Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne ( ; sometimes Du Quesne; 21 September 187724 May 1956) was a South African
Boer
Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...
and German
soldier
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer.
Etymology
The wo ...
,
big-game hunter,
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
, and
spy. Many of the claims Duquesne made about himself are in dispute; over his lifetime he used multiple identities, reinvented his past at will, claimed family ties to aristocratic clans and famous people and even asserted the right to military titles and medals with no third-party verification.
Duquesne fought on the side of the Boers in the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
and as a secret agent for Germany during both World Wars. He gathered
human intelligence
Human intelligence is the Intellect, intellectual capability of humans, which is marked by complex Cognition, cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness. Using their intelligence, humans are able to learning, learn, Concept ...
, led spy rings and carried out
sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
missions as a covert field
asset
In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that can b ...
in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Central and South America, and the United States. Duquesne went by many
aliases
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's ow ...
, fictionalized his identity and background on multiple occasions, and operated as a
con man. As a Boer spy he was known as the "Black Panther", in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he operated under the code name DUNN, and in
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
files he is frequently referred to as "The Duke". He was captured, convicted, and escaped from several prisons.
During the Second Boer War, Duquesne was captured and imprisoned three times by the British and once by the Portuguese, and each time he escaped. On one occasion he infiltrated the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, became an officer and led an attempt to sabotage
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
and to assassinate the commander-in-chief of the British forces,
Lord Kitchener. His team was given up by an informant and all were captured and sentenced to death. He later became known as "the man who killed Kitchener" since he claimed to have guided a German
U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
to sink
HMS ''Hampshire'' on which Lord Kitchener was en route to
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in 1916, although forensics of the ship do not support this claim.
After a failed attempt to escape prison in Cape Town, Duquesne was sent to prison in Bermuda, but he escaped to the US and became an American citizen. In
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he became a spy and ring leader for
Imperial Germany
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
, sabotaging and destroying British merchant ships in South America with concealed bombs. After he was caught by federal agents in
New York in 1917, Duquesne feigned paralysis for two years and cut the bars of his cell to make his escape, thereby avoiding
deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...
to Britain where he faced murder charges for the deaths of British sailors.
In 1932, Duquesne was again captured in New York by federal agents and charged with both homicide and for being an escaped prisoner, only this time he was set free after the British authorities declined to pursue his wartime crimes. The last time Duquesne was captured and imprisoned was in 1941, when he and thirty-two other members of the
Duquesne Spy Ring working for
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
were caught by
William G. Sebold, a
double agent
In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...
with the FBI who half-pretended to be spying for the Germans. Duquesne was later convicted in the largest espionage conviction in American history.
Between wars, Duquesne served as an adviser on big-game hunting to
US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
, as a publicist in the movie business, as a journalist, as a fictional Australian war hero and as head of the New Food Society in New York. During the Second Boer War he had been under orders to kill
Frederick Russell Burnham
Major (rank), Major Frederick Russell Burnham Distinguished Service Order, DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to t ...
, Chief of Scouts in the British Army, but in 1910 he worked with both Burnham and then Rep.
Robert Broussard to lobby the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
to
fund the importation of
hippopotamus
The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...
es into the
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
bayous to solve a severe meat shortage.
Early life
Frederick Joubert Duquesne was born to a
Boer
Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...
family of French
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
origin in
East London
East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...
,
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
, in 1877. He later moved with his parents, Abraham Duquesne and Minna Joubert, to
Nylstroom in the
South African Republic
The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...
, where they started a farm. Abraham made his living as a hunter who also frequently traveled to sell skins, tusks and horns, and he hired local indigenous peoples to work the farm. He had two younger siblings, his sister Elsbet and his brother Pedro. He was a descendant of the French Huguenot naval commander
Abraham Duquesne (1610–1688) and claimed his uncle was
Piet Joubert (1831–1900), a hero in the
First Boer War
The First Boer War (, ), was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known while under British ad ...
and
Commandant-General of the South African Republic, although his family relationship is disputed.
