The Triple Agent

 Game of Secrets

Paris, December 1776. The air was crisp with winter’s chill, and the Tuileries Gardens lay shadowed, their neat paths empty except for a single figure moving purposefully. Edward Bancroft, a doctor, scientist, and man of letters, slipped through the darkness, his breath fogging in the cold. In his coat pocket, a rolled letter to “Mr. Richards” rested, its ink written in a special code only the right eyes could decipher. To the world, Bancroft seemed to be a loyal American, a trusted aide to Benjamin Franklin. Still, tonight, as he approached a twisted box tree and slipped his message into a hollow, he played a different role: a spy for King George III.

Tuileries Gardens

New England Student

Born in Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1744, Edward Bancroft moved to Connecticut with his widowed mother after she remarried David Bull. There he was tutored by none other than Silas Deane, the schoolteacher who would become our Deane of Spires—America’s agent in Paris.

Home in 18th-century Massachusetts

Fake Physician

Young Bancroft was a quick study, but he was restless. At sixteen, he gave up an apprenticeship with a doctor in Killingworth to seek adventure in Dutch Guiana or Suriname. There, he assumed the mantle of a physician, treating plantation workers while pursuing his study of the natural world. A fateful acquaintance was made when Paul Wentworth, a wealthy plantation owner, hired Bancroft to survey his land. While there, Bancroft penned a semi-biographical novel as a homage to his employer, detailing the life of a planter.

Surinam: Dutch Guiana 

Celebrated Scientist

He made his way to London, where in 1769, his Essay on the Natural History of Guiana earned him recognition. He began calling himself “Doctor,” despite having no formal degree. He made the rounds in coffeehouses and intellectual salons, where he met Doctor Benjamin Franklin, the American colonial representative in London. Franklin recognized potential in Bancroft’s wit and worldly charm, and they soon became close friends. As the colonies moved down the road to rebellion, Bancroft’s pro-American writings—like his 1769 Remarks on the Review of the Controversy between Great Britain and Her Colonies—enhanced his patriot bona fides. 

Ben Franklin: Mentor and Mark?

Family Man

In 1771, Cupid’s arrow struck, and Bancroft married young Penelope Fellows, daughter of a prominent Catholic family. Ironic as Bancroft was, at best, a Deist. A son, Edward, was born in 1772, and the couple went on to have six more children.

Loyal Secretary

In 1776, Silas Deane arrived in Paris to seek French aid, as Congress’s representative (using a cover), he tapped his former student to help. Franklin, now an American commissioner, soon arrived, appointing his London acquaintance as secretary to the American delegation. To Deane and Franklin, Bancroft was a trusted employee, copying letters, translating dispatches, and organizing supplies for American ships. But beneath this front, a darker loyalty simmered—Bancroft was, in actuality, now a mole.

Silas Deane

What Went Wrong?

Before Bancroft left London for France, Paul Wentworth, now a recently recruited agent of the British Secret Service who ran a spy ring, approached him. Wentworth was an American-born loyalist who ran a British spy ring and had employed Bancroft when they were both living in Dutch Guiana. A meeting was arranged with William Eden, the head of the Secret Service, and a deal was struck. For $ 200 a year—later increased to $500, then $1,000—Bancroft agreed to betray his fellow Americans. 

William Eden

His motives were a mix of loyalty to the British Empire, financial ambition, and doubt about the chances of American independence. Believing that the colonies’ best future was within the Empire, he began a life in the shadows, engaging in a risky game—secretly passing information to the British while working for Franklin and Deane. In the spy parlance, he had perfect placement and access.

Dead Drops in the Dead of Night

On Tuesday nights, Bancroft carried out his secret routine. Using the alias “Edward Edwards,” he penned reports to a “Mr. Richards,” using invisible ink while cleverly disguising his intelligence reports within stories of romantic escapades. Details about American negotiations with France, troop movements, and Franklin’s personal thoughts would be slipped into a bottle, tied with a string, and hidden in a hollow in a Tuileries tree after 9:30 p.m. When Bancroft cleared the area (departed), a British agent from the embassy would make the pickup, leaving new orders, which Bancroft would gather later that night. America’s secrets were in the hands of William Eden and King George III just two days later.

