“Washington’s First Spy Ring” in Cambridge, 17 March

To finish off this week of postings about events at the mansion now officially called Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be speaking there on 17 March, to commemorate the British evacuation that ended the siege of Boston.

My talk will be titled “Washington’s First Spy Ring.” I’ll tell various stories about Gen. George Washington’s intelligence and counterintelligence efforts during his first months as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Those tales include:

• intelligence reports passed on by Col. Loammi Baldwin in Chelsea.
• the discovery of Dr. Benjamin Church as a British spy.
• [for the first time anywhere!] the name and subsequent career of the deserter who brought Washington plans of the British fortifications in July 1775.

Depending on time and what I discover between now and then, I may also tackle such questions as: How did intelligence from New Hampshire lead to the Battle of Bunker Hill? Did Henry Knox’s military career rest on his untold activities as a spy? And why did one of the cipher experts who helped unmask Church take a horse from Washington’s stable?

My talk is scheduled to begin at 6:00 P.M. It’s free, but because of limited seating, the site asks people to make reservations by phone or through this webpage.