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George Washington Spymaster

Did you know that founding father and first President of the United States, George Washington, was also a champion of espionage? Thomas B. Allen, in his in his award-winning book, entitled George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the War, reveals how one of our greatest presidents managed a large spy network that undermined the British during the Revolutionary War. Allen takes the reader from Washington’s humble beginnings as a young Major in the Virginia militia, who fraternized with the enemy to acquire the vital information to help the British defeat the French during the French and Indian War, to his duplicitous dealings with the British during the Revolutionary period. In one episode, George Washington used a double agent by the name of Elijah Hunter to pass misinformation to British Generals. This paved the way for Washington and his Continental Army to make the infamous crossing of the Delaware to defeat British mercenaries and ultimately win the Revolutionary War.

This book is an interesting read full of intrigue and suspense as the story unfolds. Accompanying the story is a set of illustrations that includes old sketches and old maps. Along the same theme of codes and spies are secret codes embedded in the book that the reader can decipher using a code that Washington and his ring of spies developed.

Grade Level: High School

Genre: Biography & Memoir

Format: Chapter Book

Content:

united states history