Silent Night...Not

Victorian-era St. Nick

Christmas celebrations in colonial America were much more staid affairs than the celebration we know today. December 25th in colonial America was just another day unless it fell on a Sunday in which case it was just another Sunday. America's celebration of Christmas as a very special holiday began with the large wave of German immigrants in the early 1800s.  Germans always held Christmas as the most special of days.  Christmas's role in the English speaking world peaked during the Victorian era.  Victoria's consort Albert brought many Christmas traditions with him and later Charles Dickens and then other novelists popularized the season.  Of course, Santa Claus is derived from Sant Niklaus - a Dutch character derived from the original Saint Nicholas who was a Roman Bishop in what is today Turkey.  Full disclosure: the original Saint Nicholas is buried in my grandparents' home city of Bari, Italy.

Hessian Grenadier of
 Regiment von Rall

As Christmas approached in December 1776, the fortunes of the American rebellion had plummeted. The British juggernaut extended into the Jerseys (back then New Jersey was sometimes referred to as East and West Jersey). Lord Charles Cornwallis led the invading vanguard of some 5,000 British and Hessian troops in pursuit of Washington's dwindling army. Washington abandoned Fort Lee and maneuvered his way to Hackensack, where he checked the British only briefly before retreating with little pause through Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton. On the 8th of December, Cornwallis and his scouts made it to the east bank of the Delaware just in time to watch Washington and his personal escort depart on the last boat.

The patriot cause was at its nadir. Panic had set in, especially in Philadelphia.  Lord Howe had issued a proclamation accepting back any rebels willing to swear an oath to the King. Some had begun to accept it. Worse still, many of Washington's best troops had enlistments expiring with little likelihood that replacements would arrive.  Fearful of a British assault on the capital, the Continental Congress fled and turned governance over to the military. To stall the British, Washington had all the serviceable boats along a 70 mile stretch of the Delaware confiscated. The British advance had to await their engineers to plan a crossing.  Fortunately, Lord Howe had decided he had all but whipped the rebels and ordered his army into winter quarters with brigade-sized garrisons at Brunswick, Trenton, Princeton, Bordentown, and Cherry Hill. The remainder took quarters in Staten Island or Manhattan.

But still, throughout the colonies morale was dismal. The end seemed in sight, just as Howe assumed. But the  December 23rd edition of the pamphlet "The Crisis," by Thomas Paine, inspired many Americans. A desperate Washington decided to gamble on a winter strike against the rebels before many of his best regiments dissolved. He had the pamphlet read to his troops and conceived a plan for a Christmas thrust in three divisions to take the enemy garrisons at Trenton and Bordentown. At first, demoralized by the rapid British advance, New Jersey militia units now began to probe and harass the British garrisons, isolating them in their posts. Then, General John Sullivan arrived with a division from the Hudson Highlands.  These reinforcements provided Washington the strength he needed to complete his plan.

Dramatic portrait - Washington crossed over in the dark of a December night

On the night of the 25th of December Washington made his famous crossing at McConkey's Ferry and marched the nine miles along the Delaware to Trenton.  Divisions under Generals Cadwallader and Ewing (mostly Pennsylvania and New Jersey units) were to cross near Bordentown and link up with Washington but worsening weather and the rapid ice floes prevented them from crossing.  Nevertheless, Washington struck with just over 2,000 men just after dawn even as a rain and snow mix descended on them.

Overrunning the Hessian guns at Trenton

So what's the Christmas connection?  The German garrison, a brigade under the command of the renowned Hessian Colonel Johann Gottlieb von Rall, was caught unprepared.  Germans celebrate two days of Christmas and Washington struck between the two.  Indeed, the Germans themselves had been worn out by the rigors of the campaign and the Jersey militia had played a part in tiring them and causing a "hunker down" factor.  But  Rall never expected the onslaught that caught them in the weary hours of their holiest of days.   Rall fell mortally wounded rallying his battalions and soon after the garrison surrendered over one thousand men.  The battle did not last an hour. The stunning victory saved the American cause that was all but finished.

Oh yeah...baby!

Austin

Yeah....baby! You really have to say that with an Austin Powers voice for full effect!  But the fictional character that spoofed the fictional spy James Bond tongue- in-cheekily referred to himself as an "international man of mystery." And as an "international man of mystery," Austin would have felt at home with the International Thriller Writers.

Who are these people?

