Benjamin Franklin was perhaps the most intellectual and worldly member of America's Revolutionary War leadership. Long before the war started, he was recognized in the colonies and Europe as a scientist of distinction, a seasoned diplomat, a world-class thinker, and a talented public servant. He subsequently used all these skills as an agent of influence, propagandist, manager of covert French aid to the American Revolutionaries, and director of American paramilitary activities against the British.
When Franklin became the head of the quasi-diplomatic American Commission in Paris in December 1776, he began a relationship with the French Government that involved much more than diplomatic work. His real mission was to obtain French agreement to a military alliance against Britain. In pursuing this objective, he burnished his public image as an American with virtues that were appreciated and respected by the French populace, while simultaneously mounting a carefully planned, low-profile campaign to gain the support of key French political and business leaders.
In his public role as America's envoy, Franklin took pains to display the traits of honesty, altruism, and common sense that were reflected in his "Poor Richard's Almanac" and for which he was widely admired. His clothes and mannerisms reinforced his image as a friendly, humble, and industrious American—a stark contrast to the image of the British in the eyes of many if not most French people at that time.
In his private dealings with influential French individuals, Franklin was charming and subtle in his lobbying for the American cause. He used his intellect and humor to win friendships and build support within the French Government for the American independence struggle. Franklin was skilled at manipulating official French perceptions of America. On numerous occasions he was able to convince the French authories not to reduce secret aid or block American privateer ships from using French ports in the face of British protests and threats conveyed by London's Minister in Paris.
A major example of Franklin's ability to convince the French Government that its own interests coincided with American objectives occurred during the winter of 1777-78. America had won a strategic victory in the Battle of Saratoga, and Britain was expressing interest in some form of peace settlement with its colonies. French leaders, while impressed by the defeat of a sizable British force, remained hesitant to enter a formal military alliance with America. Spain, for its part, was willing to provide secret assistance to the Americans through France, but it was not prepared to join the French in an anti-British alliance.
At this critical time, Franklin orchestrated meetings between the American Commissioners and British envoys, fueling French fears that an Anglo-American reconciliation might occur. Franklin skillfully flirted with the British, meeting privately with one of their representatives and speaking encouragingly with others about reconciliation. He informed the French authorities about these meetings, but he gave them only carefully selected portions of the Anglo-American discussions. Based on Franklin's "perception management", which was aimed at convincing the French leadership that he was seriously considering the British peace proposals, the French Royal Council decided on 7 January 1778 to negotiate an offensive and defensive alliance, as well as a treaty of commerce and amity, with America.
Franklin's best-known efforts as a propagandist focused on generating dissatisfaction among mercenaries from what is now Germany who were serving with the British forces in America, and on exposing British human rights violations committed against Americans. In 1777, he concocted a letter, supposedly written by a Prussian Prince to the commander of the Prince's mercenary troops serving with the British forces in America. The letter questioned casualty figures provided by the British Government to the Prince. According to the letter, the Prince believed that the actual figures were higher and that he was being cheated of payments due him for dead and wounded soldiers.
The contrived letter also advised the commander to let his wounded soldiers die because the British would pay more for a death than for a wounded soldier. Wounded soldiers, the letter concluded, were of no use to the Prince; they were merely "cripples", unable to serve. The letter was widely circulated in Europe and among Prussian troops in the colonies, and was credited with causing numerous desertions. It also prompted protests within Britain against the payment of "blood money" to foreigners who "sold" their subjects to the British Government.
Another example of Franklin's handiwork was a forged copy of a 1782 edition of a Boston newspaper, complete with actual advertisements and local news. The paper contained an article that said the British Royal Governor of Canada was paying his Indian allies for each American scalp provided to him. The article also noted that many of the scalps "sold" to the Governor were from women and children. This story touched off a public uproar in Britain and was used by opposition Whig politicians there to attack the conduct of the war.
In the field of paramilitary operations, Franklin coordinated the efforts of dozens of privateers operating out of French and other European ports against British shipping. He convinced the French Government to ignore its neutrality obligations regarding these activities, and he negotiated a secret arrangement permitting the privateers to sell their captured British ships and cargo to French merchants.
Franklin also established a system of American port agents to handle re-supply, refitting, crew recruitment, and disposal of captured goods and ships. This network—referred to by some as "Franklin's Navy"—produced military, economic, and psychological benefits for the American cause. Money generated by these activities was utilized by the Americans to purchase military supplies and European ships for colonial naval use and for refitting captured ships. In the economic/financial realm, frequent attacks on British shipping were driving up maritime insurance rates, making business less profitable for the politically influential British merchant class. These attacks also made the consequences of the war in North America more real for the British public.
Franklin, moreover, played a role in the only American military attack on the British Isles during the Revolutionary War period. In April 1778, Captain John Paul Jones, who later became one of America's most famous naval heroes, raided the British port of Whitehaven. Franklin and Jones had planned to burn the hundreds of ships crowded in the port's anchorage. But once the attackers were ashore, the element of surprise was lost and they had to make a hasty retreat after partially burning only one ship and spiking a few cannon. The British later estimated the cost of the damage at no more than 250-300 pounds. The raid nonetheless was an important achievement for America in terms of propaganda and morale. A British town had been invaded for the first time since the late 1600s. The attack aggravated concerns about insecurity in ports all along he British coast. It also triggered a new hike in shipping insurance rates and sparked considerable anxiety in the British shipping industry.