George III 

Suspicious Colleague

Yet Bancroft’s game was filled with danger: Arthur Lee, an American diplomat, suspected betrayal. Of course, the prickly Virginian suspected everyone! Lee saw Bancroft’s stock speculations and rumored mistress as a red flag.  He warned Franklin and Congress in 1778, claiming there was evidence of Bancroft’s treachery. “I consider Dr. Bancroft a Criminal concerning the United States,” Lee wrote. But he had no proof. Franklin remained loyal to his friend and dismissed them. 

Arthur Lee

Sly Deception

Bancroft caught wind of these accusations and warned his friends. To avoid suspicion, the British staged a fake arrest of Bancroft, accusing him of aiding the rebels—a ruse that kept his cover intact. Lee’s warnings diminished, and Bancroft’s deception remained hidden.

Astounding Success

Bancroft’s actions were remarkable. He translated the commission’s correspondence, repaired American ships, and even advised John Paul Jones, all while passing secrets to London. In 1781, he stole Deane’s private letters, which revealed despair over America’s prospects and called for peace with Britain. Published in New York after Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, the stolen letters damaged Deane’s reputation, calling him a traitor. 

John Paul Jones

Post War Laurels

After the war ended, Bancroft’s reputation continued to grow. In 1783, he moved to England to secure his British pension, while continuing to correspond with Franklin. Bancroft’s scientific work thrived; his 1794 book, Experimental Researches Concerning the Philosophy of Permanent Colors. This earned him a fellowship at the Royal Society, and his patents for quercitron dye made him a wealthy man. Our secretary, double and triple agent, mole and scientist, died on 7 September 1821, at Addington Place in Margate.

Edward Bancroft

A Riddle

Was Bancroft a traitor to America or a patriot to Britain? The question hangs like fog over the Tuileries. Some historians suggest he was a British loyalist who truly believed in the Empire’s unity. Bancroft’s betrayal, though daring, did not destroy the American cause. Ironically, his intelligence, though detailed, often went unused by the British, who did not utilize his reports effectively. Why not? Did they suspect him of being a triple agent? Some speculate Franklin knew of his duplicity but let him operate under the adage of keeping friends close and enemies closer. 

A Spy at Work?

And an Enigma

Whatever the truth, his espionage activities remained hidden until 1891, when British archives revealed his treachery, shocking historians and damaging his legacy. Regardless of who he betrayed, Bancroft’s spying, though daring, did not destroy the American cause. That might just provide our answer—or not. Such is the dilemma of traversing the wilderness of mirrors.

Deane of Spies

City of Lights

July 1776. The Seine shone under a summer moon, its ripples hiding secrets as Silas Deane stepped onto the cobblestones of Place Louis XV. He looked back to see if he was being followed. Not this time. The Connecticut merchant-turned-diplomat, Deane’s role was crucial to the young rebellion—securing badly needed aid from France. Although not a polished diplomat, the Yankee trader, a skilled negotiator, was up against a city full of spies and schemers. He would have to wage a secret war for America’s survival, with betrayal waiting at every turn. Though only a passing figure in my novel, The Reluctant Spy, it’s important to understand Deane’s role, as he set the stage for much that followed.

Paris: a Maze of Intrigue

Young Yankee

Who would have thought a young Connecticut Yankee would be drawn into the world of global espionage? Silas Deane was born in Groton in 1737. Fortunate enough to attend Yale, he eschewed the typical graduate’s career as a cleric, schoolmaster, or lawyer. Connecticut’s access to the sea and its favorable rivers made it a hub of trade, and Dean earned a fortune in trading timber and rum. As with all of his class and status, Deane was drawn into politics as the colonies slid toward revolution and was a stalwart member of the Continental Congress. His talent got him named America’s first envoy to France during the early days of the struggle. America needed everything: money, supplies, weapons, and munitions. And America needed them quickly. Armed only with a letter of introduction and a seasoned dealmaker’s grit, he sailed off on this desperate venture in March 1776.

Silas Deane

Covert Envoy

Aware of the intrigue awaiting him (the canny Benjamin Franklin likely briefed him), he posed as a merchant in a modest apartment in a quiet part of Paris, not Versailles. From there, he undertook the daunting task of convincing France to throw in with the Americans, at a time when British General William Howe was unleashing a sea and land campaign that would drive the Americans from New York and the Jerseys. Neutral France would prove a hard nut to crack, officially. His task was complicated by the fact that the spy services of both France and Britain were watching this obscure American.

