In 1778, in the middle of the Revolutionary War, while camped outside New York City, General

George Washington and Major Benjamin Talmadge hatched a plan.

They created a network of spies that would provide information about the British military effort, which could be used by the

colonists in fighting the war. It turned out to be pivotal in the war for independence.

Learn more about the Culper Ring and America's first spy network on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. The result of the American Revolution was never a foregone conclusion.

If there were odds given for the success of the Revolution at the start of the war,

I would have put the British as overwhelming favorites.

They had more money, more people, more resources, the world's largest Navy, and a much better trained and equipped Army.

The only thing that the colonist really had going for them was Homefield Advantage and a plucky Never Say Die attitude.

And the French, but we'll leave that for another episode.

When the revolution started, the lines were not clear-cut.

About a third of the population were Patriots and a third were British loyalists, and the other third were pretty indifferent.

The divisions often ran within families and you couldn't easily tell one group from another.

When the war began in 1775, the colonists had no real plan or organization.

It was something that sort of coalesced over time. Intelligence is an important part

of any military enterprise. As the war progressed, the colonist

provided intelligence to the Continental Army, but it was an incredibly disjointed

effort. People would sometimes come forward with what they knew or send information

individually, but it was no way to conduct

formal military intelligence.

There was no way to verify the information or the trustworthiness of the source.

The lack of colonial intelligence came into play during the Battle of Long Island,

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