Spying in America: Espionage from the Revolutionary War to the Dawn of the Cold War

336 Pages·2012·2.53 MB·English

by  Michael J. Sulick

S P Y I N G
I N
A M E R I C A
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S P Y I N G
I N
A M E R I C A
Espionage from the Revolutionary War
to the Dawn of the Cold War
MICHAEL J. SULICK
Georgetown University Press
Washington, DC
© 2012 Georgetown University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sulick, Michael J.
Spying in America : espionage from the Revolutionary War to the dawn of the
Cold War / Michael J. Sulick.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-58901-926-3 (hbk. : alk. paper)
1. Espionage—United States—Case studies. 2. Espionage—United States—
History. 3. Spies—United States—Biography. 4. Spies—United States—History.
5. United States—History—Civil War, 1861-1865—Secret service. 6. Espionage,
German—United States—History—20th century. 7. Spies—Communist countries—
History—20th century. 8. Military intelligence—United States—History. I. Title.
UB271.U5S85 2012
327.120973—dc23
2011052068
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the
American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library
Materials.
15 14 13 12    9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 First printing
To Shirley, my beloved wife and best friend, for her unswerving
support and patience
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
List of Abbreviations xiii
Introduction: The Peril of Disbelief 1
Part 1: The Revolutionary War 13
1 Espionage and the Revolutionary War 15
2 The First Spy: Benjamin Church  21
3 The Undetected Spy: Edward Bancroft 29
4 The Treasonous Spy: Benedict Arnold 39
Part 2: The Civil War 61
5 Espionage and the Civil War 63
6 Allan Pinkerton and Union Counterintelligence 71
7 The Chameleon Spy: Timothy Webster 77
8 The Spy in the Union Capital: Rose Greenhow 81
9 The Counterspy as Tyrant: Lafayette Baker 87
10 The Confederacy’s Reverend Spy: Thomas Conrad 93
11 Union Espionage 99
vviiii
Contents
Part 3: Espionage during the World Wars,
1914–45 107
12 Espionage before World War I 109
13 Prelude to War: Germany’s First Spy Network 113
14 US Counterespionage and World War I 119
15 Spy Hysteria between the World Wars 123
16 German Espionage in World War II 127
17 The Spy in US Industry: The Norden Bombsight 133
18 The Double Agent: William Sebold 137
19 German Intelligence Failures in World War II 143
20 The Spy in the State Department: Tyler Kent 149
21 Japanese Espionage in World War II 155
Part 4: The Golden Age of Soviet Espionage—
the 1930s and 1940s 163
22 The Origins of Cold War Espionage 165
23 America’s Counterespionage Weapon: Venona 173
24 The Golden Age Exposed: Igor Gouzenko 181
25 The “Red Spy Queen”: Elizabeth Bentley 185
26 Spy versus Spy: Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss 193
27 The Spy in the Treasury: Harry Dexter White 201
28 The Spy in the White House: Lauchlin Currie 207
29 The Spy in US Counterespionage: Judith Coplon 211
Part 5: The Atomic Bomb Spies:
Prelude to the Cold War 219
30 The Atomic Bomb Spies 221
31 The Executed Spies: The Rosenbergs 227
32 The Atomic Bomb Spy Who Got Away: Theodore Hall 243
33 The Spy from the Cornfields: George Koval 253
Conclusion: Espionage in the Cold War
and Beyond 265
Notes 275
Bibliography 293
About the Author 303
Index 305

viii
Contents
Illustrations
John Jay 18
Benjamin Church 23
Benedict Arnold 41
The Treason of Benedict Arnold 55
Allan Pinkerton 74
Rose Greenhow 83
Emma Edmonds 104
Karl Boy-Ed 115
Franz Von Papen Departing America 115
The Norden Bombsight 135
J. Edgar Hoover 170
Elizabeth Bentley 187
Whittaker Chambers 195
Alger Hiss 195
Lauchlin Currie 209
David Greenglass 229
Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg 234
Theodore Hall 246
ix