As a youth, Duquesne became a hunter like his father. His hunting skills proved useful not only in the African
veld
Veld ( or , Afrikaans language, Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch: ''veld'', field), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide-open, rural landscape in Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrubland, scrub, ...
, but also later in life when he would publish articles about and give lectures on
big-game hunting. It was during one of his early hunting trips that Duquesne became interested in panthers. He observed a
black panther
A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...
patiently waiting motionless for the perfect time to strike while a cautious
African buffalo
The African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer)'' is a large sub-Saharan African bovine.
The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head, referred to ...
approached and drank from a nearby water hole. The panther became his
totem
A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While the word ...
and its hunting style also became his. In the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
, Duquesne became known as the "Black Panther", and as a spy in the 1930s he stamped "all of his communiques to Germany with the figure of a cat, back arched and fur raised in anger."
At age 12, Duquesne killed a
Zulu who attacked his mother. He used the man's ''
assegai'' short sword to stab him in the stomach. Not long after the killing, a war party from a
Bantu-speaking tribe attacked the area near Nylstroom, and the Duquesne family was forced to retreat to the nearby river. The family, along with six other settler families, fought a long gun battle against the
Impi
is a Nguni word meaning war or combat and by association any body of men gathered for war, for example is a term denoting an army. were formed from regiments () from large militarised homesteads (). In English is often used to refer to a ...
and Duquesne shot and killed several. When the fighting ended, his uncle Koos, his wife and their baby were all dead.
When he was aged 13, Duquesne was sent to school in England. After graduation, biographer Clement Wood states that Duquesne went to
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
for a year and then attended the
Académie Militaire Royale in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
; however, his attendance records at these two institutions have never been found. Also, Duquesne himself writes that after he finished school in England he was sent to Europe to study engineering, but on the ship he met an
embezzler named Christian de Vries and the two decided to take a trip around the world.
Second Boer War

When the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
broke out in 1899, Duquesne returned home to join the
Boer commandos. Commissioned at the rank of
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
, he was attached to the
general staff
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
of Commandant-General
Piet Joubert in
Pretoria
Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country.
Pretoria strad ...
. Duquesne was subsequently wounded by a British bullet that went through his right shoulder at the
siege of Ladysmith, and was later promoted to the rank of
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
in a Boer
artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
unit. Duquesne was captured by British troops at the
Battle of Colenso, and was taken to
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
where he managed to escape.
After British forces began an offensive aimed at capturing Pretoria, a portion of the
gold reserve
A gold reserve is the gold held by a national central bank, intended mainly as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders (e.g. paper money), or trading peers, during the eras of the gold standard, and also as a store of v ...
in the city's
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...
and national
mint
Mint or The Mint may refer to:
Plants
* Lamiaceae, the mint family
** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint"
Coins and collectibles
* Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins
* Mint condition, a state of like-new ...
was sent by train to the small town of
Machadodorp
Machadodorp, also known by its official name eNtokozweni, is a small town situated on the N4 national highway, near the edge of the escarpment in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The Elands River runs through the town. There is a natural ...
, then by road to the neutral harbor of
Lourenço Marques
Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...
in
Portuguese Mozambique
Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...
to be shipped to the Netherlands for the use of President
Paul Kruger
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904), better known as Paul Kruger, was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and State Preside ...
and other Boer exiles who had fled from Africa. A final tally showed about 1.5 million pounds (680,000 kilos) of gold
bullion
Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from ...
was removed from the central bank and national mint between 29 May and 4 June 1900.
Duquesne was in command of a shipment of gold bullion being sent by wagon to Portuguese Mozambique; however, it never made it to Lourenço Marques. While in the
bushveld
The Bushveld (from Afrikaans: ''bosveld'', Afrikaans: ''bos'' 'bush' and ) is a Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. The ecoregion straddles the Tropic of Capricorn ...
of Portuguese Mozambique, a violent disagreement broke out among the shipment's escort. This resulted in a violent confrontation that left only three wounded Boers (including Duquesne) and several indigenous porters alive. Duquesne ordered the porters to hide the gold in a nearby cave for safekeeping, along with burning the wagons and killing any wounded they found. He gave the porters all the oxen, except for one which he rode away on. Historian Art Ronnie argued that the buried gold, commonly referred to as "Kruger's Millions" is only a legend; however, in 2001 and 2013 there have been news reports about possible discoveries of the missing gold.