Rodrigue y Hortalez, Et Cie

Dean hit pay dirt when French Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, connected Deane with a pesky clockmaker and renowned playwright, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. Beaumarchais secretly approached Vergennes about taking action to aid the Americans' struggle, but Vergennes would not risk British ire—at least not yet. 

Beaumarchais

The roguish Beaumarchais had set up a front company, Rodrigue y Hortalez, a Spanish company, to smuggle goods to America. Dean jumped at the opportunity, negotiating the transfer of 200 cannons, 25,000 uniforms, and ammunition that kept the Continental Army alive through 1777. Ships slipped from Le Havre to American ports, their cargoes disguised as commercial goods. Each shipment was fraught with danger, as French ports swarmed with British spies, spreading gold to detect evidence of French perfidy. Exposure, being caught in flagrante delicto, could cause Vergennes to close the operation, leaving the American cause in mortal peril.

Covert Shipments Nurtured the Rebellion

Insider Threat

But the threat, as usual, was from within. Edward Bancroft, a former pupil of Deane, became his secretary, privy to all aspects of the operation and everything else Deane was up to. The problem was that Bancroft was a British agent who clandestinely fed information to the British embassy, ensuring details would arrive on King George’s ministers’ desks within days.

Edward Bancroft

Enter Big Ben

The Cause was looking weak, very weak, in late 1776, and the need for a formal alliance was growing increasingly separate. The Continental Congress decided to up the ante by sending a former American representative in London to help Deane. Benjamin Franklin was not just another envoy—he was possibly the most renowned man of the era and soon eclipsed Deane, who was more of a back-office operator. Franklin would soon take the lead in dealings with the French.

Talent Scout

But Deane was doing much more than kibbitzing with the aristocracy. He actively recruited talent for the Cause, sending large numbers of experienced (sometimes, not so) officers to serve in the Continental Army. Among them were the Marquis de Lafayette, Baron De Kalb, Casimir Pulaski, Baron von Steuben, Thomas Conway, and Philippe du Coudray. The latter brought heat on Deane when he ticked off Congress with demands for money and rank, and Conway would be controversial in many ways. Still, they did provide a shot of Vitamin B-12 in the butt of an Army struggling for experienced leaders. Deane also helped John Paul Jones, arranging the initial French support for Jones’s first raids in European waters.

Lafayette

Another Enemy Within

When an American planter and scion of the aristocratic Lee family of Virginia entered the scene, clouds darkened over Deane. Newly arrived diplomat Arthur Lee distrusted Deane, accusing him of profiteering from supply contracts. Lee’s suspicions had some merit; Deane’s merchant instincts did lead him to dabble in stocks, blurring public duty and private gain. These accusations, though unproven, were a blight on his record. When the American victory at Saratoga in October 1777 made a formal alliance just a matter of time, Deane’s welcome had worn out. Congress took Lee’s allegations seriously and recalled the man whose efforts kept the Cause alive in its darkest hours.

Arthur Lee

Not Sunny in Philadelphia

When Deane arrived at the nation's capital in 1778, he was unprepared for the deluge. He had anticipated praise, but instead faced a grilling from Congress over his accounts. Unprepared, with incomplete records, he faltered. It worsened for him in 1781 when his private letters, expressing doubts about America’s chances and urging peace with Britain, were published. 

Philadelphia Was Unwelcoming

Branded a traitor, Deane fled to Europe, living in exile in London and Ghent. Who stole them? Some point to Bancroft, but Lee cannot be ruled out. Deane’s final years were grim. In 1789, he died suddenly aboard a ship bound for America, possibly from poisoning. It was not until the 19th century that documents exonerated Deane from the charges against him, but by then his grim legacy was sealed in the minds of most Americans.

Meeting De Kalb and Lafayette

Grim Legacy?

