Shaping Espionage

In 1777 George Washington wrote a letter to Nathaniel Sackett engaging him to organise an espionage network and to spy for the Continental Army.

Washington asked Sackett because he had produced the “earliest and and best intelligence on the designs of the enemy.” Washington realised the value of espionage as the first line of defence for the country’s security.

Other artifacts that shaped history included in the International Spy Museum’s collection are Virginia Hall’s WW 2 wireless radio (for IW article on Hall click here) and Josephine Baker’s sheet music (for IW article on Baker click here). Ingenuity, creative problem solving, taking risks, technology and more have shaped espionage and intelligence collecting agencies over the centuries.