Duquesne rejoined the Boer forces in time for the
Battle of Bergendal, but his unit was forced to fall back to Portuguese Mozambique. Many members of the unit, including Duquesne, were captured by Portuguese forces and sent to an
internment
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
camp in
Caldas da Rainha
Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portugal, Portuguese city in the Oeste Subregion, Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura Province (1936–1976), Estremadura, and in the Leiria District, district of Leiria. The city serves a ...
, Portugal. For Duquesne, this would become a watershed event, as Ronnie noted "life would never be the same for him... In a few months, he would be launched on a forty-year career as a professional spy and counterfeit hero– a man who would constantly reinvent himself to suit the needs of the moment."
At Caldas da Rainha, Duquesne charmed the daughter of one of the camp's guards, who helped him escape to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. From there, he went to
Aldershot
Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
and infiltrated the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. In 1901, Duquesne was posted to South Africa in 1901 as an officer. There, he passed through his hometown of Nylstroom, discovering that his parents' farm had been destroyed by British forces as part of
scorched earth
A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...
policies implemented by
Lord Kitchener. Duquesne also discovered that his sister had been
raped
Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person w ...
and killed, and his mother interned in the Nylstroom
concentration camp
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
. Ronnie writes: "the fate of his country and of his family would breed in him an all-consuming hatred of England" and "would turn him into what (a biographer of Duquesne) Clement Wood called: a walking living breathing searing killing destroying torch of hate".
Duquesne returned to Cape Town with secret plans to sabotage British installations and assassinate Kitchener. He recruited twenty Boers for his plans, but the group was betrayed by the wife of one. On 11 October 1901, while attending a dinner with
Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson, the governor of the Cape Colony, Duquesne was arrested for
criminal conspiracy
In criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime at some time in the future. Criminal law in some countries or for some conspiracies may require that at least one overt act be undertaken in furtherance ...
and
espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
. He was
court-martial
A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...
led and sentenced to be executed along with his co-conspirators. The other members of his team were
executed by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French , rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually re ...
, but as a
plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...
, Duquesne's sentence was reduced to life in prison. In exchange, Duquesne agreed to divulge secret Boer codes and to translate several of their dispatches. According to Ronnie, "for the rest of his life he swore he never betrayed the Boer cause but actually created new codes that would mislead the British." Duquesne was imprisoned in the
Castle of Good Hope in
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, a fortification built by the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
in 1666. The walls of the castle were extremely thick, yet night after night, Duquesne dug away the cement around the stones with an iron spoon. He nearly escaped one night, but a large stone slipped and pinned him in his tunnel. The next morning, a guard found him unconscious but uninjured.
Duquesne was one of many Boer prisoners sent to the British colony of
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
, an
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
known for its frequent storm-wracked conditions, shark infested waters and dangerous reefs. According to Ronnie, Bermuda was an "impossible, hopeless, and impregnable prison of pink beaches and sunlit waters from which no prisoner could escape – or so believed the British." Duquesne escaped from several other
prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
s, and on the night of 25 June 1902, he slipped out of his tent, climbed a barbed-wire fence, and swam 1.5 miles (2.4 km) past patrol boats and bright spot lights. He used a distant
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
for navigation until he arrived on the main island. Duquesne then went to the home of Anna Maria Outerbridge, a leader of a Boer Relief Committee. Outerbridge helped him escape to the port of
St. George's, Bermuda, where another Boer Relief Committee member, W. E. Meyer, arranged for his transportation off the island. Within the week, Duquesne was a passenger on a ship heading to the United States.
In the United States
After entering the country in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
, Duquesne proceeded to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He found employment as a journalist for the ''
New York Herald
The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''.
Hi ...
'' and other newspapers by writing adventure stories. The Second Boer War ended in 1902 with the Boers signing the
Treaty of Vereeniging
The Treaty of Vereeniging was a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other.
