Ann Bates

Ann Bates
Born	Pennsylvania
Died	London, England
Nationality	American
Other names	Mrs. Barnes
Occupation	Loyalist Spy
Years active	1778 to 1780
Known for	Loyalist Spy in the American Revolution
Spouse	Joseph Bates

Ann Bates (1748 – 1801) was an American Loyalist spy during the American Revolution. Bates was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she became a school teacher. She was commonly referred to as "Mrs. Barnes" by affiliates in her spy networks. She was known to carry an unknown unique token that would eventually identify her as a British spy. She would go on to become a part of British General Clinton's espionage network and would help the British combat American forces on several fronts. She reportedly took part in various clandestine spy missions between 1778 and 1780. Bates was most well known for her missions completed at George Washington's base camp in White Plains, New York, and during the Rhode Island campaign or the Battle of Rhode Island.

Personal life

Bates was born in Philadelphia where she became a school teacher. She kept bees and sheep and operated a small store to support herself. Bates married Joseph Bates, an artillery engineer who joined the retreating forces of General Clinton in 1778.

Career

Ann Bates demonstrated resourcefulness and intelligence in her career, leading to her success as a spy. Due to the prevailing perception that women were typically not knowledgeable about wartime strategy and armaments during the Revolution, she was able to move unnoticed within American camps. While in hiding, she disguised herself as a peddler and freely traveled amongst the American soldiers. She is most well known for her spy expeditions at George Washington's camp in White Plains, New York.

Entering the spy ring

Ann Bates was first discovered by a civilian-spy, John Craig, or "Craiggie". They first crossed paths during the British occupation of Philadelphia. Craig, an active member of Clinton's espionage network, entrusted Bates with minor covert assignments while they were both in Philadelphia. Recognizing her intelligence, Craig recommended her to meet with his superior, Major Duncan Drummond, in New York City. Subsequently, on June 18, 1778, Bates departed Philadelphia as General Clinton evacuated his troops from the city. General Clinton appointed Major John Andre to oversee intelligence operations, and it was under Andre's leadership that Ann Bates became part of the spy ring.

The decision to include Bates in Major Andre's network was prompted by reports of an alliance forming between France and the United States. With the shifting political landscape, Bates, like many loyalists, departed Philadelphia alongside the British Army. She cleverly convinced the then General Benedict Arnold that she was leaving to conduct business in New York City, following her husband who had joined Clinton's forces on the same day.

Upon reaching New York City, Bates encountered a surprise when she expected to meet Craig but instead met Duncan Drummond, a key figure in Clinton's spy operations. Both Drummond and Craig persuaded Bates to join the British spy network. Drummond's account of their encounter was documented as follows: "A woman whom Craig has trusted often came to town last night. She is well acquainted with many of the R.A. (Royal Army)... It is proposed to send her out under the idea of selling little matters."

Washington's camp and the Rhode Island Campaign

Entry of the French squadron in Newport Bay, Aug. 8, 1778 (drawing by Pierre Ozanne, 1778)

On June 29, 1778, Bates left New York City for her first mission after only one day of training and subsequently traveled to Washington's camp in White Plains, New York under the name "Mrs. Barnes." Because she was familiar with the artillery used during the Revolution, she was able to relay valuable information about the Americans' materials and strategy. Initially, Bates' mission was to find a disloyal soldier in Washington's camp who could give the British intelligence some potential intel, but she was unsuccessful in that mission. She then changed her mission while at the camp and listened in on many conversations and counted artillery pieces on the camp. At George Washington's camp in White Plains, American troops were planning the Rhode Island Campaign. She recorded valuable intelligence on American movement into Rhode Island.

On her way back to New York City after her first mission, she was stopped at an American patrol stop four miles from White Plains for unknown reasons and arrested at the check-point due to suspicion. Bates remained in confinement overnight but was released the next morning. When she finally returned to New York City, she relayed to Major Drummond the vast information that she was able to gather. She reported that American weapons were far more scarce than the British had originally believed them to be. General Drummond was impressed with her work, her memory, and her capabilities. Although Bates had just undergone a stressful mission, she was eager to return to White Plains again. She totaled three trips to the camp and relayed information necessary for the British troops to combat American military efforts in the Battle of Rhode Island. In her third mission, she noted that 600 boats were being prepared to attack Long Island and was able to give specific and important intelligence about the number of troops that were heading to attack British forces stationed in there.

