Elijah  HUNTER

The New York History Blog
By Miguel Hernandez on February 21, 2013

Spying was a major component of the strategy and the tactics of the American Revolution. However it’s only recently that historians have focused on the intrigues, subterfuges and skullduggery that were used by all sides. Except for the spying of British Major John Andre, his collaboration with Benedict Arnold, and of the failed spying of Nathan Hale, undercover intelligence gathering operations during the Revolution is a mostly forgotten aspect of that conflict.

Nonetheless, spying was quite common in that era and George Washington was its chief proponent. Washington made full use of the 1700s tools of the spy trade including invisible ink, hiding messages in feather quills, and small silver balls for hiding messages that could be swallowed in the event of capture. He also encouraged forging documents and making sure they fell into British hands.

In the late summer of 1776, the British captured the City of

HUNTER, ELIJAH
Ancestor #: A060445
Service: NEW YORK Rank(s): PATRIOTIC SERVICE, CAPTAIN
Birth: 8-4-1749 NEWCASTLE WESTCHESTER CO NEW YORK
Death: 12-22-1815 MT PLEASANT WESTCHESTER CO NEW YORK
Service Description: 1) ALSO 2LT, 1LT, NY LINE
2) MEM OF COMM OF WESTCHESTER, 1776-77

RESIDENCE
1) County: WESTCHESTER CO - State: NEW YORK

SPOUSE
1) ANNA DRAKE