Deane, thrust into the shadowy world of diplomacy and skullduggery, did quite well until inside forces, a spy and an implacable political foe, undid him. Yet the record is clear. The canny businessman initiated the supply chain that would feed the Cause, recruited (mostly) good talent, and set the stage for Franklin, Adams, Jay, and others to complete the work of making Paris a second front in the war against Britain. Bancroft’s treachery, Lee’s vendetta, and Congress’s ingratitude crushed his legacy, but Deane’s work in Paris kept the American Revolution alive. As he stood by the Seine in 1776, gazing at a city that could make or break a nation, he could not foresee the cost—only that freedom demanded it.

Committee of Secrets

War in the Shadows

Students involved in insurgencies have long recognized the importance of cutting off the insurgents' external support. Throughout history, few insurgencies or rebellions have succeeded without outside help, which can include moral support, funding, training, weapons, equipment, supplies, political backing, and military aid. 

                                                Philippine Moro insurgents vs the US Army 

Early in the insurgency that would turn into rebellion after Lexington and Concord, the Americans established a way to keep dialogue and coordination among the colonies and later states. It quickly became clear that America would need to reach across the Atlantic as well. Winning over Americans was only one part of the complex struggle now beginning. Securing support in Britain and forming alliances with sympathetic countrymen would also be vital for gaining recognition for the new nation. Furthermore, the European powers would offer fertile ground for support if properly “tilled.”

                                                    Burning of Revenue Cutter, Gaspee at 

                                                      Warwick, RI, early act of Insurgency

A Secret Committee

By the time the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1775, this need for international support resulted in the formation of the Committee of Secret Correspondence via two resolutions of 29 November:

RESOLVED, That a committee...would be appointed for the sole purpose of corresponding with our friends in Great Britain, and other parts of the world, and that they lay their correspondence before Congress when directed.

RESOLVED, That this Congress will make provision to defray all such expenses as they may arise by carrying on such correspondence, and for the payment of such agents as the said Committee may send on this service.

Because of the secret nature of the work involved, the members soon added the word “Secret” to its name. The committee received significant authority from Congress to carry out multiple functions: public and secret diplomacy, intelligence gathering, and public relations/influencing opinion. In many ways, it functioned as both the State Department and the CIA. It served as the Continental Congress’s eyes and ears in Europe and would soon become its arm in that region.

                                                  Extract of Committee's Secret Instructions

First Members

Congress effectively chose the original members of the committee, bringing together notable figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Johnson, John Dickinson, John Jay, and Robert Morris. Later, additional members joined, including James Lovell, a former schoolmaster, Bunker Hill veteran (arrested by the British for spying), and a Congress member, who developed the committee’s first codes and ciphers. It’s likely that Dr. Benjamin Franklin, who represented the American colonies in dealings with the British government for many years, contributed a wealth of ideas and experience gained abroad. John Jay and probably the others had experience organizing secret meetings and activities on the road to rebellion while surrounded by loyalists eager to expose them.

                                                       The Committee at Work

Tactics and Tradecraft

It is a tribute to the American leaders of the era that they were quick to learn and adopt the most sophisticated techniques and practices long used by the great powers of Europe. They employed clandestine agents abroad, conducted covert operations, created codes and ciphers, used propaganda, and carried out covert postal surveillance of both official and private mail. They made use of open-source intelligence by purchasing foreign publications and analyzing them. Most notably, they established an elaborate communication system that used various couriers. Another major innovation was the development of a maritime capability independent of the Continental Navy, designed for smuggling, moving agents, managing correspondence, and intercepting British ships.

                                                  Secure communications were essential

First Actions

The committee acted quickly. They started regular communication with English Whigs and Scots who supported the ideas, if not all the actions, of the Americans. The experienced and worldly Benjamin Franklin was the most active, reaching out to a wide range of contacts he had built up in Britain and Europe in a sophisticated effort to gain support for the patriot cause.

                                                 Dr. Franklin's experience in London proved 

                                                         invaluable to the new committee

Franklin secretly reached out to Spain through Don Gabriel de Bourbon, a member of the Spanish royal family and Franklin's associate. He subtly suggested the benefits an American alliance could bring to Spain.

                                                                Don Gabriel de Bourbon

                                                         one of Franklin's A-List contacts

Agents at Home

But curiously, France was the first to reach out, sending Julien Alexandre Achard de Bonvouloir to Philadelphia to evaluate the possibility of covert aid and political support.