This settlement provided ...
, but with his family dead, Duquesne never returned to South Africa. While in New York, he published a novel in the French newspaper ''
Le Petit Bleu'', and two other novels published in South Africa. In 1908, he was written up in ''
Men of America'' as a travelling correspondent sent to locations such as Port Arthur (now the Chinese
Lüshunkou District) to report on the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
, Morocco to report on the
Riff Rebellion and to the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...
(now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) to accompany Sir Arthur Jones on an expedition. In June 1910 he married Alice Wortley, an American, but their marriage ended in divorce eight years later.
During the Second Boer War, Duquesne was under orders to assassinate
Frederick Russell Burnham
Major (rank), Major Frederick Russell Burnham Distinguished Service Order, DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to t ...
, the American acting as Chief of Scouts for the British Army. After the war, Burnham remained active in
counter-espionage
Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting ac ...
for the British, and much of it involved keeping track of Duquesne. In 1910 he and
Representative Robert Broussard founded the New Food Supply Society to import useful African wildlife into the US as a solution to a serious American meat shortage, and Broussard selected Duquesne as an expert. In support of this plan, Broussard introduced H.R. 23261, also known as the
American Hippo Bill, attempting the appropriation of $250,000 to import
hippopotamus
The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...
into the
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
bayous as a food source and to control the
water hyacinth
''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive species, invasive outside its native rang ...
then clogging Southern river systems. Former
US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
backed the plan, as did the
US Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...
, as well as editorial writers in ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' and ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', which praised the taste of hippopotamus as "lake cow bacon". Duquesne's expert testimony on this subject before the
House Committee on Agriculture is recorded in the ''
Congressional Record
The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Ind ...
''. The bill fell just short of passing, and the New Foods organization was disbanded.
During this time, Duquesne became former President Roosevelt's personal shooting instructor and accompanied him on a hunting expedition. He published several newspaper articles on Roosevelt's hunting trip to Africa,
safari
A safari (; originally ) is an overland journey to observe wildlife, wild animals, especially in East Africa. The so-called big five game, "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, African leopard, leopard, rhinoceros, African elephant, elep ...
big game hunting in general and the heroic accomplishments of Caucasian people to bring civilization to black Africans. Duquesne became a
naturalized American citizen in December 1913.
First World War

After meeting a
German-American
German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry.
According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...
industrialist in the
Midwest
The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
around 1914, Duquesne became a spy for
Imperial Germany
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
. He was sent to
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
as "Frederick Fredericks" under the disguise of "doing scientific research on rubber plants". As an agent for German naval intelligence in South America, he was assigned to disrupt commercial traffic to countries at war with Germany. Duquesne received and delivered communiques through German embassies, and he was responsible for numerous bombings of British merchant ships. From his base in
Bahia
Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
, he planted time bombs disguised as cases of mineral samples on British ships and he was credited with sinking twenty-two of them; among them were the ''Salvador'' and the ''Pembrokeshire''. Additionally, one of his bombs killed three British sailors and nearly sank the in February 1916, and another started a fire on the ''Vauban''.
After bombing ''Tennyson'',
MI5
MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...
(British intelligence) operating in Brazil arrested an accomplice named Bauer who identified Duquesne as both the perpetrator of the crime and the ringleader. Bauer further revealed that Duquesne was operating under his own name and two
aliases
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's ow ...
, George Fordam and Piet Niacud. Niacud is the pronunciation of Duquesne reversed. British intelligence confirmed that Duquesne was "a German intelligence officer ... involved in a series of acts of sabotage against British shipping in South American waters during the war". His cover now blown, Duquesne moved to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, Argentina, and several weeks later placed an article in a newspaper reporting his own death in Bolivia at the hands of
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
ian natives.
Duquesne evaded British intelligence in South America and returned to New York around May 1916. Using the aliases George Fordam and Frederick Fredericks, he had taken out insurance policies for the cargo he shipped and he now filed claims for the "films" and "mineral samples" lost with the ships he sank off the coast of Brazil, including ''Tennyson''. The insurance companies were reluctant to pay and began their own investigations, which would go on for another year.
