This week marks the 230th anniversary of America’s independence from Great Britain. Really? I can picture readers scurrying to consult some long-forgotten history text or the internet to find proof that I am wrong in making this assertion. Surely, I must be mistaken.
Most sources will cite July 4, 1776 as the actual date of our independence. After all, that was when it was declared, a little over 235 years ago. But, it is one thing for a nation to declare its independence and quite another for it to actually achieve it. Five long and brutal years of war would plague our new nation from that July day in 1776 until it could truly declare itself to be sovereign and independent.
During those years, military disasters, like the losses of New York, Philadelphia and Charleston, could have put an end to the rebellion. The Continental Army’s soldiers were also plagued by diseases. Smallpox and dysentery, as well as malnutrition, claimed more American lives than British bullets ever did. These diseases threatened to doom the American cause at every turn. But the American Revolutionaries did have a few things going for them. They had military victories like Trenton and Saratoga. They achieved a diplomatic coup when they convinced France to support their cause. And they possessed a unifying ideology of freedom and liberty that sparked people’s imaginations all over the world.
Those who believed in this unifying ideology would go to great lengths to make it a reality. These efforts included the establishment of an amazingly extensive spy network that not only engaged in espionage and counter-espionage, but also practiced the art of deception with a flair that was unrivalled until the 20th Century. It was these espionage and deception efforts that paved the way for the major military campaign that would make our nation’s independence a reality.
By 1781, the British had occupied New York City for five years. The city was the “crown jewel” in their strategy to occupy the population centers and force the rebellious colonists into the hinterlands. It would have been logical for General Washington and his French ally, the Comte de Rochambeau, to mount an effort to re-take New York. In fact, both the British and, ironically, the Americans believed such an assault would occur. Washington soon realized, though, that it made more sense to make the British think he would attack New York, while instead moving his forces stealthily to Yorktown to capture the British Army encamped there.
The story of how Washington did this is one replete with intrigue. He used a group known as the Culper Ring not only to gather intelligence on the British in New York, but also to mount an astonishingly effective long-term disinformation campaign against them. In 1780, Washington received intelligence indicating the British were going to send 8,000 troops to battle the newly disembarked French forces at Newport, Rhode Island.
Knowing he did not have the necessary troops available to prevent the British move, Washington crafted a deception plan designed to convince the British that he was about to invade New York with 12,000 American troops. Washington made sure the British would capture papers spelling out this plan. Fearing the worst, the British ended up aborting their assault on Newport and the French forces survived to fight another day.
But the grandest deception of all came a year later, in 1781, when the combined American and French armies convinced the British garrison in New York that it was the target of a major planned attack on their positions. Again Washington deliberately let the British capture a courier carrying fake plans for an attack on New York. This intelligence “find” led Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander in New York, to order Lord Cornwallis, who was encamped at Yorktown, to send reinforcements to New York.
Once the British discovered that Yorktown was Washington’s true objective, it was too late to send those British troops back. This deception campaign ultimately helped ensure the American – French victory at Yorktown. When we look at our present-day intelligence agencies, it is hard to believe that they had such an auspicious beginning with the Father of our Country.
Today intelligence and military operations are inextricably linked to each other. Two hundred thirty years ago this week George Washington used the same concept to achieve victory at Yorktown. That victory made our independence a reality. Happy Yorktown Day, everyone!
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