In September 1778, when she was on another mission infiltrating Washington's army, a deserter from the British Twenty-Seventh Regiment recognized her, but she was able to elude capture. She then went on to travel through a series of safe houses that were designed for women spies at the time. She later wrote, "I had the opportunity of going through their whole army remarking at the same time the strength and situation of each brigade, and the number of cannon with their situation and weight of ball each cannon was charged with."

New Jersey and capture

During her final mission in White Plains, Ann Bates came across a former British soldier, a defector, who she suspected would report her after seeing her. She had recognized him from an earlier mission and immediately left the American camp. She fled directly back to New York and, while doing so, cut straight through New Jersey. While traveling throughout that state, Bates stayed in Tory safe houses throughout the state. She wrote of the safe houses, "where I might be accommodated through the Jerseys." The expansive network of Loyalist safe houses throughout the mid-Atlantic proved to be effective. Many British prisoners were able to escape American camps from Virginia up the east coast due to the effectiveness of the safe houses.

Bates wanted to get back to British lines as quickly as possible for fear that her cover would be blown. On Saturday, September 26, 1778, on her way back to New York City, she was discovered at an American headquarters. The American unit had over 5,000 troops and was under the command of General Charles Scott, Washington's Chief of Intelligence, who was on the lookout for British counter-intelligence. Bates was detained and taken to Scott, who questioned her. Bates told Scott that she "was a Soldier's wife in the Centre Division and had forgot something about five or six miles below the Plains." Bates eventually was let go, but she was rattled by the occurrences and suspicion that she was beginning to garner. After returning to New York City and delivering information to Major Drummond, Drummond took her to Long Island with him for fear of her running into American forces again. A few days later, they returned to Manhattan, and Drummond asked her to meet with a friend of Benedict Arnold's within a 47-mile radius of Philadelphia. This displays Benedict Arnold's early involvement with the Tory intelligence network.

British advancement to Charleston

Between October 1778 and August 1779, Bates did not have any participation in Clinton's spy espionage network. This was due to Clinton sending Drummond back to England due to a disagreement between the two. Major John André went on to take Drummond's place. André was most well known for his collaboration with well-known American traitor, Benedict Arnold. In April 1780, her husband, Joseph Bates, was sent to Charleston, South Carolina to siege the city. Bates traveled with him there but refrained from taking part in any further spy networking while in Charleston. An old friend, British Colonel Nisbet Balfour called for Bates' assistance in operating a spy ring out of Charleston. While there were plans for her to aid in General Cornwallis' mission to siege Charleston, both missions were aborted.

Legacy

Detail of a 1780 map drawn by a British engineer showing the Charleston defenses

On March 6, 1781, Ann Bates and her husband sailed for England.

She is remembered as a well-connected, intelligent, and integral spy for the Loyalist army during the American Revolution. Her busy career and the family's economic distress put a strain on her marriage, and Joseph left her soon after they arrived in England. Regardless, Bates took pride in her role after the war was over and wrote a petition for a pension in 1785. The petition stated, "my timely information as the blessed means of saving the Rhode Island garrison with all the troops and stores who must otherwise have fallen a prey to their enemies." She contacted Major Duncan Drummond to assist her in securing a pension from the British government for her services during the American Revolution.

Major Drummond's personal papers, official government documents, and her memory secured her a pension. Bates' date of death was not recorded, but it is suspected that she died in England.

Ann Bates is portrayed by Tina Benko in the AMC TV series, Turn: Washington's Spies.

See also

• Women in the American Revolution
• Loyalists fighting in the American Revolution
• Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War
• Intelligence operations in the American Revolutionary War
• Miss Jenny
• Agent 355
• Lydia Darragh

Bibliography

• McBurney, Christian M. Spies in Revolutionary Rhode Island. Charleston, SC: History, 2014.
• McBurney, Christian M. "Ann Bates: British Spy Extraordinaire." Journal of the American Revolution. December 1, 2014. https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/12/ann-bates-british-spy-extraordinaire/
• Misencik, Paul R. The Original American Spies-Seven Covert Agents Of The Revolutionary War. North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2013.
• MacLean, Maggie. "Ann Bates." History of American Women. July 4, 2011. http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2011/07/ann-bates.html
• "Women Spies - Ann Bates." Women Spies - Ann Bates. University of Michigan: Clements Library, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Further reading

• Misencik, Paul R. The Original American Spies-Seven Covert Agents Of The Revolutionary War. North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2013.
• McBurney, Christian M. Spies in Revolutionary Rhode Island. Charleston, SC: History, 2014.
• Berkin, Carol. Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence. 2005.
• Jay Robert Nash. Spies: A narrative encyclopedia of dirty deeds and double dealing from biblical times to today. New York: M. Evans and Co., 1997.