The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington
Discover the secret plot to bring down George Washington.
How much do you know about the events that led to the founding of the United States? You haven't heard the entire story but rather parts of epic tales or events such as the Boston Tea Party. But today, for the first time, you'll learn the true story of one of history's most horrific chapters: the plot to assassinate George Washington, then-general of the Continental Army and future President of the United States of America. This epic war drama, featuring brave freedom fighters, villains, and betraying turncoats, is not to be missed.
You'll embark on a trip to explore the circumstances surrounding George Washington's election to lead the nation's first army and the problems he faced during his first year in command. In this dramatic portrayal of true events, you'll get a sense of the risks, violence, and animosity of this pivotal moment in American history and a glimpse into the terrible reality of colonial life under British authority.
Continue reading to discover
Why was George Washington named General of the New Continental Army?
Which nasty British Loyalist nearly thwarted him;
How Washington handled those who betrayed him.
1. In 1775, colonial officials from around America met to debate their relationship with Britain.
May 10, 1775. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The United States of America still needed to exist. Colonies were the name given to what would eventually become states. And who was the colonial master who ruled these colonies? Great Britain.
However, America's colonial subjects wanted more from the current situation. This is why our journey starts in Philadelphia. The Second Continental Congress met here, but it was different from the Congress we know today. In 1775, this institution lacked legitimacy in the eyes of the British, and its members' mere union was a revolutionary statement in and of itself.
This Congress included delegates from all 13 colonies, and they were there to discuss one issue: the possibility of going to war with Britain.
Over the preceding year, the British Crown, represented by George III, had had tense relations with its colonial subjects. There had been heated debates about the taxes, commerce, and customs placed on the colonies. The Crown's draconian fiscal policies had sparked mounting demonstrations and marches. How will England respond? The Crown responded with military strength, sending in soldiers to quell uprisings and regain ultimate rule.
Just one year ago, war with Britain would have been inconceivable. However, earlier in 1775, a turning point occurred.
Local men in the northeastern colonies of New England had formed rebel militias and were ready to attack British authorities. In response, on April 19, 1775, British troops marched into Concord and Lexington, two towns near Boston, Massachusetts, and attempted to capture militia leaders. During the subsequent confrontation with armed residents, both parties suffered severe casualties, with at least eight villagers slain.
One month after the incident, the Second Continental Congress was debating whether it was time for every province to organize and take arms against the Crown.
There was another reason why the colonists considered revolt. Over the previous few years, a new idea from Europe, proposed by American Enlightenment philosopher Thomas Paine, had begun to take root in American hearts and minds: a people's inherent right to choose their own government and engage in self-rule.
Many of us today take the right to self-government for granted, but in 1775, the concept of liberty was radical and deadly. Nonetheless, on May 10 in Philadelphia, several delegates discussed it.
2. George Washington was chosen to command the colonies' fledgling army.
Despite the whisper of liberty in the air, the participants in the 1775 Second Continental Congress remained cautious. They were not convinced of the need for a full-scale conflict with England. However, they were all sure of one thing: the need for a national American army capable of fighting the British if necessary.
This army, the first of its sort in colonial America, would bring together the rebel militias that had popped up across New England to form a cohesive military, as well as recruit soldiers from all over the colonies. After the delegates agreed on this strategy, the next big question arose: who would head this army?
Enter George Washington, a delegate from Virginia.
Washington was forty-three years old and had substantial military combat experience, having fought in the French and Indian War, a fight between Britain and France for their colonial holdings in America. This was significant because Congress wanted to choose someone who understood how to fight. Washington, despite his limited vocabulary, was an imposing presence. Not only was he taller than the average American male at the time, but he also held himself well and had worn his full military uniform to the meeting. At the same time, the other attendees were dressed in civilian-style waistcoats and frock coats.
Despite being a wealthy southern planter and landowner, Washington was one of the few attendees to the conference who had not attended college. Surprisingly, this also worked to his advantage. Many of the other delegates wanted to show off their fancy educations by using flowery, sophisticated jargon to convey themselves, but George Washington was a straight-talker. When addressing Congress, he was direct and a superb listener, and he projected a powerful gravitas by saying little and often withholding his ideas. But when he did decide to speak, he did it with complete conviction.