In his book ''The Man Who Killed Kitchener'', biographer
Clement Wood states that Duquesne left for Europe in June 1916 under orders from German intelligence. Duquesne posed as the Russian
Duke Boris Zakrevsky and joined Lord Kitchener on
HMS ''Hampshire'' in Scotland. Once on board, Duquesne signaled the German
U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
that sank the cruiser, thus killing Lord Kitchener. Duquesne made his own escape using a life raft before the ship was
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
ed and he was rescued by the U-boat. Duquesne was allegedly awarded the
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...
for this act, and he appears in several pictures in German uniform wearing an Iron Cross, in addition to other medals. Captain Louis Botha, son of the former
prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
of South Africa General
Louis Botha
Louis Botha ( , ; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first Prime Minister of South Africa, prime minister of the Union of South Africa, the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war v ...
, further writes that "Duquesne was a great friend of the Botha family" and that Duquesne "rose from the status of a Private in the German Army to the rank of Colonel and received the Iron Cross during the great war." The authenticity of several of these claims has been challenged by modern biographers, and the German records that would confirm or deny at least parts of these accounts are now missing and presumed destroyed during the war. According to the official story, ''Hampshire'' was lost in a force 9 gale after striking a mine laid by
U-75, a German U-boat.

The next confirmed appearance of Duquesne is in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, in July 1917, not long after the US declared war on Germany. He had contacted Broussard, who by now was a
United States Senator
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress.
Party affiliation
Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
. Unaware that Duquesne was now a German spy, Broussard attempted to help him obtain a position with
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
George Washington Goethals
George Washington Goethals ( June 29, 1858 – January 21, 1928) was an American military officer and civil engineer, best known for his administration and supervision of the construction and the opening of the Panama Canal. He was the first Go ...
, the acting US Army Quartermaster and former chief engineer of the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
, but he was not successful. Additionally, Duquesne filed
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
s for an underwater electromagnetic mine which he then attempted to sell to the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
.
As a covert spy, it was necessary for Duquesne to manipulate people, assuming new identities and cover stories. It is known that he was handsome, charismatic, intelligent, fluent in several languages and as
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
Agent Raymond Newkirk observed, "the Duke was a very interesting talker but he always had to be the center of attention." Duquesne also sometimes took his deceptions further than seems necessary.
With the advent of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Duquesne's stories of great white hunters and African safaris no longer fascinated the American public, and when he returned to New York he was dropped from the lecture circuit. To get back on stage he needed new material, so with the help of German intelligence he re-invented himself and
pretended to be an
Allied war hero, Captain Claude Stoughton of the Western Australian Light Horse regiment, a man who claimed to have "seen more war than any man at present" and claimed to have been "
bayonet
A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...
ed three times, gassed four times, and stuck once with a hook." Duquesne appeared before New York audiences dressed in uniform as Stoughton to tell them war stories, promote the sale of
Liberty Bonds and to make patriotic speeches for organizations such as the
Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
. As historian Jon Mooallem explains it, "Captain Stoughton's career took off. His talks made decent money, his heroism earned him respect, and ladies found him alluring", and "the Black Panther was an adrenaline junkie ... his invented persona had such magnetism and such possibility, in fact, that he began deploying his alter-ego in a wide variety of personal appearances ... it is possible that Duquesne simply liked attention, the performance."
Duquesne was arrested in New York on 17 November 1917 on charges of
fraud
In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
for insurance claims. At the time of his arrest, he had in his possession a large file of news clippings related to the bombing of ships, as well as a letter from the Assistant German Vice Consul at
Managua
Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...
in Nicaragua. The letter indicated that Duquesne was "one who has rendered considerable service to the German cause." British authorities were also looking at Duquesne as the agent responsible for "murder on the high seas, arson, faking
Admiralty documents and conspiring against the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
", and the American authorities agreed that they would
extradite Duquesne to Britain, if the British sent him back afterward to serve his sentence for fraud.
