Spies at Mount Vernon
A coded message on the National Mall, a meeting beneath the U.S. Capitol, and a state dinner at Mount Vernon.
Sam, Derek, and Caitlin are tagging along to Washington, D.C., for a long weekend when Sam and Caitlin’s neighborhood spy game becomes painfully real — their walkie-talkies cross channels with a man in a dark suit at the Lincoln Memorial, leaving a coded message tucked under the Gettysburg Address inscription. The trail leads from the National Mall to a closed corridor beneath the U.S. Capitol — and then out to George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon, where a state dinner for the President of the United States and his thirteen-year-old son is just hours away.
Inside Spies at Mount Vernon.
Sam, Derek, and Caitlin are tagging along to Washington, D.C., for a long weekend when Sam and Caitlin’s neighborhood spy game becomes painfully real. Their walkie-talkies cross channels with a man in a dark suit at the Lincoln Memorial, who’s leaving a coded message tucked under the Gettysburg Address inscription. He’s not playing.
The trail leads from the National Mall to a closed corridor beneath the U.S. Capitol — past the never-used tomb that Congress once prepared for George Washington’s body — and then out to George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon, where a state dinner for the President of the United States and his thirteen-year-old son is just hours away. The kids are about to discover that the same George Washington who built a country also ran one of the Revolution’s most successful spy networks — and that his old playbook still works.
Spies at Mount Vernon is one of the series’ most popular books with classrooms — a modern spy story rooted in the world of George Washington. Pairs with Virginia Studies units on the Founders and U.S. Civics & Government.
Inside these pages
Walk the grounds of Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon — George Washington’s home on the Potomac — is one of the most-visited historic sites in America. The mansion, the working farm, the slave quarters, and the gardens are all open to visitors and meticulously preserved.
The book moves between Mount Vernon and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., so a multi-day trip combining both makes for an unforgettable VM adventure. Many Virginia school groups already make this exact trip every year.
Mount Vernon & the National Mall
The real history behind the book
Most kids learn that George Washington was a general and a president. Fewer learn that he ran the Culper Ring — one of the most successful spy networks of the Revolutionary War, using dead drops, invisible ink, and number-based cyphers to pass messages right under British noses. Washington’s own code name was Agent 711.
Washington’s home for over forty years, preserved much as he left it — mansion, working farm, gristmill, gardens, and the museum that tells the full story of the estate, including the lives of the enslaved people who lived and worked there. Open year-round, less than an hour from D.C.
The U.S. Capitol’s basement contains a circular crypt that was built to hold George Washington’s body. Congress prepared a tomb for him in the very center of the building — but Washington’s will specified Mount Vernon, and Martha refused to allow his body to be moved. The Capitol’s tomb has stood empty for over two hundred years.
Free downloadable comprehension quiz, chapter-by-chapter discussion guide, and Civics tie-in materials for Spies at Mount Vernon.
What readers are saying
“It was so amazing and almost every part took my breath away… this book is so good that your socks will be blown away!”
— Young reader
“My library students have been clamoring for this latest installment!… recommend for grades 3–5.”
— School librarian
“Packed with action, suspense and intrigue! My fifth grader and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.”
— Parent
“Smith seamlessly infuses nuggets of history into his mysteries in a way that the reader doesn’t even realize how much knowledge they gain.”
— Educator
All 12 Virginia Mysteries
Using Spies at Mount Vernon in your classroom?
Free comprehension quiz, discussion guide, and One Book, One School program materials available. Plus bulk pricing for classroom sets and signed copies.
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Available in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and audiobook everywhere books are sold — or order a signed copy direct from Steven.