 Who they are may be the mystery...but not after you read this post!  The International Thriller Writers (let's call them ITW) is an honorary society of authors, both fiction and nonfiction, who write books broadly classified as “thrillers.” This would include (but isn't limited to) such subjects as murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, true crime, war, adventure, and myriad similar subject areas. Clive Cussler, Sandra Brown, Kathy Reichs, David Morrel, Mark Bowden, James Rollins, and Andrew Peterson, among so many notables,  are all members.

Just what do they do?

Their mission is... “To bestow recognition and promote the thriller genre at an innovative and superior level for and through our Active members; to provide opportunities for mentoring, education and collegiality among thriller authors and industry professionals; and to grant awards for excellence in the thriller genre.”
ITW Mission Statement

How do they do that?

Whether you are a fan of the TV show by that name or not, you might be interested in knowing that ITW has designed numerous, effective programs and events which promote debut and midlist writers and their work, sometimes in partnership with bestselling authors. In addition, ITW promotes literacy, gives money to worthy organizations, supports libraries, and advances the genre. Finally, it brings together almost a thousand writers, readers, publishers,  editors, and agents at its annual conference, ThrillerFest, as well as at CraftFest, a writing workshop program, and AgentFest, where aspiring authors can meet and pitch top literary agents.

What else do they do?

 One really great activity is "Operation Thriller," a partnership with the USO.  For the first time ever, the USO brought writers together with the troops." Operation Thriller" brings together some of today's greatest thriller writers to meet with American military members at home and abroad. The first such tour started in 2010 with visits to Walter Reed and Bethesda Navy Medical Center where the writers listened awe-struck at the tales of valor and strength displayed by the Wounded Warriors.  The group followed up with visits to our troops in Kuwait and Iraq.

Operation Thriller

What does any of this have to do with Yankee Doodle Spies?

Actually, this has a lot to do with Yankee Doodle Spies.   I have just been informed that The Patriot Spy was recently submitted to compete for ITW's Best New Novel for 2013! Now I didn't specifically write The Patriot Spy as an international thriller...but the plot twists and tense action do make for plenty of thrills. While the characters include Irish, Dutch, Scots, Germans who make for an international cast set upon the canvass of America's most international locale - New York.

Action scene and the original cover of The Patriot Spy

A Yankee Doodle Thanksgiving!

Americans have a lot to be thankful for...

Despite budget woes, the global war on or from terrorists, the loss of jobs and industries, America has actually faced worse...much worse...

The American Revolution was an eight-year war that tore at the political, social, and economic fabric of the  British colonies. From this bitter struggle emerged a new nation founded on liberties that came from an all-knowing and almighty creator who we call God.  It is to the Creator, to Providence, to God, that this day is dedicated.  The founders knew that their unlikely quest for liberty could not succeed without God's blessing. For that, they saw fit to give thanks, even before the outcome was clear...

The first, but not last, Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving during the Revolution 

Because they saw the cause as intrinsically connected to God, the Continental Congress appointed thanksgiving days each year and requested that each state celebrate it in its own way.  By 1777, the war hung in the balance as Lord Howe bypassed "The Jerseys"  with a strategic landing at Head of Elk, defeated Washington at the Battle of Brandywine, and soon occupied the American capital. The Congress had evacuated  Philadelphia and transplanted itself to York, Pennsylvania.

The loss at Brandywine sealed Philadelphia's fate

General Washington

The founders had every reason to despair and turn their back on God but instead, they turned to Him in thanks.  Besides, a great victory had been bequeathed to them when a large British invasion force surrendered at Saratoga, New York.  Capitalizing on this, the commander in chief of the Continental Army, Lieutenant General George Washington, proclaimed a Thanksgiving in December 1777.

The British surrender at Saratoga

A month earlier,  the Continental Congress now in exile at York had issued the First National Proclamation of Thanksgiving in 1777. They called on Delegate Sam Adams to write the first draft, which Congress then adapted into the final version:

"FOR AS MUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success:
It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase: To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth "in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.
And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion."

   

                                                  Original Thanksgiving Proclamation

Edgar? Is that you?

Apologies to Joan Rivers.  But I am pleased to report that The Patriot Spy has been submitted for a 2013 Edgar Award!

"What the heck is an Edgar?" 

 A reasonable question.  The Edgar Awards are presented each year by The Mystery Writers of America for achievement in mystery writing. The Edgars are the most prestigious awards in this very popular genre.  The Patriot Spy was submitted in the Best First Novel category.  Personally, I know it is my best first novel because it is my only first novel!  Now we just have to convince the judges.

