hale’s family, early life, and the Yale years, see H. P. Johnston, Nathan Hale, 1776: Biography and memorials (New Haven, 1914), pp. 3–24.

  5. B. Tallmadge, Memoir of Col. Benjamin Tallmadge (New York, 1858), p. 6.

  6. C. S. Hall, Benjamin Tallmadge: Revolutionary soldier and American statesman (New York, 1943; rep. 1966), pp. 7–8.

  7. On Hillhouse, see B. J. Lossing, The two spies: Nathan Hale and John André (New York, 1886), p. 7.

  8. Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, pp. 34–35, 31–32.

  9. Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, Appendix, pp. 211–13.

  10. Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, p. 36.

  11. See T. Jones (ed. E. F. De Lancey), History of New York during the Revolutionary war, and of the leading events in the other colonies at that period (New York, 2 vols., 1879), I, p. 3; and letter, Thomas Gage to William Johnson, September 20, 1765, in L.G. Bishop (ed.), Historical register of Yale university, 1701–1937 (New Haven, 1939), p. 14.

  12. Johnston, Hale: biography and memorials, pp. 40–45, 49–55.

  13. Alice would go on to live until she was eighty-eight, and would marry William Lawrence, the son of the former treasurer of Connecticut. A friend of hers recalled in 1901 that “many and many a time I talked with her about Nathan Hale. She, with tears in her eyes, told of his noble character and fine talents and personal appearance.… Happy as she was in her second marriage, she never forgot Nathan Hale.” (Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, pp. 57–60.) Alice owned the only known portrait of Hale, a miniature he gave her, which she kept after her betrothal to Lawrence. Soon afterwards it disappeared. “Mrs. Lawrence in her latter days once said that she always suspected that her husband destroyed it,” presumably in anger or out of jealousy, reported the American Antiquarian in 1889. But a descendant of Alice’s corrected the magazine, a touch starchily, by asserting that “Mrs. Lawrence did not suspect her second husband of making away with it; it disappeared in some way, but allusions to her husband’s complicity were always made with a laugh.” (Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, p. 151.) Though we might wish Alice had taken better care of the portrait, for now we have no accurate likeness—the statues of him that exist are “artists’ impressions”—we do owe Alice for her physical description of Nathan (as remembered by her granddaughter): Just over six feet tall, “he had a full and beautifully-featured face and a firm and sympathetic almost benign expression; his complexion was rosy; his hair was soft and brown; and his eyes light blue; his form was erect, slender, powerful, and remarkable for grace; he was an athlete in his college days, and could with ease leap out of one hogshead into another placed beside it; his chest was broad for his height and he was a great runner.” (Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, p. 152.) In 1914, George Seymour, a researcher, discovered in the files of the pension bureau in Washington another description of Hale, this time written by Lieutenant Elisha Bostwick, a friend of his in the Nineteenth Regiment. It backs up Alice’s granddaughter’s recollection to a remarkable degree. He was “a little above the common stature in height, his shoulders of a moderate breadth, his limbs straight & very plump: regular features—very fair skin—blue eyes—flaxen or very light hair which was always kept short—his eyebrows a shade darker than his hair & his voice rather sharp or piercing—his bodily agility was remarkable. I have seen him follow a football & kick it over the tops of the trees in the Bowery at New York, (an exercise which he was fond of)—his mental powers seemed to be above the common sort—his mind of a sedate and sober cast, & he was undoubtedly Pious; for it was remarked that when any of the Soldiers of his company were sick he always visited them & usually Prayed for & with them in their sickness.” (See I. N. P. Stokes, The iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498–1909: Compiled from original sources and illustrated by photo-intaglio reproductions of important maps, plans, views, and documents in public and private collections [New York, 6 vols., 1915–28], V, p. 1025.) A Dr. Munson, whose father Hale used to visit during his Yale days, remembered in 1848 that “all the girls in New Haven fell in love with him and wept tears of real sorrow when they heard of his sad fate.” Benson Lossing visited Munson in that year and interviewed him. Munson’s description of Hale closely tallies with the others: “He was almost six feet in height, perfectly proportioned, and in figure and deportment he was the most manly man I have ever met. His chest was broad; his muscles were firm; his face wore a most benign expression; his complexion was roseate; his eyes were light blue and beamed with intelligence; his hair was soft and light brown in color, and his speech was rather low, sweet, and musical. His personal beauty and grace of manner were most charming.” (Lossing, The two spies, p. 5.)

  14. For these figures, see J. F. Roche, The Colonial colleges in the war for American independence (Millwood, 1986), p. 90.

  15. Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, p. 216. See also Tallmadge, Memoir, pp. 6–7.

  16. For the rest of his vivid narrative of the battle, see P. Oliver (ed. D. Adair and J. A. Schutz), Peter Oliver’s origin and progress of the American rebellion: A Tory view (Stanford, Calif., 1967), pp. 118–24.

