Contemporary Issues Forum: Washington’s Spies: Espionage in the Revolutionary War

SPEAKER:
Dennis Wilder
Former senior American intelligence official and policymaker, Professor, Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and Visiting Professor, George HW Bush School of Government and Public Policy, Texas A&M University.

TOPIC:
The Continental Army, under General Washington’s command, was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia. The Continental Army had about 25,000 men under its command, whereas the far better-equipped British forces and their mercenaries numbered 120,000 men at the high point of the war. There are many reasons for this battlefield miracle, and one of them was General Washington’s remarkable spy network. Indeed, the case can be made that without espionage, America may never have become a nation.

Venue located on Chautauqua Institution grounds; a gate pass is required.