1919 to 1939

After his arrest in New York, and while awaiting extradition to Britain on murder charges, Duquesne pretended to be paralyzed. He was sent to the prison ward at
Bellevue Hospital. On 25 May 1919, after nearly two years of feigning paralysis and just days before his extradition, he disguised himself as a woman and escaped by cutting the bars of his cell and climbing over the barrier walls to freedom. Police Commissioner
Richard E. Enright sent out the following bulletin:
This man is partly paralysed in the right leg and always carries a cane. May apply for treatment at a hospital or private physician. He also has a skin disease which is a form of eczema. If located, arrest, hold and wire, Detective Division, Police Headquarters, New York City, and an officer will be sent for him with necessary papers.
The ''
London Daily Mail'' published the following on 27 May 1919:
Col. Fritz du Quesne, a fugitive from justice, is wanted by His Majesty's government for trial on the following charges: Murder on the high seas; the sinking and burning of British ships; the burning of military stores, warehouses, coaling stations, conspiracy, and the falsification of Admiralty documents.
Duquesne fled to Mexico and Europe, but in 1926 he moved back to New York and assumed a new identity as Frank de Trafford Craven. He worked for
Joseph P. Kennedy's
Film Booking Offices of America
Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the Silent film, silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an ...
(FBO Pictures), and later
RKO Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...
, as part of the publicity staff. As part of this job he moved back to
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, where he was well-known under his real name. In 1930, Duquesne moved to the
Quigley Publishing Company
Martin Joseph Quigley Sr. (May 6, 1890 – May 4, 1964)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''. Social Security Administration. was an American publisher, editor, and film magazine journalist. He founded ''Exhibitors Herald'', which became a ...
, a producer of movie magazines, and called himself Major Craven.
On 23 May 1932, police arrested Duquesne in the Quigley Building in New York. He was brutally interrogated by police and charged with murder on the high seas. Duquesne claimed it was a case of mistaken identity and that his name really was Major Craven. Wood had recently published ''The Man Who Killed Kitchener'', so the police asked Wood to identify the man in custody. Wood insisted that the man was not Duquesne but rather Major Craven, whom he had known for five years. Police did not believe Wood and Agent
Thomas J. Tunney was brought in to positively identify Craven as Duquesne, the same man he had arrested in 1917. Duquesne was charged with homicide and as an escaped prisoner. He was defended by
Arthur Garfield Hays. After Britain declined to pursue his war crimes, noting that the
statute of limitations
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
had expired, the judge threw out the only remaining charge of escape from prison and released Duquesne.
After his release, Duquesne remained associated with the Quigley family, and he talked for hours about the methods he used to blow up ships. To verify the stories, Quigley had Duquesne meet with several experts, the most prominent of whom was Fr. Wilfrid Parsons, SJ, editor of the
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
magazine, ''
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
''. The experts verified his command of languages, that he was widely traveled and a skilled impersonator. While the chronology was imprecise, everything Duquesne told Quigley that could be verified proved to be correct.
In the spring of 1934, Duquesne became an intelligence officer for the
Order of 76, an American pro-
Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
organization, and in January 1935 he began working for the US government's
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
. Admiral
Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a admiral (Germany), German admiral and the chief of the ''Abwehr'' (the German military intelligence, military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Initially a supporter of Ad ...
, head of the ''
Abwehr
The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...
'' (German military intelligence), knew Duquesne from his work in World War I and instructed his new chief of operations in the US, Col.
Nikolaus Ritter, to make contact with Duquesne. Ritter had been friends with Duquesne back in 1931, and the two spies reconnected in New York on 3 December 1937. Ritter employed several other successful agents across the US, most notably Herman Lang, who delivered to the Germans the blueprints for the
Norden bombsight, but he also made the mistake of recruiting a man who would later become a double agent,
William Sebold. On 8 February 1940, Ritter sent Sebold to New York under the alias of Harry Sawyer and instructed him to set up a
shortwave radio
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the High frequency, high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30& ...
-transmitting station to establish contact with the German shortwave station abroad. Sebold was also instructed to use the
code name
A code name, codename, call sign, or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in ...