                                                                            

Founded in 1945, Mystery Writers of America is a storied organization that strives to improve the genre of mystery writing by connecting authors and fans.  To do this, it works with libraries and vendors, and at the chapter level, it sponsors symposiums and events.  Authors, publishers, and fans come together to celebrate the power of the mystery and its special hold on the reading public.  There are eleven Mystery Writers of America chapters throughout the country.  It has its headquarters in New York.


                                                                                

                                                         

                                                        Edgar Allen Poe was the dean of 

                                                    American mystery and thriller writers

Why "Edgar?" 

The name Edgar is in honor of the literary legend, Edgar Allen Poe.  Poe is among the most famous 19th Century American writers and is considered the father of mystery writing with his seminal work, "Murders in the Rue Morgue."  Poe was born in Boston in 1809.  His grandfather, David Poe, served with distinction in the Revolutionary War and is said to have been a friend of the Marquis De Lafayette and was known to George Washington himself.  There - I managed to make a Poe connection to the Yankee Doodle Spies!

West Point mid 19th Century

Edgar's Life

 Poe's parents were actors.  They died when he was a boy and Richmond tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife adopted him. They sent him to the University of Virginia but gambling debts and drinking led him to leave.  He enlisted in the US Army and served with some distinction in the Field Artillery where he rose to the rank of Sergeant Major.  The military life soon wore him down and strange as it may seem Poe sought a commission at the US Military Academy at West Point as a means of escape.  Poe did well there until he decided the Academy did not suit him.  He could not resign however without John Allan's approval (declined). So he broke numerous regulations, mostly absenting himself from classes (what we call "cutting") until he was, at last, he stood before a court-martial and dismissed in March 1831.

After leaving West Point, he dedicated himself to writing full time. As with many writers, he moved about the country, living variously in New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond. While in Baltimore he stayed with family and fell in love with and married his 14-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm, who was the love of his life (or maybe he just didn't like saying good-bye).

Virginia Clemm Poe

By 1836 he had returned to Richmond where he worked as a literary critic of some notoriety.  In his professional life, he had worked on the editorial staff of the Southern Literary Messenger of Richmond,  the New York Quarterly Review, and  Graham's Magazine at Philadelphia. It enabled him in 1843 to have a magazine of his own, the Stylus. His dissolute ways estranged him to many and ruined his magazine's prospects.   After his young wife Virginia died in 1847, Poe maintained a pretty continuous downward spiral of drinking bouts, confrontations, and impecunity that overshadowed his inspired body of work.

His Work

In late 1830 Poe published Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, a collection of stories. It contained several of his most spine-tingling tales, including "The Fall of the House of Usher," "Ligeia" and "William Wilson." Poe launched the new genre of detective fiction with 1841's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." A writer on the rise, he won a literary prize in 1843 for "The Gold Bug," a suspenseful tale of secret codes and hunting treasure.  Although best known for short stories steeped in mystery, Poe's most famous and profitable work was a poem, "The Raven." I believe a film by that name was Jack Nicolson's first feature role.  Poe also published a work of poems called, well, "Poems." He released it right after leaving the Academy and dedicated to his fellow cadets, who famously each gave him a dollar and twenty-five to fund the work.  For whatever reason, my favorite Poe short story is "The Cask of Amontillado."

More Edgar Connections

I lived many years in the Bronx and visited the Poe Cottage at Kingsbridge Road and The Grand Concourse. Here Poe lived for a time with his bride Virginia, who speculation credits as the inspiration for the poem Anabel Lee, a ballad of love and death. 

"It was many and many a year ago,
   In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
   By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
   Than to love and be loved by me."

                                                                            

                                                                    Poe Cottage, Bronx, NY

While in the Army, I often went on temporary duty to Richmond, Virginia and several times stayed at Linden Row Inn, a street of row houses now turned into an upscale but small and elegant hotel. Returning from a five-year trip to England, the Allans (including Edgar) lived with Mr. Allan’s business partner, Charles Ellis in his house on Linden Row.  Edgar Allan Poe played with the Ellis children in the gardens that had the famous Linden trees. Local legend has it that the enchanted garden is the one that Poe mentions in his famous poem “To Helen.” Poe may have also  courted another life-long love, Elmira Royster, in the garden where the Linden Row Inn now stands.

                                                                            

                                                                The Linden Rowe Inn

His Death

Poe was found lying in a gutter in Baltimore ranting incoherently.  Taken to Washington College Hospital he died on October 7th, 1849. Many legends have circulated as to the causes and situation involving his death but the truth is we will never know the full circumstances of Edgar's demise.  He lives on in his work and the many places that claim his presence during a life and death  punctuated by the simple word from his most famous work, the poem, The Raven:

 "Nevermore!"

