Daughters of the American Revolution Essay

Kevin won an essay contest sponsored by a local chapter of the Daughter's of the American Revolution. His essay was selected from a total of 150 entries and he's pictured below accepting his award.

I Spy – Espionage During The American Revolution

By Kevin Harris

I was only five years old when we moved to America. The year was 1765. My father, a general in the British army, was sent across the ocean with his family to help protect the American colonies from natives and make sure the colonists followed British law (Moore, 18).

We were given a house on Long Island, New York. When I was younger I couldn’t imagine betraying England. But as I grew, I began to think of America as my real home. I had spent most of my childhood here and made many friends. Over the years I saw the protests, heard about the Stamp Act and Boston Tea Party, and read about the battles of Lexington and Concord (Lough, 75). After much thought, I decided to become a Patriot in September 1776, at the age of 16. It was the beginning of the American Revolution and that meant that my father, British General Robert Harrison, would have to command a war. I knew my father would be unhappy with my Patriot views, but I thought he would eventually accept the fact that we disagreed on politics.

I was wrong. When I broke the news to him on September 11, 1776, he disowned me. Before leaving, I went to say goodbye to everyone I knew in the nearby British camp. When I arrived, a few soldiers started chatting with me and asked if I was going to fight in the war.

I simply replied, “Possibly”.

Others told me about plans to invade New York City on the 14^th and make it their headquarters (Lough, 57). I realized they hadn’t heard about my decision to become a Patriot. I quickly made a mental note of their plans and said I had to go. I walked for a while until I became so tired I sat down on the side of the road and fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke abruptly to find a tall young man with blonde hair standing over me. The man introduced himself as Nathan Hale and asked where he could find the British camp (Libertson, 20).

Pointing the way, I asked him, “You’re not from around here, are you?”

Hale said he was a Dutch schoolteacher and had just arrived (Lough, 53).

I introduced myself as “Nicholas Harrison, Patriot.”

Hearing this, Hale revealed himself as an American spy. He said he was trying to gather information for General Washington. I suddenly remembered the plans I had been told about the British invading New York City. Hale wrote it all down and told me to go directly to Harlem Heights to tell General Washington what I had learned (Lough, 56). He said my information was crucial to the war. As he walked towards the British camp, I caught a boat to the mainland. Once there, I asked a Patriot soldier for directions to Harlem Heights. I arrived mid-day September 13, 1776.

I entered Washington’s camp and nervously approached a colonel, whose name I later learned was Thomas Knowlton (Lough, 49). I asked for General Washington and was directed to a tent in the center of the camp. As I entered, two men inside introduced themselves as General George Washington and Major Benjamin Tallmadge – Washington’s intelligence chief (Lough, 51). I quickly stated my name and reported what I had heard at the British camp. The two seemed interested for a moment and then recognized me.

“You’re General Harrison’s son aren’t you?” they asked.

“Yes,” I said and explained how I had recently become a Patriot.

I could tell Major Tallmadge distrusted me. After whispering together, Washington announced they couldn’t trust a 16-year-old boy whose father served as a British general.

“You will be our prisoner until we decide what to do with you,” he said.

The next thing I knew, I was thrown into an old, filthy tent crowded with stinky, hairy guys.

I waited for two days, until on September 15^th a soldier took me back to Washington’s tent. The General informed me that I had been correct and that the British had invaded Manhattan on September 14^th (Lough, 55). I will always remember his next words.

“I believe you could be a huge asset in winning this war. Contrary to the advice of my chief intelligence officer, I’ve decided to trust you. From now on Nicholas Harrison, you are my personal spy.”

In the next few hours, General Washington quickly taught me spying methods such as invisible ink, secret codes, hollow silver bullets, and blind drops (Benjamin Franklin Word Influence – Spies). I was then assigned my first mission.

“Redcoats are marching toward Harlem Heights. When they arrive, Colonel Knowlton and his Connecticut Rangers will hold them off (Lough, 56). While they fight, I want you to destroy their gunpowder. If they see you just pretend to be a Loyalist. They’ll recognize you as General Harrison’s son. Your dad was probably too ashamed to tell anyone about your betrayal. Once we win the battle, we’ll burn New York City so they can’t use it as their headquarters. (The History Place: American Revolution). After starting the fire, evacuate and send a letter to Philadelphia telling Congress what has happened.”

We won the Battle of Harlem Heights because they ran out of ammunition and had to retreat (Lough, 57). Then we set the city ablaze. Unfortunately, two hundred of our men, including Nathan Hale, were jailed on suspicion of starting the fire (Lough, 58). I managed to escape arrest and sent the letter to Congress using invisible ink. I wrote my letter in between the lines of another letter, to make it look totally innocent (Benjamin Franklin World Influence: Spies)

I went on to help General Washington win many battles and discover key information. I saved many soldier’s lives by finding a safe place to retreat when we were losing Fort Washington and Fort Lee. It was my idea to attack the British-Hessians at Trenton on Christmas 1776 when they would be partying. And thanks to information I uncovered, American forces defeated the British in the Battle of Springfield, New Jersey in June 23, 1780 (The History Place: American Revolution).

To this day, I miss my family terribly. But I will never regret my decision to leave home and become a Patriot.

January 30, 2008