In George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American Revolution, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger use letters and other primary sources to piece together the story of the Culper Spy Ring, and the identities of the members. This book that reads like an exciting spy action movie, tells all about how the course of history was changed by General Washington’s battle of wits against the British forces. The authors tell us this story to make their point crystal clear: Without the Culper Spy Ring, we would’ve lost the America Revolution.
Before the technological advances of the modern era, wartime espionage was a lot different. George Washington’s Secret Six, by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, sheds some light on the incredibly important …show more content…
The ring proved a success when they thwarted an American money counterfeiting plan, led by the British, by using the information they had gathered, though they had also encountered many close calls, and near-nervous breakdowns. Washington thought of the ring as essential to the American victory of the war, especially after the spies had helped him misdirect British troops, creating an opening for French fleets to make it to New York to help the Patriots.
After the war was over, even though Agent 355 supposedly passed in a British prison, the others returned to their normal lives, never claiming fame or reward for what they’d done to serve their country.
In Elementary through High school, I sat in my history class, and was told that the Patriots somehow won the American Revolution, but I was never actually taught why or how. I thought that the classic underdog story in this situation was too good to be true without a miracle. In the preface, the author states that “the Americans would not have won the Revolutionary war without the Culper Spy Ring,” and after reading the book, I have to agree. This was the author’s main purpose, to tell the events that directly caused the victory of the revolution, and to clarify just how it all …show more content…
Had this plan gone forward, the inflation would’ve destroyed the colonies’ economy before it even had a chance a victory. Yet with the help of this spy ring, and the information gathered, Washington was able to alert Congress just in time to put an end to it. Another example was the prevention of an ambush on the incoming French reinforcements. Without the fighting strength of the French we would’ve had absolutely no chance against the largest army force in existence at the time. Using his spies, Washington had planted false information in the hands of British troops, resulting in the British forces moving their entire fleet, making way for the French troops. Finally, and most importantly, Washington and his spies stopped Benedict Arnold’s treacherous plan of surrendering West Point to the enemy, which surely would have marked defeat for the Patriots.
Kilmeade’s and Yaeger’s brilliant use of their sources created insight into the lives of these six people, and helped portray the reality of the risks they were taking, and the grave importance of their actions. By including details about close calls and captures and counterintelligence, they completely convince the reader that these people were courageous beyond comparison, even though they were previously completely ordinary people, which leads to the reader believing these people are somewhat like superheroes. This plays a vital part in his claim that, without them, the Patriots would’ve
Before the technological advances of the modern era, wartime espionage was a lot different. George Washington’s Secret Six, by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, sheds some light on the incredibly important …show more content…
The ring proved a success when they thwarted an American money counterfeiting plan, led by the British, by using the information they had gathered, though they had also encountered many close calls, and near-nervous breakdowns. Washington thought of the ring as essential to the American victory of the war, especially after the spies had helped him misdirect British troops, creating an opening for French fleets to make it to New York to help the Patriots.
After the war was over, even though Agent 355 supposedly passed in a British prison, the others returned to their normal lives, never claiming fame or reward for what they’d done to serve their country.
In Elementary through High school, I sat in my history class, and was told that the Patriots somehow won the American Revolution, but I was never actually taught why or how. I thought that the classic underdog story in this situation was too good to be true without a miracle. In the preface, the author states that “the Americans would not have won the Revolutionary war without the Culper Spy Ring,” and after reading the book, I have to agree. This was the author’s main purpose, to tell the events that directly caused the victory of the revolution, and to clarify just how it all …show more content…
Had this plan gone forward, the inflation would’ve destroyed the colonies’ economy before it even had a chance a victory. Yet with the help of this spy ring, and the information gathered, Washington was able to alert Congress just in time to put an end to it. Another example was the prevention of an ambush on the incoming French reinforcements. Without the fighting strength of the French we would’ve had absolutely no chance against the largest army force in existence at the time. Using his spies, Washington had planted false information in the hands of British troops, resulting in the British forces moving their entire fleet, making way for the French troops. Finally, and most importantly, Washington and his spies stopped Benedict Arnold’s treacherous plan of surrendering West Point to the enemy, which surely would have marked defeat for the Patriots.
Kilmeade’s and Yaeger’s brilliant use of their sources created insight into the lives of these six people, and helped portray the reality of the risks they were taking, and the grave importance of their actions. By including details about close calls and captures and counterintelligence, they completely convince the reader that these people were courageous beyond comparison, even though they were previously completely ordinary people, which leads to the reader believing these people are somewhat like superheroes. This plays a vital part in his claim that, without them, the Patriots would’ve