Poe grave and monument in Baltimore

The Cortelyou House

The House

This edition of the Yankee Doodle Spies highlights the Vechte-Cortelyou House in Brooklyn, New York, site of the high-water mark of the Battle of Long Island.

"Here on the 27th of August, 1776, Two hundred and fifty out of four hundred brave Maryland soldiers, under the command of Lord STIRLING, were killed in combat with British troops under CORNWALLIS."
...Inscription on a plaque commemorating the action near the Vechte-Cortelyou House, now called the Old Stone House.

Frontal View of the House today

The Vechte-Cortelyou House in Brooklyn, New York, was built in 1699 by a Dutch settler named Claes Arenston Vechte. Vechte and his family worked the land, farming the neat fields and grazing animals in the verdant pastures of this rich farmland.  They also gathered oysters and other bounty from the nearby Gowanus Creek, which they used to ship their produce to Manhattan.  Around the time of the revolution the land was leased to the Cortelyou family, and one of them later purchased the property.  The simple architecture is classic Dutch colonial with a mixture of stone and mortar, steep tiled roof and a wood shingled appendage (what we might today call a "bump-out") that appears to function as the kitchen.
William Alexander, 
aka Lord Stirling

The house was situated near the intersection of today's 3rd Avenue and 5th Street in Park Slope. During the events leading up to the cataclysmic fight that took place there, the house served as the headquarters of William Alexander, who called himself "Lord Stirling," because of a claim to that Scottish peerage.While holding the passes south of the house, Lord Stirling found his army surrounded when Major General (himself a Lord) Cornwallis' force of several thousand seized the area around the house after a night march down the Jamaica Road into the unguarded east flank of the American Army. 



Charles Cornwallis
While he ordered most of his forces to attempt escape across the Gowanus Creek, Lord Stirling led some 400 hundred Continental Line from Maryland and Delaware against the British defending near the Old Stone House, which they had turned into a strong defensive position. Stirling led six assaults against the British at that location and around 250 Americans were killed there and are buried nearby (see my earlier blog on trying to find them entitled "On Hallowed Ground").  The importance of this battle is fully described in The Patriot Spy, and the fictional events that I added form the genesis of the Yankee Doodle Spies.




The Original House

Interestingly, in the 19th century the original house once served as the headquarters of the Brooklyn baseball club that later became the famed Brooklyn Dodgers. You can see from this photograph the once prosperous farmstead had by the latter 19th century fallen into disrepair. 


















Back View of The Old Stone House Today

The original Cortelyou House was later torn down but a reconstruction was built from dug up debris and replica materials and can be found in J.J. Byrne Park in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. It serves as a museum that celebrates the events of August 1776 that took place on the hallowed ground around it. 



Sadly, little of the feel or look of the times can be found there.  However, nearby Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery do present views that might have been "enjoyed" by Lords Stirling and Cornwallis back in August of 1776.




As you can see, the reconstructed house is smack in the heart of a major urban area.  Note the Gowanus Canal, the remains of the Gowanus Creek, not too far distant. 


Where in the world is the Cortelyou House?

The Patriot Project

What?  No Patriot Spy? Not this week.  Seriously, I decided to use this blog to give a shout out to the Loudoun County Virginia's Patriot Project. Loudoun County is a pivotal county in the 2012 presidential election.  Many pundits say that as Loudoun County goes, so goes Virginia.  And as Virginia goes, so goes the presidential election.

John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun

But more importantly, during the American War for Independence, Loudoun County provided over 1,700 Continentals for George Washington's army.  That's the most provided by any county in the Old Dominion. Originally part of Lord Fairfax's large landholding in northern Virginia, Loudoun County became a separate jurisdiction in 1757 when the Virginia House of Burgesses divided Fairfax County.  The western portion they named after John Campbell, the Fourth Earl of Loudoun. Loudoun served with no distinction as commander in chief of all British and colonial forces in the French and Indian War. During his tenure, the French and Indians reached their apogee of success. British efforts stalled and the Indian tribes terrorized the frontier from present-day Pittsburgh south to the Carolinas.  Lord Loudoun held colonials in disregard - even in contempt.  But to cap it off, Lord Loudoun ignored Washington's request for a "regular" British Army commission.