                                                                 Achard de Bonvouloir

 In December 1775, committee members Benjamin Franklin and John Jay attended a secret meeting with the French intelligence agent de Bonvouloir, who was dressed as a Flemish merchant. 

Franklin and Jay wanted to know if France would help America and at what cost. They stressed an urgent need for arms and munitions, which would be exchanged for American tobacco, rice, and other crops. De Bonvouloir advised that the French government should avoid any involvement in transactions with the rebels. Instead, private merchants would handle them.

                                     

                                      Father of American Counterintelligence - John Jay

Franklin assured de Bonvouloir that America would not reconcile with Britain and that once it declared independence, France should form an alliance. This marked the start of a long-term effort to bring not only French aid but also French arms into the fight.

                                                                            Silas Deane

Agents Abroad

Franklin and Jay were encouraged by French interest in the American cause. In early March 1776, the Secret Committee appointed Connecticut lawyer Silas Deane as a special envoy to negotiate with the French government in Paris. His mission was to secure covert aid and gain political support through Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, Louis XVI’s Foreign Minister. Vergennes skillfully managed both public and secret diplomacy for the French king, handling them with a steady hand.

                                                      Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes

The committee eventually included an American living in London, Arthur Lee, a member of the well-known Lee family of Virginia. Lee had contact with the French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, a polymath, playwright, clockmaker, and diplomat who was also a secret French agent. Using a letter sent by the committee, Lee supplied Beaumarchais with information about American successes—much of which served as propaganda to influence French opinion. Interestingly, people today might recognize Beaumarchais not for his dedication to freedom (and making money) but for writing the Figaro plays: Le Barbier de Séville, Le Mariage de Figaro, and La Mère coupable. These later became operatic adaptations that are still enjoyed today.

                                                                            Arthur Lee

But Beaumarchais was a supporter of the American cause and did not need exaggerated reports to spark his passion for freedom. While working with Deane in Paris, he influenced French Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, and King Louis XVI to provide the colonies with secret shipments of gunpowder and war supplies. This assistance was crucial in the early years of what had now become a war. The front company Rodrigue y Hortalez (R&H), registered as a Spanish trading firm, was used for this effort. R&H facilitated the shipment of surplus French arms and munitions to the West Indies, mainly to the Dutch colony Saint Eustatius, where American agricultural products were traded for war supplies.

                                               Beaumarchais: Polymath and Freedom-Lover

Deane was responsible for the earliest aid to America’s struggling army through his efforts. Besides organizing secret shipments (with R&H being just one covert operation), he recruited French officers, made introductions, sought ships for privateering, and promoted the American cause among French insiders. Some of the officers he recruited included the Marquis de Lafayette, Baron Johann de Kalb, Thomas Conway, Casimir Pulaski, and Baron von Steuben—a list of notable ex-pat freedom fighters.

                                                                   Marquis de Lafayette

The American commissioners in Paris navigated a whirlwind of intrigue as they wooed and charmed the French while fending off Sir William Eden’s British secret service. Eden had sent an American named Paul Wentworth to Paris when Silas Deane arrived. Deane was familiar with Wentworth, and soon he was reporting on Deane’s activities and later, Franklin’s. Wentworth also recruited Edward Bancroft, the secretary of the American Commission.

                                                        William Eden,1st Baron Auckland

                                                                     & British Spymaster

But Lee was now in Paris, as was Benjamin Franklin himself, who had sailed for France in December 1776. Throughout 1777, the full-court press was in motion. The British and French were secretly opening the American commission's mail through various covert operations. Servants and friends were recruited to spy, influence, and report. Bancroft provided insider information to Wentworth and Eden. And so it went. Meanwhile, Franklin charmed everyone he could, was the toast of Paris, and kept wielding influence. He knew every word and gesture reached Versailles and London, and every step he took reflected that awareness.

                                            Franklin's every move and comment were tracked,

                                                             and he acted accordingly

What's in a Name?

The Committee of Secret Correspondence became the Committee of Foreign Affairs in April 1777, but kept its intelligence functions. As the first American government agency for both foreign intelligence and diplomatic representation, it basically served as the predecessor to the State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, and today's Congressional intelligence oversight committees. 

