Hogan’s Heroes
Lovers of TV Land likely recall the hit TV comedy of the 1960s, Hogan’s Heroes. The premise was a team of spies get themselves shot down over Nazi Germany to set up a spy cell operating from a prison camp (Luft Stalag 13) in the heart of Germany. From there, Colonel Hogan and his eclectic band maintained radio contact with “London” while coordinating a host of activities from espionage to sabotage. Much of the show centered on gags at the expense of their hapless captors, Colonel Klink and Sergeant Schultz, but they often slipped out of the prison camp to nearby Hammelberg for clandestine missions. However, unlike other POWs—they would sneak back in.
Winter War
Something like this occurred during the height of the American War for Independence when General Washington needed intelligence following his victory at Trenton. Word had come that General Charles Cornwallis was leading an army south to exact revenge for the embarrassment. Washington ordered that someone be sent to Brunswick to determine the size of British forces, particularly the forces guarding recently captured General Charles Lee. The state of British supply trains was also of interest as Washington had a notion of marching north to seize their baggage and supplies for his under-supplied army.
Daring Mission
Lieutenant Lewis Costigan of the 1st New Jersey Continental Line Regiment volunteered for the task. He was perfect for the mission, as he had been a merchant in that part of New Jersey and was most familiar with the area. Costigan’s mission is reminiscent of Lieutenant Jeremiah Creed’s spying in my novel, The Cavalier Spy. Costigan headed north over icy roads in a bitter-cold winter that chilled the soul. He evaded British patrols, sentries, and Loyalist informers, avoiding scrutiny. Costigan was gathering the intelligence required by Washington when British light dragoons swept in and took him captive. The gutsy officer was in uniform, so his captors did not treat him as a spy.
Prisoner on Parole
The British sent their new prisoner to New York City, where he was soon given parole, a fairly routine practice that let officers move about freely. Less fortunate prisoners, meaning enlisted men, were sent to the Sugar House or, even worse, the prison hulks (ships) to wither and die. However, with restrictions to which they pledged as gentlemen, officers fared better. Paroled officers were prohibited from involvement in military activity, communication with colleagues, or criticizing the British war effort. Paroled officers agreed to report back to the British if so directed. Costigan led the humdrum life of a parolee, diddling about the garrison city, visiting taverns, and rubbing elbows with the locals. He was formally released as part of an exchange for a British officer in September 1778.
Learning of this, Washington wrote his Commissary General for Prisoners, Colonel John Beatty, the man in charge of handling prisoner affairs, including exchanges. Washington pressed him to get Gostigan out expeditiously but not to appear too anxious to the British. His Excellency had plans for his once and future spy. General William Alexander, who called himself Lord Stirling, was to press Costigan to enter the breach once more. Costigan took a boat to New Brunswick, where he received a new mission from one of Stirling’s subordinates, Colonel Ogden, who pressed the exchanged parolee to return to New York for a few months longer and spy for the Continental Army! Washington must have been desperate for intelligence at the time, for the mission was highly unorthodox and packed with grave risk. For his part, Costigan must have had a brass pair and ice in his veins to agree.
Agent Z
What cover would Costigan use to slip past the British and lurk about a garrison brimming with enemy troops, Loyalists, and the dastardly Provost William Cunningham’s thugs? Why, none, actually. His handlers were betting the British prison bureaucracy would not realize he had returned, nor that they would have alerted the garrison regiments, Loyalist units, and Cunningham’s provosts when they exchanged prisoners. Stirling and Ogden were betting on the stovepipes not joining, and they were wagering Costigan’s life. Costigan was given the code name Agent Z for the unusual mission.
Prisoner Spy
Cositgan made his way back and took up the subterfuge of hiding in plain sight—living as the prisoner on parole he had been. Since he was legally exchanged, his earlier parole restrictions no longer applied. Curiously, no one seemed to take much notice of Costigan as he roved the city, noting troop movements, living conditions, supply problems, and more. Word of his exchange had clearly not spread among the dockside dives nor the city’s many taverns and coffee houses. To all, he was just another parolee out and about. Using his code name, Agent Z, the volunteer prisoner sent his intelligence reports to Washington through Colonel Ogden and Lord Stirling.
Intelligence
Agent Z managed to get three reports out before he departed New York. The first was dated 7 December 1778. It contained intelligence on troop and ship movements, the whereabouts of the British commander, General Sir Henry Clinton, the state of supply (low on bread), the name of captured prize vessels, and the source of British provisions from sympathizers and profiteers in New Jersey. His correspondence referred to several other reports on troop strength, but it is unknown whether these ever made it through.
A second report to Washington dated 13 December 1778 had many more details on British activity that amounted to “indications and warning” on British forces sailing south for Georgia. Lord Sackville (George Germain), the British Secretary for the Colonies, had adopted his Southern Strategy, which would begin with seizing Savannah on 29 December. He spotted notorious former Royal Governor William Tryon and reported on the movement and promotion of other senior officers.
Costigan’s last report of 19 December provided details on British officers who had deserted in Florida and the status and size of “the Jamaica fleet,” which he estimated at 40 or 50 vessels.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Agent Z clearly had a knack for observation and elicitation. There is no record of how he got his reports out. Did he coopt legal travelers? Send correspondence under an assumed name? Whatever he used must have hit a snag, for he left New York in mid-January 1779, presumably posing as an exchanged parolee. In March of 1779, General Washington queried Lod Stirling as to his reporting (or lack of). Stirling laconically replied that Agent Z was no longer active and believed to be “out” (presumably of the city and the intel game) and believed to be residing in Brunswick.
Lieutenant Lewis Costigan’s activities show how Washington used multiple channels of collection, as he was not connected to the Culper Ring organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge but reported through Colonel Ogden to Lord Stirling. His exploits provide a unique glimpse into espionage in the American Revolution. As Agent Z, he played the role destined for the unfortunate Nathan Hale, although his ingenious use of a “non-cover” provided an elegant twist. Hiding in plain sight seems to have been all the tradecraft he needed.