Col. George Washington in the
French and Indian War

This seemingly small act was catastrophic for the British Empire and the monumental for the history of the world.  Why?  Because this affront to Washington marked the beginning of his questioning whether the American colonies would ever receive fair treatment from the motherland.  You can argue that his long journey from staunch Royalist to a leading advocate for an independent America began with that act. The bombastic and ineffectual Loudoun was eventually recalled an replaced by commanders who were more professional and more successful.  Britain wrested New France from the French.

In colonial times, Loudoun County was the gateway to the west.  It received many settlers from eastern Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.  Among them came Germans, Irish, and Scots-Irish.  English settlers also moved west from the coastal areas to establish tobacco farms, but in the main, it was a county of yeoman farmers, not rich plantations. And it was certainly that yeoman farmer tradition and culture that made Loudoun a key contributor to the war effort. The county’s population then was 18,000. The farmer depicted represents one of 2,000 Loudoun men to enlist in the militia, more than any other Virginia county.

                                                                                

Who's the Boss?

 No, this isn't about a tepid sitcom from the late 80s.  It's about who is the highest-ranking military commander in American history.  Sounds like an easy call, right? But as with most things, it gets complicated.

As you read the Yankee Doodle Spies Series ( start with Book One, The Patriot Spy), you will see George Washington called General Washington or His Excellency.  The British derisively referred to him as Mister Washington. The term His Excellency was an honorific often used in 18th century America, particularly for colonial governors. The term was first used for George Washington when  Congress proclaimed him general and Commander in Chief of the Army of the United Colonies (Continental Army) to set him above all the other major generals and competing interests of the states (that means to set him above politics).

US Grant

As President Washington from 1789 to 1797, he was also Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces. On 2 July 1798, President John Adams appointed Washington as Lieutenant General and Commander of the United States Army - the first 3-star general..  

 But herein lies the problem.  Arguably our greatest military leader was later eclipsed in rank by four-star generals as our forces grew in size during the Civil War (U.S. Grant) and WWI (J.J. Pershing) and later five-star generals (Dwight Eisenhower, George C. Marshal, and Douglas MacArthur during World War II.  Fortunately, during the year of the American bicentennial, this long-standing slight was fixed.

John J, Pershing

A joint resolution of Congress (this was the last era of bipartisanship in America too) called Public Law 94-479 passed in   January 1976 recommended Washington's promotion to four-star rank and further declared that "George Washington shall always be the most senior United States military officer, forever outranking any and all other military officers."



Therefore, thirty-six years ago this past week, on October 11th, 1976, President Gerald R. Ford by Executive Order posthumously promoted Washington to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States and naming him forever the highest-ranking general in the US Army.

George C. Marshal

  

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The Congressional Resolution is quoted below:


"Whereas Lieutenant General George Washington of Virginia commanded our armies throughout and to the successful termination of our Revolutionary War; Whereas Lieutenant General George Washington presided over the convention that formulated our Constitution; Whereas Lieutenant General George Washington twice served as President of the United States of America; and Whereas it is considered fitting and proper that no officer of the United States Army should outrank Lieutenant General George Washington on the Army list; Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That

(a) for purposes of subsection (b) of this section only, the grade of General of the Armies of the United States is established, such grade to have rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present.

(b) The President is authorized and requested to appoint George Washington posthumously to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States, such appointment to take effect on July 4, 1976.

Approved October 11, 1976.
Public Law 94-479"

His Excellency, General of the Armies of the United States

The First Patriot Spy?

Nathan Hale

Earlier this week was the 236th anniversary of the death of Nathan Hale. Hale is a peripheral but key figure in the first two books of the Yankee Doodle Spies Series.

On 22d September 1776, Nathan Hale, the first American (not rebel) spy was hanged by the British.  Born in 1755 on a farm near Coventry, Connecticut,  Hale attended Yale and after graduation in 1773, became a schoolmaster. Caught up in the fervor of patriotism that swept the colonies after the battles of Lexington and Concord, he joined the Continental Army forming around Boston in 1775. At first ambivalent, Hale joined the Cause after receiving a letter imploring him to service from his close friend, Benjamin Tallmadge. Ironically, (or causally) Tallmadge later became head of Washington's intelligence unit (and a recurring character in Yankee Doodle Spies).