George Washington appeared to be a man of action, and his name was quickly put on the list of potential leaders for this new combat army.
Equally essential, Washington was a dignified and modest man. While other delegates jostled for position, hoping to secure the appointment for themselves, Washington silently exited the conference room, unable to establish his supremacy over the other candidates.
Nonetheless, the remainder of the delegates were definite about who they wanted for this critical position. When they voted at the end of the conference, the decision was unanimous: George Washington would be the general of the newly formed Continental Army.
3. George Washington's archnemesis would soon be William Tryon, the governor of New York.
Ten days after being appointed general of the new Continental Army, George Washington led a battalion of soldiers to Boston, where British forces had declared martial law and confiscated thousands of firearms from local civilians. On his trip to New England, Washington passed through New York, which was the colonies' second-largest settlement after Philadelphia. As he walked around the city, cheered by hundreds of patriotic supporters, Washington came across a formidable foe.
This enemy was none other than William Tryon, the governor of New York and a staunch supporter of the British Crown. Tryon, born in 1729 to an aristocratic family in England, began his career as a British military officer before sailing for America in the 1760s in search of opportunity and wealth.
Before his appointment in New York, Tryon was governor of North Carolina from 1765 to 1771, where he immediately became unpopular with a group of local farmers known as the Regulators.
The Regulators despised the Crown's increasingly expensive taxes, which, during Tryon's term, were so high that many of them were unable to feed their families and were forced to sell their tiny farms in order to cope with rising debt. And what did Governor Tryon do with the money he extracted from the locals? Surprisingly, he utilized these public funds to build himself a massive, luxurious house known in North Carolina as "Tryon's Palace."
The Regulators, outraged by the unfairness of it all, organized various rallies. How did Tryon respond? He hired a ragtag squad of mercenaries, led them to the Regulators' improvised encampment, and asked them to stop their actions.
When the Regulators refused, Tryon and his mercenaries opened fire on the lightly armed farmers, apprehended their leaders, and sentenced them to death on treason charges against the king. But not just any death: the prisoners were sentenced to be hanged, disemboweled while still alive, and finally decapitated - a brutal punishment known as drawing and quartering.
As this tragic story demonstrates, Governor Tryon of New York was not hesitant to viciously assault anyone who dared to dispute the British Crown's absolute power. Very soon, he would shift his focus to none other than George Washington, who had recently led a military procession through New York City as a bold demonstration of independence.
4. In revolutionary America, allegiances were constantly changing.
In the months following his appointment as general of the Continental Army, George Washington focused on increasing the size of his new forces and forcing the British to evacuate from Boston, where they maintained a chokehold. Washington, who was camped out with his troops on the outskirts of the city, could see the British foe clearly. Unfortunately, he couldn't see the other foe - the one hiding among his own ranks.
Despite his previous combat training, Washington needed to prepare for the deadly scenario he found himself in during this fight. Previously, it was evident who was the enemy and who was a friend; however, as conflict with the British neared, allegiances became significantly less crystal-cut.
In contrast to more traditional conflicts in which nations or religions clash, in Washington's war, an individual's allegiance could not be established by something as concrete as nationality, religion, or language but was determined solely by what he declared his allegiance to be at the time.
A short look at Washington's army demonstrates the chaotic state of affairs. For example, two of his most senior generals, Charles Lee and Horatio Gates, were born in Britain and previously served in the English military before switching sides and joining the colonists. Similarly, it was uncommon for persons from the colonies to declare themselves Loyalists or promise their support for the British for reasons such as financial interests, political leanings, or familial ties.
Furthermore, and especially problematic for George Washington, people's proclivity to swap allegiances is frequently based on changing circumstances. For example, many colonists simply declared allegiance to or decided to fight for the side that paid the most or appeared to have the best chance of winning at the time.
These continually shifting allegiances, a problem across America, fostered an atmosphere of confusion and suspicion at all levels, including the continental and British troops, towns and cities, and even families. For example, Thomas Gage, England's most senior commander in the colonies, married Margaret Kemble, whose family was a well-known supporter of America's independence movement. Even today, many believe that Gage's wife conveyed secret English military secrets to her brothers, who were staunch patriots.
