Episode
698. The Civilian Spies Who Helped America Win the Revolution
- Published
- Jun 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 795
- Processing state
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Summary
Two ordinary civilians — a New York tailor and an enslaved man from Virginia — used their everyday roles to outsmart the British and change the course of the American Revolution. In this episode of The Way the World Works, we tell the stories of two civilian spies who helped America win independence without ever joining the army. Hercules Mulligan, a tailor in British-occupied New York, used the gossip of careless officers to pass intelligence to George Washington — and quite possibly saved Washington's life. James Armistead Lafayette, an enslaved man from Virginia, infiltrated the British command as a double agent and supplied the intelligence that turned the tide at the Battle of Yorktown. Both men proved that liberty is won by ordinary people doing courageous things in the place they happen to stand. What You'll Learn in This Episode: • Why the American Revolution was won by ordinary people, not just famous Founders • How Hercules Mulligan used his tailor shop in occupied New York to gather British intelligence • How Mulligan's listening saved George Washington from a planned capture • Who James Armistead Lafayette was and how he became a double agent for the Continental Army • How James's intelligence helped trap General Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown • The Marquis de Lafayette's role in securing James's freedom after the war • Why James took the last name "Lafayette" as a tribute • What these unsung heroes teach us about courage, liberty, and America 250 Timestamps: 0:00 The Unsung Heroes of the American Revolution 1:18 Introducing the Civilian Spies of the Revolution 1:36 Hercules Mulligan: The Tailor Who Listened 3:07 Why Being Underestimated Was His Superpower 4:59 How Mulligan Saved George Washington's Life 6:19 James Armistead Lafayette: The Double Agen…