A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 6 – Working Undercover

by Crystal Caudill | Sep 8, 2026 | Bonus Content, Counterfeit Faith, Counterfeit Hope, Counterfeit Love, History Facts

A Brief History of the Secret Service

“The detection of crime, when entered upon with an honest purpose to discover the haunts of criminals and protect society from their depredations by bringing them to justice, is held to be an honorable calling and worthy of commendation of all good men.”

– Hiram C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service, May 1869 – September 1874

Welcome to my series of blog posts revisiting my research on the Secret Service for my Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age series. For the next few months, I’ll be posting about their history. At the end of each post, I’ll include my resources and links to the other posts. As each post goes live, the links will be updated.

Part 6: Working Undercover

“To meet and thwart [crime] requires the most subtle ingenuity, incessant vigilance, and unflagging energy upon the part of officers of the law.” – Herman C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service from May 1869 to September 1874

Investigating

Sometimes, before working undercover or while another operative worked undercover, an operative would conduct interviews. Victims would report the passing or “shoving” of counterfeit bills, and, through an interview, describe the alleged criminal.

Once located, another interview would be conducted with the suspect to determine whether the “shover” had knowingly committed the crime. In such situations, the operative had to appear honest and sincere to gain the trust of those he interviewed. He also needed keen observational skills and the ability to recognize a lie when he heard it.

While these investigative skills were great for lower-level criminal activity, they were practically useless for coping with the sophisticated criminals who financed, manufactured, and distributed counterfeit notes. That is where working undercover came into play.

Working within the Criminal Network

To enter a counterfeiting ring, an operative had to conceal his identity and cultivate contacts within the underworld, usually with the help of their informants. By playing a role, he was able to participate in discussions about criminal activities and hopefully induce suspects to commit a crime when and where he could observe them.

Operatives, or their assistants, frequently purchased counterfeit money from underworld criminals, carefully marking the bills with the date of purchase and the purchaser’s initials.

Although observing a transaction was an important objective, it was only a small part of a long-term strategy to identify all the criminals involved with a particular note. Operatives had to ignore minor crimes to build cases against major criminals. Small-time criminals were offered inducements to betray the higher-up criminals.

By spurning immediate arrest, the operative hoped to delve deeper into the counterfeiting ring and develop evidence against each individual. Like the Pinkertons, the Secret Service had a cataloging system for each forger’s name, age, aliases, physical description, dates of arrests and releases, criminal methods, counterfeiting specialties, and a photo of him and/or his cohorts. Ideally, arrests would occur only after all the guilty parties had been identified.

Cases required both investigating and instigating skills.

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

A Gilded Age Secret Service historical romance series, with mystery and suspense

Counterfeit Love by Crystal Caudill, a Gilded Age romance and mystery

Resources

While I’m not going to list all the resources I used in research for this story, I will leave you with a few of my favorites in case you want to research further.

Books

Illegal Tender by David R Johnson* (My personal favorite. It gives you a look at counterfeiters AND the Secret Service.)

The United States Secret Service by Walter S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal

Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror by Charles Lane

True Detective Stories by Andrew L. Drummond (Digital)

Excerpts from the History of the United States Secret Service, 1865-1975 by the United States Secret Service (Digital)

Digital Resources

The Secret Service’s Webiste

Secret Service Museum Tour (Closed to the Public – video)

The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions by Shawn Reese Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy

Crystal Caudill, author of Gilded Age historical romance and historical romantic suspense

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

Crystal Caudill is the author of “dangerously good historical romance.” Her debut novel, Counterfeit Love, was a 2023 Carol Award finalist, and her novella, “Star of Wonder,” won the 2024 Christy Award for short form. She loves history, hot tea, all things bookish, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She is a stay-at-home mom, caregiver, and chaos organizer. When she isn’t writing, Crystal can be found hanging with her family and playing board games at her home outside Cincinnati, Ohio. Find out more at crystalcaudill.com.

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A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

RCR: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

by Crystal Caudill | Aug 31, 2026 | Reading Challenge

It’s another month of our Tackle Your TBR Pile reading challenge. So dig through that stack of books you’ve been meaning to read that’s taller than you and start reading!

Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes from my shelf can be found here.*

Reading Challenge 2026: Tackle the TBR Pile

This Month: August – Classic Book

Next Month: September – Animal on the Cover

I’ve always loved Treasure Island and almost every movie version I’ve seen. Treasure Planet is my favorite and probably always will be. I haven’t read the original story since middle school, and I was SOOOOO hoping I wouldn’t be disappointed when I finally reread it again. Y’all, I was not. There is a reason why Treasure Island is a timeless story. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Michael Page, and it was every bit as engaging as I remembered. You wouldn’t even think the book was written in the 19th century. It felt as exciting and easy to understand as anything written today. I truly adored it and will probably relisten to it every year. I definitely recommend it, especially if you have kids. It would make a wonderful read-aloud, even if you just have Michael Page do the reading. Truly, it was a thrilling read.

