[aristeides]

I stand corrected. My chronology was confused. Washington was headquartered in Philadelphia the winter of 1776-77. Battle of Trenton was Dec. 26, 1776. Saratoga, as you point out, was Oct. 1777. Valley Forge winter was 1777-78. So we still don't know who the spy was. I wonder if there's any way to find out.

[Kenny Bunk]

Many a fine old colonial family kept a foot in both camps, with Tory and Patriot relatives operating simultaneously. Oddly enough, sometimes they were the same people.

The war lasted 14 years and was a fluid situation. Think Vietnam. Many of the ARVN officers had a brother in the Viet Cong, or a cousin in the NVA. Through networks upon networks, more often than not, we and the enemy received our orders, and sometimes their orders, at the same time. There were very few secret secrets.

A former VC, now resident in CA, said to me, "It was like pro football, we always knew exactly what play you were going to run, the only question was if we were good enough to stop it!"