Despite the name change, the Foreign Affairs Committee continued to play a key role for Congress, acting as the nation's eyes and ears in Europe. Note: To possibly confuse the British, Congress created a separate "Secret Committee" in 1775 to acquire supplies, which by its nature needed to be kept hidden from British eyes and ships. Many of its members also served on the Committee of Secret Correspondence. It became the Committee of Commerce around the same time its 'sister" committee was renamed the Committee of Foreign Affairs.

 

                                                The Committee of Foreign Affairs combined

                                                 the roles of State and CIA, plus "Oversight"

Payoff

The Committee of Secret Correspondence/Secret/Foreign Affairs Committee’s efforts paid off tremendously when an American army, equipped with arms and munitions secretly supplied by France, forced the surrender of a British army at Saratoga in October 1777. No one in France could recall the last time a British army surrendered to the French. The road to a treaty with France had now become a fast track. However, the committee was not finished. It still had to work out the details of an alliance, future loans to America, and the foundation for negotiations and peace. The capitals of Europe were also a target as the commission aimed to gain support from the Netherlands, Prussia, Spain, and Russia. But those are stories for another time.

 

Rodrigue Hortalez & Cie.

As I began my research into the American War for Independence to gain background and context for the Yankee Doodle Spies novels, I uncovered many things I had not known or even imagined existed. The struggle for independence was long and complex, featuring, in addition to traditional aspects of warfare, civil war, insurgency, guerrilla warfare, diplomacy, piracy, espionage, counterespionage, code-breaking, propaganda, spying, and covert operations.

A Secret War

Not widely known, the French began a covert operation to bolster the American rebels against the British crown. But some French secret activities began much earlier. The King of France, Louis XVI, and his ministers were smarting from the considerable losses of land suffered in the Seven Years' War, known as the French and Indian War in America. France lost all of her North American colonial possessions (except a few small islands off the maritime provinces) and had been militarily humiliated by the British. Shortly after the Treaty of Paris in 1763 was signed, French agents went to the American colonies to sow discord between the colonists and their masters. As the actual conflict drew closer, both the Americans and the British expected some sort of French intervention. The question was where, what, and how?

The French & Indian War cost France her
New World power and global prestige

The Minister

Any intervention would be directed by Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, appointed foreign minister of France by Louis XVI in 1774. Vergennes hated the British, whom he considered France's natural enemy. With Vergennes at the helm of foreign policy, many believed France would be quick to provide aid following the actions at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. But Vergennes and the King moved deliberately. They anticipated another war (of revenge) against the British. They knew France was not yet ready, and they did not think the colonies could succeed. How to proceed?

Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes

The Playwright Spy

On the scene comes an unlikely figure: Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, a watchmaker, playwright (Marriage of Figaro, Barber of Seville, etc.), inventor, musician, politician, fugitive, spy, publisher, arms-dealer, and... revolutionary.  Something akin to the "world's most interesting man", Beaumarchais was well known at the highest circles of French society. Louis XVI was an amateur watchmaker and one-time student of Beaumarchais. 

John Wilkes

As America boiled with patriotic fervor and rebellion, Beaumarchais developed a passion for liberty and the colonists' cause. It is no small irony that many in the highly stratified, autocratic French society were also bedazzled by the ideals of the American cause. This included the king and Vergennes - although their bedazzlement was as much an opportunity for revenge as a love of liberty. Beaumarchais approached Vergennes with a proposal to support the Americans. 

At first, Vergennes demurred. He knew the king was not ready to commit to action that might be exposed prematurely. During the run-up to and early months of the American Revolution, Beaumarchais was a French agent in London. He had made numerous secret connections with Americans and British, particularly Arthur Lee and British radical politician John Wilkes. Beaumarchais penned a letter (via Vergennes) to the king in late 1775, proposing a scheme to deliver covert arms to the Americans via the West Indies in exchange for tobacco and other American produce. Louis XVI demurred again at first but soon agreed.

Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais- the 
world's most interesting man in an age of
interesting men?

The Company

Arthur Lee

With the king's quiet approval, Vergennes instructed Caron de Beaumarchais to execute his scheme and set up a "proprietary" called Rodrigue Hortalez et Cie. This was a front company whose primary purpose was to protect France's role in aiding the American rebels. Beaumarchais, a master of intrigue, registered the company in Spain and ensured no paper trail could be traced to the French government or any other French public entity. Beaumarchais had "backers" for the company whose identities were kept secret. Beaumarchais engaged the sole American representative in Paris, Silas Deane of Connecticut. Secret correspondence across the Atlantic and into London and Spain set things in motion. Deane would eventually be joined by Arthur Lee and Benjamin Franklin, which would take things into intrigues best left for another time.