Hale rose to the rank of Captain in a Connecticut Regiment but later joined Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton's (also a peripheral figure in the series) elite Ranger battalion. Hale was by all accounts an extremely handsome man, tall for his day, and extremely well-spoken. Liked by all, his commander, Knowlton, held him in special regard.  After the Continental Army retreated from its disastrous defense of Long Island, Lieutenant General George Washington needed to know the strength, activities, and morale of its British occupiers. Washington was most concerned with the time and place of the inevitable British assault on the Island of New York (now called Manhattan). He asked Knowlton to provide an agent for this extremely high-risk mission. In a society obsessed with the idea of "honor", espionage was an even dirtier business than it is today. Because of that, none of the officers in Knowlton's unit would volunteer. But Hale, who had yet to see combat and was bored with the so-far administrative nature of his duties. So he offered his services.

Spying under spurious cover?

In a mission both bold and futile, he was launched onto Long Island via Connecticut by longboat under the cover of an itinerant schoolmaster. In a lesson in trade-craft,  the idea of a young schoolmaster traveling a war zone seems desperate, if not ridiculous. However, Hale was a schoolmaster. It is always easiest to portray something close to what you are, have experienced, or know. Just how he was captured is subject to much speculation. In his book, Washington's Spies, author Alexander Rose claims the famous Loyalist Ranger Robert Roberts caught him.  Roberts was an American hero during the French and Indian War but sold his services to the crown for a commission during the American Revolution. According to Rose, Roberts and his operatives identified Hale on Long Island and lured him into a trap. Other accounts differ. Regardless, the cover did not hold up.

A Spy Uncovered

What we do know for certain is that Hale was captured on the 21st of September and was immediately brought for questioning before the British commander, General William Howe. By then, The British Army had already invaded New York. Howe had just moved into the Beekman Mansion (near the present corner of 51st Street and 1st Avenue on Manhattan). Intelligence information was found on Hale's person and since this was not in code or invisible ink, he was totally compromised.

The next morning, a Sunday, the erstwhile spy was marched north, about a mile up the post road to the Park of Artillery located next to a public house called the Dove Tavern, about 5 1/2 miles from the city limits. There, he was hanged.  Hale's apocryphal quote prior to execution is somewhat controversial and there are several accounts of it from various sources, all plausible. Hanging was considered a death for thieves and murderers, not soldiers, and certainly not an officer. It is likely  Hale meant his last words as much to remove the dishonor of being a spy, as much as providing a model of patriotic self-sacrifice.

I have but one duty...

To me, the most credible statement allegedly made by Nathan Hale prior to his execution comes from in the diary of a British officer named Lt. Robert MacKensie, who served in New York at the time. The entry is particularly plausible because it was made on the very day of Hale's execution.

"...He behaved with great composure and resolution, saying he thought it the duty of every good Officer, to obey any orders given him by his Commander-in-Chief; and desired the Spectators to be at all times prepared to meet death in whatever shape it might appear."

The Legacy Today - Military Intelligence Corps

"There is nothing more necessary than good intelligence to frustrate a designing enemy, & nothing requires greater pains to obtain."
--George Washington

The Yankee Doodle Spies series is intended in part as a tribute to the United States’ first army – the Continental Army- and its first intelligence entity. In a sense, it is also a tribute to today’s Army and today’s Army intelligence.

Unlike today’s Army, the Continental Army lacked a holistic intelligence structure.Instead, various militia units and continental forces scattered across the states recruited their own local spy networks and attempted to detect British and Loyalist spy networks with varying degrees of success.  In 1775, Congress created a Committee of Secret Correspondence to oversee all intelligence activities – essentially America’s first intelligence entity (I hesitate to say agency). Benjamin Franklin was a member. A year later, Congress created a Committee on Spies. John Adams was a member of that one.  Also, New York’s “Committee to Detect Conspiracies” oversaw counterespionage operations in and around New York City. It famously uncovered a plot to assassinate George Washington.  John Jay was the committee’s original Chairman.

                                                                                                                                                                                

John Jay

As for military intelligence, Washington directed much of the intelligence activity centered on the main Continental Army. He was both the consumer and producer of intelligence.  His action arm was first under the direction of Thomas Knowlton and later Benjamin Tallmadge. Both play cameo roles in the Yankee Doodle Spies series. As commander in chief, he personally spent a great deal of time fretting over and developing sources of information, whether spies, informants, prisoners, intercepted correspondence, and even what we today call “open source.”

Benjamin Tallmadge

But after the war, there was no holistic intelligence organization for most of the Army’s history.  Instead, the function came and went. The Army finally adopted the modern staff system with intelligence centered around an appointed G2 with intelligence officers detailed from other Army branches. In wartime, things got done and were generally done well, but intelligence needs to be engaged in peace and war.