  17. H. S. Commager and R. B. Morris (eds.), The spirit of ’seventy-six: The story of the American Revolution as told by participants (New York, 3rd ed., 1978; rep. 1995), p. 152.

  18. On Hale’s movements, see D. W. Bridgwater (preface), Nathan Hale to Enoch Hale: Autographed letter, signed 3 June 1776 (New Haven, 1954), which contains a facsimile of the original letter, in Hale’s handwriting.

  19. W. Heath, Memoirs of Major-General William Heath, containing anecdotes, details of skirmishes, battles, etc., during the American War (Boston, 1798; rep. New York, 1901), diary entry for July 9, 1776, p. 41.

  20. Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, pp. 70–93.

  21. On the New Englander–New Yorker debate over the fate of the city, see W. H. Shelton, “What was the mission of Nathan Hale?” Journal of American History, IX (1915), 2, pp. 271–74.

  22. Letter, Greene to Washington, September 5, 1776. All letters, unless otherwise noted, may be found in the George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Washington, D.C. This immense collection of letters, commonplace books, diaries, journals, financial accounts, military records, reports, and notes has, thanks to a generous grant by Reuters America, Inc., and the Reuters Foundation, been put onli
ne.

  23. Letter, New York Legislature to Washington, August 22, 1776.

  24. Letter, Washington to New York Convention, August 23, 1776.

  25. Letter, Washington to Continental Congress, September 2, 1776.

  26. Letter, Washington to Continental Congress, September 11, 1776.

  27. Letter, Mercer to Washington, July 14, 1776; P. Force (ed.), American archives: Consisting of a collection of authentick records, state papers, debates, and letters and other notices of publick affairs, the whole forming a documentary history of the origin and progress of the North American colonies; of the causes and accomplishment of the American Revolution; and of the Constitution of government for the United States, to the final ratification thereof (Washington, 9 vols., 1837–53), 5th ser., I, p. 369; letters, Mercer to Washington, July 16, 1776; Livingston to Washington, August 21, 1776.

  28. See annotation to Washington’s Revolutionary War Expense Account, January–May, 1777, for January 1, 1777. This informant was either a captain of New Jersey militia, John Mersereau, or his brother Joshua, who lived in a remote house on Staten Island, who both spied for Washington in 1780, but only from time to time before that. Their material was specifically military in nature—they were particularly good on numbers and regiments—but it was intermittent and sparse. For instance, Washington’s letter of June 2, 1779: “Sir: If you could fall upon some method to obtain knowledge of the strength and situation of the enemy on Staten Island and this in as short a time as possible, I shall thank you. After putting this business in a proper train for execution, I should be glad to see you at this place, if it could be tomorrow morning it would suit me best. I will pay the persons you employ, but wish the undertaking to appear as proceeding wholly from your own curiosity; for a surmise of its coming from me may defeat all I have in view. The particular regiments that are on the Island, their exact quarters, whether at their forts, and if not at what distance from them, are matters I wish to be solved in; also whether any troops have been sent off or brought on the Island lately. Whether any vessels lies in or just out of the narrows, and whether any fleet has arrived lately? where from and the contents of it. I am, &c.” See also, letter, Washington to Continental Congress, November 14, 1776. Regarding the brother, see Force (ed.), American archives, 5th ser., I, p. 369; letter, Mercer to Washington, July 16, 1776.

  29. Letter, Washington to Continental Congress, August 22, 1776.

  30. Quoted in Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, pp. 100–1.

  31. H. Hastings and J. A. Holden (eds.), Public papers of George Clinton, first governor of New York, 1777–1795, 1801–1804 (New York, 10 vols., 1899–1914), I, no. 173, letter, Clinton to Washington, September 10, 1776, pp. 343–45.

  32. Hastings and Holden (eds.), Public papers of George Clinton, I, “General Clinton sends two spies to the State Convention” (reprinted from the Proceedings of the New York Provincial Congress), p. 346; and no. 175, “Rather wild statements by Messrs. Treadwell and Ludlum,” September 15, 1776.

  33. G. Rothenburg, “Military intelligence gathering in the second half of the eighteenth century, 1740–1792,” pp. 99–113, in K. Neilson and B. J. C. McKerchen (eds.), Go spy the land: Military intelligence in history (Westport, Conn., 1992), provides a useful guide.

  34. Quoted in B. Schecter, The battle for New York: The city at the heart of the American Revolution (New York, 2002), p. 197.

  35. Force (ed.), American archives, 5th ser., I, p. 369; letter, Mercer to Washington, July 16, 1776.

  36. According to William Hull’s memoirs, quoted in Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, pp. 106–7. Hull likely jazzed up Hale’s brave speech on his “peculiar service” for the post-Revolutionary generation’s moral edification. Nobody, even in the eighteenth century, spoke like that, especially to a friend.

  37. Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, p. 108.

