They considered them traitors - not to their King, but to their fellow countrymen and neighbors. Those who were forced to choose one side or the other, British or colonial, were at risk of death if the local majority felt otherwise.
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It is not a definite answer because it is a matter of opinion from the patriots.
There were many spies during the American Civil War. Some of the better known male spies were Lafayette Baker, Timothy Webster, and Henry Harrison.
Patriot. He was on of the many spies that General George Washington used throughout the course of the American Revolution. He's best remembered for his final words: "My only regret is that I have one life to loose for my country". He said this right before the British executed him after they discovered he was an American spy disguised as a Dutch schoolteacher.
They were spies.
Lydia Darragh disliked Great Britain for many of the same reason that the other colonists at the time disliked Great Britain, including that the king was trying to enforce laws on people that had no representation in parliament. Although Lydia and her husband were Quakers and therefore remained neutral during the warfare of the American Revolution, they favored the cause of the colonists. Darragh became one of the first female spies during the Revolutionary War.
They typically implanted spies throught the empire to gather the view of the majority and identify suspicious individuals.