5. Governor Tryon's devotion in 1776 emboldened him to attempt to capture George Washington.
In March 1776, Washington's troops successfully drove the British army out of Boston. However, this win had severe consequences. Now, Great Britain would use all of its might to secure New York. And if the British were on their way to the city, George Washington and his troops had to follow. For the first time, General Washington and Governor Tryon were in direct conflict.
In March 1776, William Tryon was well aware of the threat that Washington and the Continental Army posed to the Crown's control over New York. However, Tryon was aware that the British troops were still several weeks away from reaching the city. The governor considered how he could damage the patriotic troops till their arrival.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, he devised an underhanded scheme.
Quite simply, Governor Tryon planned to murder George Washington, which would destabilize the entire independence war effort. To help him reach his ultimate goal, Tryon started a larger conspiracy as well. His objective was to entice as many members of Washington's army as possible into switching sides and fighting for the Loyalists and the British. His idea was that these traitorous men would continue to appear as patriots, only to turn their guns on fellow patriots when the British arrived.
Crucial here was the fact that conspiring Loyalists had easy access to Washington's forces. In March 1776, the Continental Army was already stationed near New York, and the city was flooded with patriotic warriors who came to drink, brawl, and visit brothels.
Unfortunately for Tryon, he could not meet with potential turncoats personally and encourage them to join his side. Why? Since Washington's arrival, the governor had been camped up on a ship just outside of New York Harbor, fearing that patriotic residents might attempt to capture him. As a result, Tryon was forced to enlist the help of others to carry out his evil plan.
Gilbert Forbes, a gunsmith, played an essential role in the conspiracy. Forbes frequently traveled from the city to Tryon's ship under the cover of darkness, collecting money to pay bribes to anyone willing to swap allegiance. Forbes used a clandestine Loyalist network to recruit over a hundred continental soldiers to defect in the event of a British onslaught. More dangerously, at least five of the troops he successfully bribed were members of the Life Guards, an elite group of soldiers tasked with protecting George Washington's life and keeping him safe.
6. Loose conversation may have saved George Washington's life.
So, how could a well-funded plan involving men not just on the inside but also in close proximity to Washington fail? Surprisingly, the failure of Tryon's plot was primarily owing to a chance encounter in a New York jail.
On June 15, 1776, Isaac Ketcham was imprisoned in a city jail cell on charges of forging money. That night, two additional prisoners joined him. These guys were soldiers in the Continental Army who had also been arrested for counterfeiting. To Ketcham's surprise, the guys revealed their knowledge of Tryon's plans. Even more incredible, they told Ketcham that they were not only aware of the conspiracy but also involved in it. Is this the final blow? They claimed to be Life Guards, George Washington's bodyguards, rather than just continental soldiers.
Isaac Ketcham, eager to use this knowledge to obtain his release from jail, immediately wrote to the New York Provincial Congress, an organization that backed the battle for independence. He pleaded to come before them and tell them everything he knew. The Congress agreed, and on June 17, members were stunned to learn of the Life Guards' betrayal.
After Ketcham testified, it was immediately determined that the two males were Michael Lynch and Thomas Hickey. During the subsequent interrogation, the details of the scheme to kidnap Washington remained murky, but one thing was sure: these lifeguards had betrayed their young country, and someone had to pay the price.
For unknown reasons, Thomas Hickey, an Irishman who initially traveled to America to fight in the British troops, was the only one of the two prosecuted and convicted of treason. Nonetheless, the punishment imposed on Hickey was seismic because, for the first time in American history, the courts ruled that treason was a crime against America. In contrast, treason could previously only be charged against individuals who betrayed Britain.
On June 28, Thomas Hickey was hanged in New York City in front of a throng of 20,000 people, marking his death as the most witnessed public execution in America to that date. Why was his death so public? Simply to set an example for everyone else in the city, whoever undermined the great George Washington and the cause for independence would pay the most significant consequence.
What would the United States of America be like now if William Tryon had successfully assassinated George Washington in 1776? Will it even exist? Fortunately, we have yet to find out.
Final Summary
In 1775, George Washington was appointed general of the new Continental Army. The governor of New York, William Tryon, spent the next year scheming to assassinate him by bribing the continental soldiers to turn against their leader. However, Tryon's plot failed, and one of Washington's own bodyguards, Thomas Hickey, was hanged for his part in it.