Silas Deane played a pivotal role that ended
in controversy and ignominy

The "Business"

When the king approved the operation, Vergennes granted Beaumarchais an initial one million livres (several million dollars) to purchase and ship weapons and other war materiel to the Continental Army. At the same time, Vergennes pressured Spain, which contributed the same amount. Spain chafed at British ascendancy but, suspicious of Americans' intentions in Louisiana, dragged its feet. The crafty and persistent Vergennes soon succeeded in pushing them along. The front company prospered. In its first year of "business," Rodrigue Hortalez et Cie shipped over 30,000 muskets, 100,000 rounds of shot, hundreds of cannons, tents, ordnance, and clothing through New England merchants with shipping connections to the Indies. These items were critical to continuing the war effort, as America, by design, had little industrial capacity. 

The neutral Dutch islands in the Caribbean, such as Sint Eustatius, became a hotbed of clandestine shipping. Experienced American smugglers would navigate around British naval pickets to make secret transactions: typically, tobacco for arms and equipment. France shipped surplus and old (if not obsolete) weapons from its fortresses and armories. The tobacco and goods received were to be sold for cash, which was used to finance the French armaments industry, procuring new weapons for the French armies and navies that would eventually fight Britain. Rodrigue Hortalez et Cie continued in business for two years.

Sint Eustatius was a major transit point for
the secret weapons-for-goods trade

The Covert War goes Overt

Franklin and Lee's arrival heated up the diplomatic situation as Franklin, surrounded by British agents, employed a masterful stratagem to woo the French public and ruling class. Yet the covert war had long been established by Deane and Beaumarchais. Now, however, Beaumarchais faded into the shadows, and Deane was soon recalled to America on corruption charges that were never proven. 

After the Continental Army soundly defeated the British at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777, things changed dramatically. France entered into an alliance with the infant United States in early 1778, while a reluctant Spain finally declared war on Britain in 1779. Still suspicious of the Americans, Spain allied itself only with France. Regardless, much more aid was now shipped to the colonies, this time openly, in the bellies of warships and transports, rather than under cover of the covert and private enterprise that was Rodrigue Hortalez et Cie.

Benjamin Franklin waged a masterful subterfuge and
charm offensive as commissioner in Paris

The Legacy of Untidy Business

As the war's progress made Rodrigue Hortalez et Cie unnecessary, some "unfinished business" fell to the American Commission in Paris, which now included John Adams in place of Deane. The correspondence below offers a glimpse into the untidiness of wrapping up covert affairs... even in the time of the Yankee Doodle Spies...

Passi Septemr. 10. 1778

From the American Commissioners

To Comte de Vergennes

Sir

By some of the last Ships from America, we received from Congress certain Powers and Instructions, which we think it necessary to lay before your Excellency, and which we have the Honor to do in this Letter.

We have the Honor to enclose to your Excellency a Copy of the Contract made between the Committee and Mr. Francy, a Copy of Mr. Francy's Powers, and a Copy of the list of Articles to be furnished, according to that Contract, that your Excellency, may have before you all the Papers relative to this Subject.

We are under a Necessity of applying to your Excellency upon this Occasion, and of requesting your Advice.

With Regard to what is passed, we know not who the Persons are, who constitute the House of Roderigue Hortalez & Company, but we have ever understood, and Congress has ever understood, and so have the People in America in general, that they were under Obligation to his Majestys good will, for the greatest part of the Merchandizes, and Warlike Stores heretofore furnished, under the Firm of Roderigue Hortalez & Company. We cannot discover that any written Contract was ever made between Congress or any Agent of theirs, and the House of Roderigue Hortalez & Co., nor do we know of any living Witness, or any other Evidence, whose Testimony can ascertain to us, who the Persons are that constitute the House of Roderigue Hortalez & Company, or what were the Terms upon which the Merchandises and Munitions of War were supplied, neither as to the Price, nor the Time or Conditions of Payment.

