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by Michael E. Bigelow, INSCOM Command Historian
On Sep. 7, 1779, General George Washington penned a letter to John Jay, who was both the president of the Continental Congress and a respected friend and colleague. In the letter, the American general offered his thoughts on the strategic outlook for the British. Moreover, he provided insight into conditions that make an intelligence agent effective.
In late June 1778, Washington and his Continental Army had fought the Battle of Monmouth, the last major battle in the north. In the ensuing fourteen months, American forces had encircled the British occupying New York City. Always looking for information on his enemy’s forces and intentions, Washington had established several sources of intelligence, including the famous Culper spy ring on Long Island. Another stream of information came from 30-year-old Elijah Hunter, a prominent farmer living north of New York City in Westchester County.
In late 1778 or early 1779, William Tryon, the Loyalist governor of New York, had recruited Hunter as a British spy. Hunter, however, notified Maj. Gen. Alexander McDougall, the American commander in the area. With John Jay’s support, McDougall recruited Hunter as a double agent. Although General Washington generally disapproved of double agents, he acquiesced in the use of Hunter. Throughout the spring and summer of 1779, the New York farmer experienced limited success in gathering useful intelligence on the British forces.
Washington’s last paragraph of his Sep. 7 letter concerned Hunter and his challenges. Although the American commander did not have “the smallest doubt of [Hunter’s] attachment and integrity,” he noted the agent “has not had it in his power, and indeed it is next to impossible that any one should circumstanced as he is, to render much essential service in the way it was intended to employ him.” For Washington, the issue was that Hunter had to travel into New York City to gather his intelligence.
Based on his experience with Hunter and other like agents, Washington thought intelligence gathering “was of too delicate a nature” for a single traveler “to transact it frequently himself.” Washington continued, “I believe it will seldom happen, that a person acting in this way, can render any essential advantages more than once or twice.” He was also concerned the traveling agent might give information to the enemy, thus offsetting any intelligence gained.
Instead, Washington told Jay, “the greatest benefits are to be derived from persons who live with the other side—whose local circumstances without subjecting them to suspicions, give them an opportunity of making observations and comparing and combining things and sentiments.” Consequently, “it is with such,” Washington noted, “I have endeavoured to establish a correspondence and on whose reports I shall most rely.”
Despite his skepticism about commuter agents, Washington continued to use Hunter into the 1780s. For Washington, any information on the enemy could be used as grist for his intelligence mill.
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| Date Taken: | 09.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2025 11:27 |
| Story ID: | 547515 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 17 |
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