TRAMP and to contact a fellow agent code named DUNN, who was Duquesne.
Second World War – Duquesne Spy Ring
Once the FBI discovered through Sebold that Duquesne was again in New York operating as a German spy,
FBI Director
The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a United States federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI director is appointed for a ...
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...
provided a background briefing to US President
Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
. The dossier from that time gave a summary of Duquesne's prior history and stated that, "no information, whatsoever, concerning the whereabouts and activities of Duquesne since June 6, 1932, is possessed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation." FBI Agent Newkirk, using the name Ray McManus, was now assigned to DUNN and rented a room immediately above Duquesne's apartment near
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, using a hidden microphone to record his conversations. However, monitoring Duquesne's activities proved to be difficult. As Newkirk described it, "The Duke had been a spy all of his life and automatically used all of the tricks in the book to avoid anyone following him ... He would take a local train, change to an express, change back to a local, go through a revolving door and keep going on right around, take an elevator up a floor, get off, walk back to the ground, and take off in a different entrance of the building." Duquesne also informed Sebold that he was certain he was under surveillance, and he even confronted one FBI agent and demanded that he stop tracking him, a story confirmed by Newkirk.
The FBI leased three adjacent rooms in
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
. One room would serve as Sebold's office from which he would receive intelligence reports from German spies that would later be censored by the FBI and partially transmitted by Sebold to Germany. The other two rooms were used by German-speaking FBI agents who would listen in with headphones and record the meetings using a motion picture camera behind a two-way wall mirror. The first time Duquesne arrived at Sebold's office, he surprised the FBI agents by conducting an examination of the office, opening chests, looking in corners and around mirrors, and pointedly asking Sebold, "Where are the mics?" Once he believed he was safe, Duquesne raised his pants leg and removed documents from his sock, such as: a sketch and photo of the
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the United States Army, U.S. ...
semi-automatic rifle, a drawing of a new
light tank
A light tank is a Tank classification, tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner vehicle armour, armor and a less powerful tank gun, main gun, tailored for ...
design, a photo of a US Navy Mosquito boat, a photo of a
grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke, or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary gre ...
, and reports on US tanks he had observed at bases at
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
and in
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
. Duquesne also described sabotage techniques he had used in earlier wars such as small bombs with slow fuses he could drop through a hole in his pants pocket, and he commented on where he might use these devices again.
Arrest and conviction
On 28 June 1941, following a two-year investigation, the FBI arrested Duquesne and thirty-two German spies on charges of relaying secret information on US weaponry and shipping movements to Germany. On 2 January 1942, less than a month after the US entered the war, all members of the Duquesne Spy Ring were sentenced to serve a total of more than 300 years in prison. They were found guilty in what historian Peter Duffy said in 2014 is "still to this day the largest espionage case in the history of the United States." One German spymaster later commented that the ring's roundup delivered 'the death blow' to their espionage efforts in the US. Hoover called his FBI swoop on Duquesne's ring the greatest spy roundup in US history. In a 1942 memo to his superiors,
Admiral Canaris of the ''Abwehr'' reported on the importance of several of his captured spies by noting their valued contributions, and he writes that Duquesne "delivered valuable reports and important technical material in the original, including US gas masks, radio-controlled apparatus, leak-proof fuel tanks, television instruments, small bombs for airplanes versus airplanes, air separator, and propeller-driving mechanisms. Items delivered were labeled 'valuable', and several 'good' and 'very good'."
The 64-year-old Duquesne did not escape this time. He was sentenced to eighteen years in prison, with a two-year concurrent sentence and $2,000 fine for violation of the
Foreign Agents Registration Act
The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ( ''et seq.'') is a United States law that imposes Public disclosure of private facts, public disclosure obligations on Foreign agent, persons representing foreign interests. . He began his sentence in
Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
, along with fellow German spy Herman Lang. During his time in prison, he was mistreated and beaten by other inmates. In 1945, Duquesne was transferred to the
Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in
Springfield,
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, due to his failing physical and mental health. In 1954 he was released owing to ill health, having served fourteen years. His last known lecture was in 1954 at the
Adventurers' Club of New York, titled "My Life – in and out of Prison".