I’m thinking about picking up The Little Princess next. That’s one that I’ve seen the movies for (Shirley Temple ALL THE WAY), but I’ve never read the book for. Then I might reread Dracula, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, or Rebecca. I do love the classics.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Genre: Classic, Pirates

Peg-legged pirates, colorful parrots, and plundered riches – they’re all here in Robert Louis Stevenson’s original seafaring adventure.

When young Jim Hawkins decides to follow a map to buried treasure, he must befriend or outsmart memorable characters such as pirate Long John Silver, captain Billy Bones, and island man Ben Gunn. Mutinous plans, mysterious deaths, and a tangle of double crosses keep Jim guessing all the way to the prize.

Inspired by real-life seafarers, Stevenson captures the adventurous spirit of the times and the imagination of readers, young and old alike.

Cover or Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Giveaway Details – Denise

Here’s your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. Comment with what YOU read for your chance to win! Entries close on 7th of each month. Open to legal U.S. residents and international residents. *International winners will receive a $10 Amazon gift card in lieu of a book from the prize shelf due to shipping costs.* See Giveaway Policies for more details.

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 5 Using Informants

by Crystal Caudill | Aug 23, 2026 | Bonus Content, Counterfeit Faith, Counterfeit Hope, Counterfeit Love, History Facts

A Brief History of the Secret Service

“The detection of crime, when entered upon with an honest purpose to discover the haunts of criminals and protect society from their depredations by bringing them to justice, is held to be an honorable calling and worthy of commendation of all good men.”

– Hiram C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service, May 1869 – September 1874

Welcome to my series of blog posts revisiting my research on the Secret Service for my Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age series. For the next few months, I’ll be posting about their history. At the end of each post, I’ll include my resources and links to the other posts. As each post goes live, the links will be updated.

Part 5: Using Informants

Have you ever been an outsider trying to get into a tight-knit group? Our church has small groups where close-knit relationships develop. While fantastic, being an outsider is initially difficult. You are either joining a new group that takes time to develop trust with, or someone from a tight-knit group invites you in.

Now flip that innocent example on its head and pretend you are a Secret Service operative trying to infiltrate a tight-knit, highly suspicious network of counterfeiters. There is no way you can get in on your own. You are a stranger. They suspect you. They might allow you to have a drink with them, but no vital communication will occur in your presence—unless you have an “in,” someone who can vouch for you.

Enter the informant.

The use of informants was crucial for the success of a Secret Service operative. Thus, an operative’s relationship with his informant was highly personal. They were not friends, but the operative had to know whether they could trust the information, as it dictated their tactics and whether they committed their limited resources to an investigation.

Some informants were voluntary while others were coerced, meaning they were under arrest and possibly facing trial and prison.

Voluntary informants were often self-seeking in their desire to share information. Rewards were given by the Secret Service to any person who gave information “not already in the possession of the chief” that led to the “detection, arrest, and conviction” of counterfeiters or the “capture of their implements and materials.” Counterfeiters offered information as a way to supplement their income when they were down on their luck.

My favorite type of informant was the vengeful one. These informants used the Secret Service to exact revenge on their peers for real or imagined grievances, or to drive competitors out of business. These make the best kind of villain in a story. I read a story that former Chief Andrew Drummond published in the early 1900s about one such Italian counterfeiter. You can read about it here: What Jealousy Did in Little Italy.

A new informant initially had to build a case on his or her own to present his or her results to the operative. Then the Chief of the Secret Service would determine if there should be a reward for their services.

When a rumor was substantiated, the local operative kept the chief informed of developments while simultaneously working with his source to infiltrate the new network. Ideally, the operative sought to identify and arrest all the participants before they could complete and distribute the counterfeited banknotes. However, if it had already entered the distribution network, the chief acted to limit the damage by disrupting the market.

This could be done by providing descriptions of the banknote imperfections to each operative, lawman, and newspaper. Operatives and police officers would spread the word to as many business owners as they could. By spreading the knowledge of the counterfeit to the community, the risk of using the note became too great.

(See links to Resources and previous posts below.)

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

A Gilded Age Secret Service historical romance series, with mystery and suspense

Resources

While I’m not going to list all the resources I used in research for this story, I will leave you with a few of my favorites in case you want to research further.