Fortunately, 50 years ago this year, the Army finally resolved the issue by creating Military Intelligence as a Branch, professionalizing its intelligence officer corps for the first time.  The Army went a step further 25 years ago when it established the Military Intelligence Corps, incorporating its enlisted cadre into a professional body to further the quality of intelligence provided to the United States Army.

The benefits of creating the MI Branch and Corps were many but first among them was a trained and dedicated cadre of men and women advocating for the arm of the service that George Washington valued so greatly.  

On Hallowed Ground

In an earlier post, I discussed the genesis for setting The Patriot Spy at the Battle of Long Island.  Several times during the writing of the book, I returned to the neighborhoods that the battle encompassed.  Some of them were neighborhoods I had lived in long ago, Park Slope and Flatbush - both in the heart of Brooklyn.

On one of my return trips,  I went to where I had reckoned was the site of the pivotal point of the battle  – the forlorn hope attack by the gallant Marylanders and their brothers in arms from Delaware (who are actually depicted on the cover of The Patriot Spy). It was a gray autumn day. We drove to the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 8th Street in Park Slope – the spot where I had believed the fallen 300 from the engagement had been laid to rest.  

There, in front of an auto repair shop, I stood looking at an old building across the street. Surrounded by scaffolding, it was clearly in the process of demolition.  A large burly guy with a thick gold necklace saw me standing there and exited the repair shop.

“Can I help you?” He asked, more as a challenge than a question, thick Brooklyn accent.

“I’m looking for a marker,” I replied.  One of the sourcebooks I used indicated the existence of a small marker on the side of a building.

“A marker?  Marker for whad?”  He asked with a really puzzled look.

“Almost three hundred  Americans died here and are buried in a mass grave,” I answered.

“Died? When?  How? Who done it?” He looked stunned and puzzled, and this being Brooklyn, likely thought this had something to do with the mob. 

“There was a great battle here in 1776.  Almost three hundred patriots were killed fighting the British and are supposed to be buried near here.”

He nodded his head knowingly. “Oh yeah, well, I ain’t never seen no marker, but it wuz probably on dat building.”

I looked across the street at the building, now encased in scaffolding and plywood and surrounded by a chain-link fence. I decided my search was over.  

I relate this anecdote to call readers attention to a recent article in the New York Times that highlights the efforts of a local Brooklyn historian named Bob Furman, who is leading an effort to identify, preserve and appropriately commemorate some of the key points on the battlefield.  The article is worth reading as it highlights the challenges of trying to preserve a sense of history in the midst of urbanization.

Gowanus Canal

More than one hundred years ago, a growing city’s appetite for residential and industrial land overran the area. Hard to believe that this highly built-up slice of New York was once the site of beautiful farms, fields, orchards, and woods. Hard to believe that gallant and brave men once fought desperately for their lives and their new nation on these bustling streets.   Let's hope Furman and his associates at the Brooklyn Preservation Council have some success in reclaiming some of this hallowed ground. But sadly, most vestiges of the Revolutionary War battle, and the very terrain it was fought, are gone.

Who's the Greatest?

    

Marshal Maurice de Saxe

The greatest military enemy of Great Britain, that is.  Some might think renowned tyrants like Hitler, Napoleon, or Louis XIV.  As a naval power one might say the Phillip II of Spain’s launching of the mighty Spanish Armada makes him the island nation’s greatest adversary. But of course, all these men failed against Britannia. Throughout its past, Britain also faced many great generals on the battlefield such as France’s Marshal Maurice de Saxe, Nazi Germany’s Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and the great Boer Commando leader Jan Smuts. But a recent poll of British historians named America's own George Washington as Britain's greatest military enemy!

Field Marshal Rommel

The British Army Museum recently ran an internet poll in which over 8,000 folks responded.  The  museum’s judges then reduced the contenders to five top leaders:  America’s Continental Army commander George Washington; IRA Chief of Staff Michael Collins; France’s Napoleon Bonaparte; Field Marshal Rommel; and Turkey’s great Kemal Ataturk (who stymied the Empire at Gallipoli). Because the selectees had to have led troops in the field against a 

Michael Collins

British Army, purely national leaders like Hitler or the Sun King were eliminated from inclusion. The results are significant for two reasons:  Washington successfully led the Continental Army through eight years of conventional and asymmetric warfare against the best Britain could throw at him.  He struggled with all kinds of issues in supply; quality officers and men; command and control; political infighting and several disastrous losses early on.  Yet his strategy, determination, and leadership caused Britain to come to terms and he wrested the heart of an entire continent away from them.  And he went on to be the “significant man” in the founding era of the world’s most successful and enduring Republic.

