From the first time I watched the musical “Hamilton” on Disney+, I was hooked. By the fourth time, I knew that if I had the opportunity, I had to see it in person. In New York City. At the Richard Rodgers Theater. In April 2023, I had one of the best – and most emotional – nights of my life, seated third row.

But as usual, the historian in me wanted to know what was real.

If your knowledge of Hercules Mulligan comes mostly from “Hamilton”, you probably picture him bursting onto the scene as part of Alexander Hamilton’s rowdy revolutionary crew.

The real Hercules Mulligan was every bit as interesting – just in a slightly different way.

Mulligan was an Irish immigrant who came to New York and became a successful tailor. His clientele included British officers, which turned out to be extremely useful once the American Revolution began. Officers visiting his shop apparently had a habit of talking a little too freely about troop movements and military plans.

Mulligan listened.

And then he passed what he learned along to George Washington’s intelligence network.

His position gave him access to exactly the kind of information the Americans desperately needed, and he became one of the Revolution’s less-known spies.

There’s another fun difference between history and the musical: Hamilton didn’t first meet Mulligan during a night of drinking with Lafayette and Laurens. When the young Alexander Hamilton arrived in New York, he actually lived with Mulligan for a time. Mulligan was several years older and helped introduce him to the political ideas and circles that would shape Hamilton’s future.

So while “Hamilton” takes a few theatrical liberties, it didn’t have to work very hard to make Hercules Mulligan interesting.

The real man was already an immigrant, a businessman, a revolutionary – and a spy hiding in plain sight with a measuring tape around his neck.