statue, with the inscription “I only regret that I have but one life to lose
for my country,” now stands in front of the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) headquarters in McLean, Virginia. Benjamin Franklin also ran
his own spies in London, where he was an emissary, and made arms
deals with the French. He also engaged in double-agent operations,
which were common in the late 1700s, inaugurating the field of coun-
terintelligence that would not be fully incorporated into U.S. intelli-
gence until two hundred years later.
George Washington’s successors also undertook ad hoc intelligence
operations, mostly to accommodate the young country’s expansionist
aims, or what later became known as “manifest destiny.” For example,
President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the Lewis and Clark expedi-
tion in 1803 to scout out the American Northwest and bring back de-
tailed information and maps about the lay of the land and the people liv-
ing on it. In 1811, President James Madison approved a covert operation
to steal Florida from the Spanish and sent an agent to negotiate with the
Spaniards to bring Florida into the United States peacefully. Instead, the
agent, against orders, fomented rebellion by the English-speaking in-
habitants, prompting President Madison to disavow the agent and his
operation. The debacle caused a rift with Spain, but the United States
acquired Florida in 1819.
This kind of ad hoc and unformulated intelligence effort remained the
norm until after the Civil War. Taking advantage of discontent among
Mexican citizens, for example, American military commanders during
the Mexican-American War (1845–1848) were able to form temporary
intelligence units to serve their military needs. The Mexican Spy Com-
pany was one of the more successful.
The Civil War accelerated intelligence activities on both sides to
some degree, principally because of the impact of new technologies.
The railroad made long-distance travel economical and easy. The ob-
servation balloon and the telegraph created opportunities for intelli-
gence collection. That both sides had a common language and culture
helped make espionage a prominent feature of the strategic landscape.
Yet, most intelligence operations were the personal efforts of various
military commanders, even though both sides tried to establish formal
intelligence capabilities, with little success. The South’s Confederate
Secret Service and Allan Pinkerton’s efforts on behalf of the Union are
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