How these 'Secret 6' spies saved America
Bar owner, socialite, newspaperman set gold standard for CIA today
November 6, 2013


Foreign and domestic espionage has been in the news a lot this year, but despite the latest technology and intense training, the best performance of American spies is still considered to be the work of six amateurs who were pivotal in winning the American Revolution.

The amazing story of this indispensable group is outlined in “George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American Revolution,” by Fox News host Brian Kilmeade. Far from highly trained operatives, six unassuming colonists, ranging from a merchant to a tavern owner to a New York socialite, risked life and limb and ultimately reversed the tide of the war.

In fact, their work was so impressive that it is still the gold standard by which all future operatives are measured.
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“They were able to able to stop Benedict Arnold from giving away West Point. They stopped a counterfeit ring that was going to make Washington’s new country have their money worth nothing; therefore, their forces weren’t getting paid and they’d all leave. And they were also able to get the Battle of Yorktown ahead of time,” he said.

The “Culper Spy Ring” was so secretive that Washington never even knew who the leader was. Historians didn’t figure out it was Robert Townsend until well into the 20th century. There was one female spy, known as Agent 355, who is still unidentified but was critical in exposing the treachery of Benedict Arnold.

“This woman infiltrated the social scene. We know that for sure. She found out where the parties were. She found out that there was a Patriot general about to turn sides and Washington was able to figure out it was Benedict Arnold,” Kilmeade said. “If they were unable to unearth this, West Point would have gone to the British, the Hudson would have gone to the British and we don’t win the war.”

One of the reasons the woman’s identity remains a secret is because historians believe the British figured out her role in stopping Arnold and she was killed.

The spy ring was created out of desperation in 1776. After chasing the British out of Boston, Washington’s forces were routed badly on Long Island and barely survived to fight another day. At this point, Washington knew he needed more intelligence and needed it on Long Island and in New York City where the British were so heavily concentr.
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Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/11/how-these-sec...leZfAGVCCAZ7.99

@conservgramma @PzLdr

Thanks for the interesting historical tidbits that I never learned in school.