This book is
about the
history of naval intelligence from 1793 to 1815, and for
much of this
time
period, the world was at war. The author also describes
and assesses
how Vice
Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson gathered, sifted through, and
utilized
information
during his service in the Royal Navy, as well as
commenting on how
others, including
Napoleon Bonaparte, practiced this form of warfare.
In addition to two forewords,
a preface, and conclusion, the book is comprised of ten
chapters:
1. The
British National
Intelligence Effort
2. The Admiralty
3. Signals and Information
Transmission
4. Frigates: The Eyes of
the
Fleet
5. Deception
6. The Commander: Jack and
Master of All Trades
7. The Commander as
Intelligence Officer
8. A Naval Intelligence
Occasion (Pulo-Aur, 14-16 February 1804)
9. A Naval Intelligence
Expedition (Copenhagen, 9 December 1800 to 2 April 1801)
10. A Naval Intelligence
Campaign (The Nile, 29 March to 1 August 1798)
In the preface, Maffeo
clearly defines information, intelligence, tactical
intelligence, and
intelligence officer. The last three chapters serve as
historical case
studies
that demonstrate how Nelson, the navy, and British
officials employed
intelligence, whether it worked or didn’t. To supplement
the
information,
Maffeo also includes six appendices: The British Cabinet
(1793-1815),
British
Government Key Officials (1793-1815), Secret Interceptions
Distribution
List
(c. 1775), British Naval Administration (c. 1800), The
Naval Strategy
of the
War from the British Perspective, and An Overview of the
War of the
French
Revolution and the Napoleonic War (1792-1815). Chapter
notes, a
bibliography,
and an index round out this volume.
By culling through an
enormous amount of primary and secondary source material,
Maffeo
provides the
reader with a tantalizing and informative look at an age
when
intelligence
gathering was in its infancy. He is eminently qualified to
write on the
topic,
having been a former naval intelligence officer with a
master’s degree
in
strategic intelligence from the U.S. Joint Military
Intelligence
College. He
now serves as a commander of a reserve intelligence unit
that supports
the
Joint Intelligence Center Pacific, as well as being an
associate
director of
libraries at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Maffeo begins each chapter
with a quote that directly showcases the subject matter
contained
within those
pages. Perhaps the most telling quotation is the one that
appears
across the
table of contents, for John Milton’s words from the
preface to A Brief History of Muscovy
(1632),
perfectly sum up what Maffeo has done in Most
Secret and Confidential:
What was scattered in many
volumes, and
observed at
several times by eyewitnesses, with no cursory pains I
laid together,
to save
the reader a far longer travail of wandering through
so many desert
authors.
Most Secret and
Confidential
is a long
overdue look at historical intelligence.
Few volumes make more than brief mentions of it, which
makes this one
an
invaluable resource for students of the Royal Navy during
the Age of
Nelson, as
well as anyone fascinated by intelligence, both in the
past and the
present.
Maffeo succinctly explores how information was collected,
analyzed, and
disseminated, as well as examining the strategies and
tactics that were
employed. At times, he shows how the past is relevant to
the gathering
and use
of intelligence today and how they differ.
Pirates
and Privateers