As we said before, we apprehend that the United States hold themselves under Obligation to his Majesty, for all these Supplies, and we are sure it is their Wish and their Determination to discharge the Obligation to his Majesty, as soon as providence shall put it in their Power. In the mean time, we are ready to settle and liquidate the Accounts according to our Instructions, at any time and in any Manner, which his Majesty, or your Excellency shall set out to us.

As the Contract for future Supplies is to be ratified, or not ratified by us, as we shall judge expeditious we must request your Excellencys Advice as a favor upon this Head, and whether it would be safe or prudent in us to ratify it, and in Congress to depend upon Supplies from this Quarter, because if we should depend upon their Resource for Supplies, and be disappointed, the Consequences would be fatal to our Country. 

We have the Honor to be

 with all Respect Your Excellencys

 most Obedient and very humble Servants

B Franklin
Arthur Lee
 John Adams

Promotions and Pride

I served over 20 years in the US Army and had 8 years of ROTC experience before that. Not what you might think—I took junior ROTC at Xavier High School, the Jesuit Military Academy in New York. However, throughout all those years, there was one event that always brought me a sense of accomplishment, mixed with a bit of dread—the promotion!

In the military, a person's success is measured in three ways when not actually in combat: surviving, ensuring your unit members survive, or advancing on the enemy with fire and movement to achieve or hold your objective. In other words, winning battles and wars. However, throughout a war or a career, awards and medals for accomplishments, gallantry, and similar achievements are sometimes complemented by promotions. The Army does not provide cash bonuses like the civilian sector; therefore, promotions (which include longevity steps) are the only tangible form of compensation... the gift that keeps on giving. And they definitely boost the ego.

                                                                                

                                                         Medals are symbols of achievement

While many who serve their country may publicly dismiss the need for such recognition, most of these sentiments are simply nonsense. Nearly everyone appreciates acknowledgment, and in the military, promotions are the main form of recognition, besides gallantry awards. During the era of the Yankee Doodle Spies, the promotion of officers was highly important.

And just like their British counterparts, the American officer corps was highly political. Congress controlled promotions and commands at the highest levels. Officers actively lobbied congressional representatives to advance their careers. The American agents in France, Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin, even sought rank and command for foreign officers and civilians. John Adams, disgusted by this military politicking, wrote that he “wearied to Death with the Wrangles between military officers, high and low. They Quarrell like Cats and Dogs. They worry one another like Mastiffs Scrambling for Rank and Pay like Apes for Nuts.”

Silas Dean

Military pride almost cost us our independence. More importantly, a denied promotion or command often played a key role during the war. Note the less-than-honorable service of General Charles Lee, Washington's second-in-command, who avoided excelling whenever it threatened Washington's authority. The scheming of General Horatio Gates, victor at Saratoga, became the focus of an anti-Washington group aimed at replacing Washington with him. Furthermore, pride, as harmful to the nation's fight for independence, is most famously shown by the treason of General Benedict Arnold, whose grievances (and they were many) included the unfair denial of a well-deserved promotion to Major General. Each of these men turned against Washington and, therefore, against the cause, because of excessive pride.

                                               
                                                                              Horatio Gates

We often forget that the men who served as our First Patriots were human beings with families and obligations. Promotion meant prestige and honor, which were highly valued traits in the 18th century. These promotions also brought higher pay, and most officers, along with all enlisted men, were not wealthy landowners but rather teachers, shopkeepers, small farmers, and so on. Therefore, the possibility of a promotion and the potential for increased earnings were important considerations. They all (correctly) believed that a higher rank during the war would lead to greater prestige, which could be helpful after the war. Again, they weren't much different from people today. In an ideal world, patriotism would be its own reward. But, in reality, patriotism should be rewarded fairly.

                                                                             

                                                                         Charles Lee

Unfortunately, a promotion in the Continental Army did not always come with a pay raise. In fact, payments for officers and enlisted personnel were irregular. Congress had to request funds from the states to pay the Army, and the states often delayed or refused whenever they could. Without going into detail here, this nearly undermined the new republic before it even began, and only swift action by George Washington himself prevented a disaster. It also shaped Washington's political views toward a strong central government, one capable of funding national defense and serving the common good. Interestingly, the politics of promotion played an important role in both the war's progress and the country's formation.

                                                                Continental Army Officers