Death
Duquesne died at
City Hospital on Welfare Island (now
Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, wit ...
), in New York City on 24 May 1956, at the age of 78.
Film accounts
* ''Life of Fritz Duquesne'', 1920, by Flint Saturday night publishing company.
* ''Unseen Enemy'', released in 1942, is a feature film based on Duquesne and his life as a German secret agent living in the U.S. in the 1930s. Arthur D. Howden, an acquaintance and
fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
opponent of Duquesne, wrote the original script in 1939, two years before Duquesne's arrest and conviction by the FBI.
* ''
The House on 92nd Street'', which won screenwriter
Charles G. Booth an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for the
best original motion picture story in 1945. Based on the FBI Duquesne Spy Ring case with major changes story and characters. Duquesne was the inspiration for the part of Col. Hammershon, played by
Leo G. Carroll.
* ''Duquesne Case: Secret''. (public domain)
J Edgar Hoover narrates this 1941 documentary in which the members of the Duquesne Spy Ring are secretly filmed talking with Harry Sawyer (FBI Agent William Sebold) while exchanging money and blueprints. Duquesne looks around the room before removing military diagrams hidden in his sock. Hoover narrates: "Colonel Duquesne", "the most cautious of them all."
* The Duquesne Case,
Deutsche Welle
(; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
Newsreel, c. 1950. (German; also translated into English, albeit poorly, and posted to YouTube).
* ''The Man Who Would Kill Kitchener'', by
François Verster, a 26-minute documentary film on the life of Fritz Joubert Duquesne that won six Stone awards in 1999 and is actively being extended to 52 minutes for international audiences.
* In the television episode ''Myth Hunters: Legend of Kruger's Millions'' (Season 2, Episode 9, 2014), Duquesne is played by the actor Charlie Richards.
* In June 2014,
RatPac Entertainment and
Class 5 Films acquired the non-fiction article American Hippopotamus, by Jon Mooallem, about the meat shortage in the U.S. in 1910 and the attempts made by Duquesne, Burnham, and Congressman Robert Broussard to import hippopotamuses into the Louisiana bayous and to convince Americans to eat them. The movie will highlight the Burnham – Duquesne rivalry.
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. After graduating from Yale College in 1991 with a degree in history, he worked for a few months in Japan before moving to New York City ...
,
William Migliore and
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the Rush Hour (film series), ''Rush Hour'' film series, ''The Family Man'', ''Red Dragon (2002 film), Red Dragon'', ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''Tower Heist ...
will produce this feature film.
* In the 2021 film
The King's Man
''The King's Man'' is a 2021 spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn from his story and a screenplay he wrote with Karl Gajdusek. The third instalment in the British ''Kingsman'' film series, which is based on the comic book '' The Secr ...
, the character of Maximillian Morton (
Matthew Goode) also known as the Shepherd is based on Frederick Duquesne himself.
Works

Duquesne authored the following works:
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* "Why Vote for Roosevelt?", a pamphlet by: "A Democrat Capt. Fritz Duquesne", 1912. LC call number: JK2388 1912 .D8
* "The Bullmoosers", sheet music by: "Captain Fritz Duquesne"
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Notes
Footnotes
Source notes
References
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Other references
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External links
FBI files on Frederick "Fritz" Duquesne*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duquesne, Fritz
1877 births
1956 deaths
Afrikaner nationalists
American spies for Imperial Germany
American Nazis
American people convicted of spying for Nazi Germany
American reporters and correspondents
British Army personnel who were court-martialled
Escapees from British military detention
Escapees from United States federal government detention
People from East London, South Africa
People from Roosevelt Island
Prisoners sentenced to death by the British military
South African collaborators with Nazi Germany
South African emigrants to the United States
South African escapees
South African hunters
South African fraudsters
South African Republic military personnel of the Second Boer War
South African prisoners sentenced to death
South African spies
Stockbrokers
World War I spies for Germany