Revolutionary War Spies

Many spies during the Revolutionary War were helpful, while some were harmful. Would you help the wrong side for money? Spies of the Revolutionary War used many different tactics to gain advantage in the War such as, different methods of delivering important updates and messages and spying in ways where no one would ever suspect anything. Many generals (or people) depended on spies to win battles, but things turned around when the spies betrayed their side and became traitors, it makes a huge difference in the outcome of the war.

The main duty of the spies was to retrieve information about enemy troop movements, hide-outs, and army strength. Once the information was collected, they would have to deliver them to their commanders without being captured. During those times, sending back information was just as challenging and dangerous as gathering it. Spies took precautions to conceal the messages they carried. Letters were often inserted into hollow quills of large feathers, sewn into buttons, or stuck into small silver balls. One message located in Sir Clinton's Manuscripts at the Clemens Library, was cut into two long narrow strips in order to make inserting into the quill easier. The idea seems to have been that, if in danger, a courier could get rid of the papers more easily (Stories of Spies and Letters).

Another tactic spies used was the invisible ink. Invisible ink at the time of the Revolution usually consisted of a mixture of ferrous sulfite and water (Letters of the American Revolution). A secret message was written between the lines of a simple letter, in case the enemy intercepted the letter. In order to read the letter you would place the letter over a flame of a candle or by smearing the letter with a chemical reagent such as sodium carbonate. Invisible ink, on the other hand, wasn't the only method that was hard to read.

An additional method that was hard to read yet harder to understand was the ancient flower language. If an iris was drawn or painted on a blank sheet of paper it meant, "I have a message for you". Winged seeds of any kind meant, "Messengers". A thorn apple meant, "Disguise", and an Eglantine Rose meant "a wound to heal". There were many way of delivering and writing secret messages, but these were the most common. Spies were so sneaky that no one would ever consider them of being a spy.

Spies played their job very well, to the extent, of people never considering them as a spy, but those people were very wrong. Some spies spied by listening to conversations. Many messages came from indentured servants that listened to the Generals plans and later delivered the information to the side that they were spying for. Another way servants spread the information was by traveling through secret tunnels located around the house that lead them to town in secret. Young colonial spies, on the other hand, pretended to be drunk and stood by the British

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