Throughout the conflict, Washington was minimized and demeaned by his opponents. The British steadfastly refused to refer to him as general, instead referring to him as “Mr. Washington”.   During the surrender at Yorktown, General Cornwallis sent his deputy to turn over his sword.  That general, in turn, tried to surrender to the French commander, Comte de Rochambeau.  Rochambeau chivalrously directed him to General George Washington.  So as we follow the adventures of the Yankee Doodle Spies, we have the consolation of knowing they were led by the best of the best.  And now, the British finally admit it!  

British Surrender at Yorktown

Why New York?

The Maryland Monument,
Prospect  Park

Why New York?  This is one of the first questions I get when I discuss the Yankee Doodle Spies series and more importantly, the first book in the series, The Patriot Spy.  It is a good question and the answer is simple:  I am from New York.  Indeed, most folks (including New Yorkers) consider the events near Boston as the natural beginning of the revolution - and they are right.  Lexington and Concord, the siege of Boston, the battle at Bunker/Breeds Hill demonstrated that the colonies could field an army.  But they had done so before - colonial forces were not inconsiderable in the wars against the French and the Indians during several wars in the early 18th century. However, the revolutionary forces assembled in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1775 stood for freedom from what they viewed as royal tyranny and the infringement of their rights as Britons.  Essentially, this was the view of the Whig Party on both sides of the Atlantic.

One day when I was about seven or eight, my dad took me to Brooklyn's Prospect Park where we saw the park's moving monument to the Maryland Continental Line in the Battle of Long Island.  My dad gave me a long (so it seemed to a young boy) rendition of the battle and the gallantry of those infantrymen. At the time my dad was commander of A Company, 2-69th, New York.  The "Fighting 69th" is a famed infantry unit that is still a component of the New York Guard and part of the 42d Infantry Division, the Rainbow Division.

I digress.  My dad focused my attention on the ragged lines of men who had never seen battle, serving a new nation, who now had to charge against a "thin red line" of highly trained British professionals. The Marylanders, essentially destroyed, saved the new American Army. My dad ended his story with words to the effect of  "and so now each year the Maryland Guard places a wreath at the monument marking the gallantry of one its first units."

For whatever reason, his words echoed in my memory for many decades, even as so many of my other memories have faded.  I am not sure if the Maryland Guard still places a wreath at the monument each year. So when I wrote the first book of this series, I decided to make it a lasting "wreath" to the men from Maryland and to infantrymen everywhere.

The Patriot Spy commemorates America's First Battle

This week marks the 236th anniversary of our nation's founding.

It is no coincidence that I begin the Yankee Doodle Spies series with the first battle fought by the new nation, the battle of Long Island.  Until July 1776, the American colonies of Great Britain were fighting for their rights as Britons.   After July 1776 they were fighting to be Americans.

This fact was not lost on George Washington, who ordered the Continental Army defending New York to assemble information while the declaration was read aloud to them.  A stirring moment that was meant to inspire the troops and galvanize the nation for the maelstrom of the impending British onslaught. The visual on the blog home page portray's that event. Washington had the army assemble at six in the evening on July 9th, 1776. The declaration had been read to the public in Philadelphia a day earlier. A fast rider had carried a copy to New York.  After the declaration was read, the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army addressed the men, who responded with roaring cheers.

I will end with Washington's own words.  "...this important event will serve as a fresh incentive to every officer and soldier to act with fidelity and courage, knowing that now the peace and safety of his country depend, under God, solely on the success of our arms, and that he is now in the service of a State possessed of sufficient power to reward his merit, and advance him to the highest honors of a free country."

Yankee Doodle Spies

Welcome to the world of Yankee Doodle Spies!

I hope you will enjoy this blog and find it a useful venue to learn about what's upcoming in these tales of espionage, action, and intrigue, set during the American Revolution.  The biggest news is that the first book, The Patriot Spy, will soon be available.

If you read the precis in the Book One:  The Patriot Spy page or even sampled the chapter I posted you know (or at least suspect) that this story combines action and intrigue in a historical setting, focusing on the adventures of one new American, Jeremiah Creed, who gets caught up in the struggle for independence. In doing so, he interacts with an eclectic array of other characters, historic as well as fictional.

The publisher, Twilight Times Books will release The Patriot Spy as an eBook on June 15th, followed shortly thereafter by the paper version on July 15th. I'll provide more details in my next post. So whether you enjoy the Kindle, Nook, or other e-versions, or prefer the feel of paper in your hands, your journey into the American Revolution's secret war is about to begin!