American Revolution — Spies, Intelligence & Loyalists Vocabulary

A set of 20 vocabulary flashcards defining key terminology, intelligence techniques, and historical figures from the American Revolutionary War.

Invisible Ink

A liquid used to write hidden messages that could not normally be seen until a chemical or other treatment revealed it.

Clothesline Codes

A secret communication method using laundry hanging on a clothesline where the arrangement or type of clothing communicated a message.

Dead Drops

A secret location where a message or object could be left for another person so they did not have to meet face-to-face.

Spy Networks

A group of people who worked together to collect and secretly pass information about troop movements, military plans, locations, supplies, and attacks.

Culper Spy Ring

A secret American spy network created during the Revolutionary War to gather information about the British while operating around New York.

Benjamin Tallmadge

An American officer who helped organize and manage the Culper Spy Ring and worked with George Washington to collect and organize intelligence.

George Washington

The leader who supported and directed the Culper Spy Ring's intelligence efforts and used collected information to make military decisions.

Lydia Darragh

A Patriot who overheard British officers discussing plans and secretly passed the information to American forces to help them prepare.

James Lafayette

An enslaved man who served as an American spy, gathering intelligence on British forces while the British believed he was helping them.

Benedict Arnold

An American general in the Continental Army who betrayed the Patriot cause, offered military information to the British, and joined the British side.

William Tryon

A British military leader during the Revolutionary War whose forces conducted military operations and attacked Patriot areas.

Patriots

Colonists who supported independence from Britain, the American Revolution, the Continental Congress, and the Continental Army.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to Britain, opposed American independence, and supported Britain through military action, supplies, or information.

Dunmore's Proclamation

A 1775 proclamation offering freedom to enslaved people who escaped Patriot enslavers and joined the British cause.

Black Loyalists

Black people who supported the British during the Revolutionary War, many of whom escaped slavery and later settled in places such as Nova Scotia.

Continental Army

The military force supported by Patriots that fought against the British during the American Revolution.

Continental Congress

The governing body supported by Patriots during the American Revolution.

Nova Scotia

A location in the British Empire where many Black Loyalists settled after leaving America following the Revolutionary War.

Espionage

The practice of gathering secret intelligence using spy networks, invisible ink, dead drops, and codes to give the Continental Army a military advantage.

New York

The location around which the Culper Spy Ring operated to gather secret information about the British.