C U L P E R R I N G : O R I G I N S
The Careful Sword
Major Benjamin Tallmadge had spent two years watching intelligence operations fail.
Nathaniel Sackett's civilian spy network? Collapsed after six months. Major John Clark's Philadelphia operation? Ended when injury forced him out. General Charles Scott's bold missions? High casualties, inconsistent results.
By November 1778, at age twenty-four, Tallmadge becomes chief intelligence officer for the Continental Army.
Everyone else's methods have failed. Now it's his turn.
He has an idea. Something different. Something systematic. Something that might actually keep agents alive.
The decision is made. The careful sword is ready.
Now he just has to wield it.