"The Founding Fathers of American Intelligence" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rose P. K.)

John Jay: America's First Counterintelligence Chief

At the start of the Revolutionary War, American counterintelligence efforts focused on detecting and arresting Tories and Tory sympathizers—especially those viewed as conspirators, spies, or potential spies. Personal rivalries and business feuds among the colonists often were the real causes of such counterintelligence actions and accusations. Even so, genuine supporters of the Crown were numerous in the American colonies. Less than a third of the populace appears to have actively supported the drive for independence. In fact, the colonials serving in the British Army far outnumbered those in the American Army.

Future Chief Justice John Jay's first venture into the counterintelligence arena occurred in the summer of 1776. Jay, a member of the New York legislature, chaired a legislative committee that was investigating a Tory plot to recruit people to sabotage defense and infrastructure targets in New York City and its environs. The Tory goal was to pave the way for British occupation. The conspiracy was well organized and amply financed. It was directed by the British Royal Governor of New York, William Tryon, and New York City's Mayor, David Matthews.

The British recruitment effort even extended to the personal bodyguard of George Washington; the goal was to capture or kill the American leader. An investigation led by Jay in June 1776 exposed the entire scheme. One of the bodyguards, Thomas Hickey, was executed for his involvement. Numerous other plotters were arrested, and Mayor Matthews was jailed. Governor Tryon avoided arrest by taking up residence on the British warship "Duchess of Gordon" in New York harbor.

Discovery of this conspiracy prompted the Americans to intensify their efforts to develop a larger, better organized counterintelligence program, focusing primarily on the strategic Hudson Valley area north of New York City. This came at a time when the British were on the offensive in the region. General Sir Henry Clinton's forces seized New York City in autumn 1776, after which Clinton launched an aggressive campaign to enlist Tory sympathizers in the area surrounding the city. He offered land and money to those colonials willing either to join the British forces or to work as spies in a contested area along the Hudson River, providing information on American activities.

American counterintelligence efforts against these Tory operations were conducted under the auspices of the "New York State Committee and Commission for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies," which Jay headed until mid-February 1777. While in this post, he conducted hundreds of counterintelligence investigations, arrests, and trials. Most of the suspects were influential businessmen and political figures with longstanding ties to the Crown.

Jay also stationed prison ships on the Hudson River to house the more dangerous of the loyalists arrested by American forces. The "Committee and Commission" investigated, tried, and sentenced suspects outside the established legal system. In May 1777 Jay proposed that civilian courts be established to handle cases of treason, insurrection, and violation of oaths of allegiance. He maintained that such courts would conduct more objective investigations and trials than those that had prevailed under the "Committee and Commission." Subsequently, however, American military courts gradually took over the judicial process for such cases.

Jay employed at least ten counterintelligence agents in conducting his investigations. Among the better known of these operatives were Nathaniel Sackett, Elijah Hunter, and Enoch Crosby. Elijah Hunter was Jay's favorite agent. Hunter supervised a network of counterintelligence agents operating in the Fishkill area. He later worked for the American side as a spy and double agent in New York City.

Enoch Crosby was perhaps the best known—and the most successful—of Jay's agents. His reputation stemmed to a considerable degree from a widely held belief that he was the model for "Harvey Birch," the protagonist in James Fenimore Cooper's novel, The Spy. After the war, Jay and Cooper did discuss the exploits of Jay's counterintelligence agents in the Fishkill area, but Cooper seems to have modeled Birch after a composite of several agents, not Crosby alone.

Crosby, a shoemaker, worked for Jay from August 1776 until spring 1777 in the Fishkill area. During this time he joined various Tory groups, gathered evidence on their pro-British activities, and then passed to Jay the specifics that were necessary to have these people arrested and convicted. While penetrating the groups, Crosby used aliases such as John Brown, John Smith, Levi Foster, and Jacob Brown. He invariably managed to "escape" just as a group was captured. Crosby also was sent on missions to identify pro-Tory groups and individuals in New York City and Vermont.

Crosby's missions were highly dangerous. He was in constant danger of being killed by the Tories if unmasked as an American agent, or harmed by unwitting Americans when captured along with Tories. The geographical area in which he operated along the Hudson River, north of New York City, was a small region, with residents clustered in several villages. The physical and social proximity among the populace meant that Crosby became widely known in the region rather quickly. As a result, his value as a counter-intelligence agent diminished with each mission.

In October 1777, Jay dispatched Crosby on a mission to the town of Marlboro, located on the western bank of the Hudson River. This mission typified Crosby's operational approach and the dangers he constantly faced. He posed as John Smith, a shoemaker and pro-British loyalist. Upon arriving in Marlboro, he sought out a tavern known for its loyalist patrons and began getting acquainted with the local Tories.

Crosby's skillful performance as a British sympathizer impressed some influential local people. As "Smith", he was welcomed as a recruit in a military unit being formed among local Tories under the direction of a British officer from New York City. The company was formed in a week's time. Crosby soon sent the following message to Jay:

The trap was sprung by Townsend's Rangers as Crosby had suggested. Crosby attempted to hide in a nearby haystack to avoid capture and to be able to explain his future freedom. But the American Rangers probed the haystack with their bayonets, and he hastily gave himself up. Townsend, who was unaware of Crosby's true loyalty, took him along with the other Tories and decided to lock him in a secure room in Jay's residence. Jay was not home, but his maid recognized Crosby and managed to give the guards at the residence some drugged brandy so that he could flee. The next day, his "escape" was made known to the other prisoners, and Crosby was off to join yet another Tory group.

In addition to his counterintelligence work, Jay played a critical role in establishing the right of the Executive Branch to conduct intelligence activities in secrecy. During the debates surrounding the creation of the United States Constitution, Jay wrote in Federalist Paper No. 64:

There are cases where the most useful intelligence may be obtained, if the persons possessing it can be relieved from apprehensions of discovery. Those apprehensions will operate on those persons whether they are actuated by mercenary or friendly motives, and there doubtless are many of both descriptions, who would rely on the secrecy of the President, but who would not confide in that of the Senate, and still less in that of a large popular assembly. The convention has done well therefore in so disposing of the power of making treaties, that although the president must in forming them act by the advice and consent of the Senate, yet he will be able to manage the business of intelligence in such a manner as prudence may suggest.