This image is the cover for the book Spies of Revolutionary Connecticut

Spies of Revolutionary Connecticut

Discover true stories of daring and deceit in 18th century Connecticut in this history of American Revolutionary espionage.

Covert intelligence played a critical role in the American Revolution, and Connecticut produced an extraordinary number of spies on both sides of the conflict. The infamous traitor Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich, while the Patriot Nathan Hale, who was executed by the British for espionage, was originally from Coventry.

Spying during the Revolution entailed false identities, coded messages, and the penalty of death for those caught in the act. It also involved new technologies like early submarines with the first exploding torpedoes. Despite the risk, some spies even played both sides as double agents, such as Edward Bancroft, who was never caught.

With stories of Silas Deane, Ethan Allen, Thomas Knowlton, the Culper Spy Ring, and others, author Mark Allen Baker navigates the intrigues, dangers, and double crosses of Connecticut’s most legendary Revolutionary spies.

Mark Allen Baker

Mark Allen Baker is a former business executive (General Electric/Genigraphics Corporation, assistant to the president and CEO), author (fifteen books), historian and writer (over two hundred articles). A graduate of the State University of New York, with postgraduate work completed at MIT, RIT and George Washington University, his expertise has been referenced in numerous periodicals, including USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Money magazine. Following his 1997 book, Goldmine's Price Guide to Rock & Roll Memorabilia, he appeared as a co-host on the VH-1 series Rock Collectors. Baker has also been a featured speaker at many events, including the Hemingway Days Festival and Writers Conference in Key West, Florida. He may also be familiar to some as the former co-owner of Bleachers Restaurant & Sports Bar (Liverpool, New York). Acting as a historian for the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Baker is the only individual who has been a volunteer, chairperson and sponsor of an Induction Weekend event, both inside and outside the village of Canastota. He has also published artwork, articles and books related to the museum. Baker turns his attention to the hardwood for a book about basketball to be published in the fall of 2010.

The History Press