  38. General Orders, June 16, 1776.

  39. Since the nineteenth century, the essential history of the mission has often run, however, as follows: Hale was captured in New York after being betrayed (or recognized) by his Tory cousin, the assumption being that Manhattan was his destination and that he was making his way through the British lines to the Americans in Harlem. It follows, naturally, that Nathan had completed his observations and was caught on the cusp of safety: Hale was the ace of spies, in other words, whose death was caused not by ineptitude but darkest treachery. There are some wrinkles to this theory. For instance, that instead of a Tory cousin turning him in, one legend has it that Hale was captured by a passing ship after he had accomplished his mission in Manhattan; another, that he was arrested in Huntington, Long Island, following his return from Manhattan. However, the “Manhattan thesis” is inherently flawed. In the first place, it is difficult to believe that Hale would have been sent to reconnoiter the British positions in Manhattan this early in September, the reason being that there were no British positions in Manhattan until September 15, when Howe landed at Kip’s Bay and sent the American troops fleeing. Until then, the British were stationed in Brooklyn or on Staten Island. Why would Hale be sent to sketch fortifications in a city that Washington himself had fortified, and indeed, still controlled? And in any case, why would Hale undertake a hazardous and circuitous journey to New York City from Harlem through Connecticut, across the Sound, along Long Island, and into Brooklyn? Surely it would have been far easier, and much faster, to amble down the road from Harlem—past American sentries guarding American-held territory—that led directly to Broadway? The only possible reason is that Hale was only to go to Long Island to see where the hammer was planning to strike the anvil. The confusion that has arisen during the last two centuries was caused by Hale’s tragicomic talent of being in the right place at the wrong time. Just as Knowlton’s Rangers got into a firefight at Harlem a few days after he’d departed—one that proved fatal to Knowlton—so, too, did Hale land on Long Island at the precise moment when the British were leaving it. His entire mission, then, was a waste: Washington did not need intelligence on enemy positions in Brooklyn when the enemy was directly in front of him, shooting, but by then Hale was out of contact.

  40. Hempstead had a sharp memory for detail: Regarding that “plain suit of citizen’s brown clothes,” Nathan had written to Enoch on June 3 that “Sister Rose talked of making me some Linen cloth similar to Brown Holland for Summer ware. If she has made it, desire her to keep it for me.” Quoted in Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, pp. 155–56 and n. 2. After the war, in which he served heroically, Hempstead lived in New London, where his wounds prevented him from undertaking too much hard labor. He kept the county jail, and acted as overseer of the town’s poor. In 1811, he and his family (including ten children) moved to St. Louis. In his declining years, Hempstead lived on a farm six miles from the city, where he regularly attended the First Presbyterian Church. His son Edward was Missouri’s first delegate to Congress. Hempstead died in October 1831, and was buried in Bellfontaine Cemetery, on land that used to belong to his farm. On Hempstead’s subsequent life, see I. Stuart, Life of Captain Nathan Hale, the martyr-spy of the American Revolution (Hartford/New York, 1856), Appendix H, pp. 251–56.

  41. Pond served aboard the Schuyler until December 1777, when the vessel was captured off Huntington as it transported Colonel S. B. Webb’s men for a raid on Long Island. Three years later, having been released, Pond was recaptured after a fierce running battle. He died aged eighty-eight, on May 18, 1832, and was buried in Milford. On privateering, see H. S. Commager and R. B. Morris (eds.), The spirit of ’seventy-six: The story of the American Revolution as told by participants (New York, 3rd ed., 1978; rep. 1995), pp. 964–81.

  42. See, for instance, letter, New York Safety Committee to George Washington, August 29, 1776.

  43. Cited in Johnston, Hale: Biography and memorials, p. 111.

  44. The Rogers biographical material is based on J.R. Cuneo, Robert Rogers of the Rangers (Oxford University Press, 1959), and B.G. Loescher, Rogers Ra
ngers: The first Green Berets: the Corps and the revivals, April 6, 1758–December 24, 1783 (San Mateo, Calif., 1969).

  45. Cuneo, Robert Rogers, pp. 47–56.

  46. Force (ed.), American archives, 4th ser., III, p. 865.

  47. Force (ed.), American archives, 4th ser., III, p. 866.

  48. Letter, Howe to Dartmouth, November 26, 1775. Force (ed.), American archives, 4th ser., III, p. 1674. And see also the positive letter in reply, Germain to Howe, January 5, 1776. American archives, 4th ser., IV, p. 575.

  49. Letter, Rogers to Washington, December 14, 1775.

  50. Letter, Wheelock to Washington, December 2, 1775.

  51. Letter, Washington to Schuyler, January 16, 1776.

  52. Loescher, Rogers Rangers, p. 169.

  53. Indeed, Clinton proved his own nemesis by devoting more of his time to ensuring his own preservation than to hunting Washington. Convinced from the beginning that he would somehow lose this war, and thinking ahead to the inevitable official enquiry he would have to endure back in London, Clinton preserved every scrap of paper—from high-level military correspondence to dinner receipts—he received or sent in his personal archive.