The First Conspiracy

by Brad Meltzer

  As other authors have also covered, we know of the memorandum because Ketcham’s original petition to the Congress has a handwritten note on it, added by someone later, with the words “The application of Isaac Ketcham and the memorandum which finally ended in the execution of Thomas Hickey for high treason” (Ibid.). This suggests that the missing memorandum may contain some key piece of unknown evidence that could shed new light on the plot. However, if the memo was, as we suspect, simply a written list of conspirators that contained Thomas Hickey’s name, that would justify the handwritten note without substantially altering the scope of what we know about the conspiracy.

  “showed and gave to”: Ibid. The full sentence in the congressional record refers to “a piece of paper (as they showed and gave the examinant, and is by him delivered to the committee)”

  two Continental soldiers had indeed been arrested: Nathanael Woodbull to GW, JPC, 394.

  resolved to send the two soldiers back to the army: Ibid.

  “The charge of secrecy was given”: JPC, 1: 497.

  “Ordered, that Mr. Ph. Livingston”: Ibid.

  separate confidential records: The standard records for the New York Provincial Congress, archived in the volumes called Journal of the New York Provincial Congress, Provincial Convention, Committee of Safety and Council of Safety of New York State, 1775–1777 do not include the transcripts or other records from the Committee on Conspiracies. The latter records were later archived by the New York Secretary of State’s office in a volume called Calendar of Historical Manuscripts, Relating to the War of the Revolution, in the Office of the Secretary of State. Both publications are listed in this book’s bibliography, and referenced frequently in these notes.

  Some of the most critical and sensitive information: As we’ll soon discuss, no records were kept of what must have been dramatic first interrogations of the suspected Life Guards themselves: Hickey, Green, Lynch, Johnson, and Barnes. In fact, there is no record of anything said by Lynch, Johnson, and Barnes at all. Similarly, there are no records of the top investigators and officers discussing or debating the evidence of the case.

  “Rifle-men … Cape Cod men”: JPC, 1: 497.

  The chairman of the Dutchess County Committee of Safety: JPC, 1: 499.

  “The militia in the county”: Ibid.

  “to confer with General Washington”: AA, 6: 1412.

  “I have been up to view the grounds about King’s Bridge”: GW to John Hancock, 20 June 1776, PGWR, 5: 55–58.

  “Our affairs are hastening to a crisis”: John Hancock to New York Provincial Congress, 4 June 1776, AA, 6: 1377–1378.

  “It is to be hoped that, if our cause is just”: GW to John Augustine Washington, 4 June 1776, PGWR, 4: 411–414.

  “We have nothing, my dear sir, to depend upon”: The anecdote portrayed in this chapter is difficult to verify, although it was often repeated in texts from the time. GW to John Adams, 15 April 1776. Ibid., 67.

  He had been sent by his boss: The details of Leary’s story are taken directly from his testimony before Jay and Morris, CHM, 1: 342–343.

  “took hold of Benjamin”: Ibid.

  “go on board the Man-o-War”: Ibid.

  “employed by the Mayor or Governor”: Ibid.

  “expected a large body of men to join them from Goshen”: Ibid.

  “employed by the Mayor or Governor”: JPC, 1: 499.

  Mason’s story, like Leary’s: The details of Mason’s story are taken directly from his testimony before Jay and Morris. Ibid., 344–345.

  “Governor Tryon would give five Guineas bounty”: Ibid.

  “employed by the Governor”: Ibid.

  “qualified”: Ibid.

  “short, thick man”: Ibid.

  “Gilbert Forbes is at the head [with] the Mayor & the Governor”: Ibid.

  “Green of the General’s Guards”: Ibid.

  “one Hickey of the General’s Guards”: Ibid.

  “one Barnes of the General’s Guards”: Ibid.

  “is to have one dollar per man”: Ibid.

  “Sir: Whereas David Mathews”: Jay, Morris, and Livingston to GW, 21 June 1776. Ibid., 347.

  “General Greene is desired to have”: GW to Nathanael Greene, 21 June 1776. Ibid.

  “surround his house”: Nathanael Greene, 22 June 1776. Ibid.

  “seized his person precisely”: Ibid.

  “Vigilant search was made”: Ibid.

  When the Committee on Conspiracies convenes: The nine-member committee convenes that Saturday morning for a session, and meanwhile Jay and Morris convene separately to conduct a series of examinations related to the plot. Ibid., 347–350.

  another Continental soldier: Examination of Thomas Fletcher, 22 June 1776. Ibid., 350.

  “List of Tories in New York and Orange County”: The list can be seen in ibid., 351.

  “Some days past, the General”: Webb’s journal entry is written as June 21, 1776, but the actual date must be June 22. He writes of David Mathews having already been arrested, which did not occur until the early morning of June 22. The entry is found in Samuel Webb, Correspondence and Journals of Samuel Blachley Webb, ed. Worthington Chauncey Ford (New York: Wickersham Press, 1893.), 1: 148–149.

  “To our great astonishment”: Ibid.

  “This day a most horrid plot was discovered”: William Heath, 22 June 1776. William Heath Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.

  “on Broadway, across from Hull’s Tavern”: Examination of James Mason, 20 June 1776, CHM, 1: 344–345.

  From the start of the examination: Details are taken directly from Mathews’s examination before the Committee on Conspiracies, 23 June 1776. Ibid., 354–355.

  “the Governor took him into a private room”: Ibid.

  “Governor Tryon had put a matter on his shoulders”: Ibid.

  a rather convoluted account: In addition to Mathew’s examination, some interesting details about the transaction can be found in the later examination of the acquaintance—a man named George Brewerton—who helped Mathews locate Forbes. Brewerton’s examination is found in ibid., 363–364.

  “he would be hanged if he was found out”: Examination of Mathews, ibid., 354–355.

  “begged of him to desist”: Ibid.

  “has no further knowledge”: Ibid.

  including the recruiter William Farley: The examination of Farley (aka William Forbes) is in ibid., 356.

  obtained by the Pennsylvania Journal: Taken from Frank Moore, Diary of the Revolution: A Centennial Volume Embracing the Current Events in Our Country’s History from 1775 to 1781 (Hartford, CT: J. B. Burr, 1876), 256n2.

  “Yesterday the General’s housekeeper”: Ibid. The letter is also found in AA, 6: 1054, with the title “Extract of a Letter Dated New York, June 24, 1776.”

  “occasion to part … inconvenience”: GW to James Clinton, 28 June 1776, PGWR, 5: 132.

  various infamous theories: We’ll address some of these theories in chapter 80 of this book.

  According to one version of events: The anecdote portrayed in this chapter has not been fully verified, although it was often repeated in texts from the time. The story comes primarily from the extract of an anonymous letter, 24 June 1776, AA, 6: 1054.

  “his time was very short,”: Ibid.

  279“This had the desired effect”: Ibid.

  save his formal examination for later: Forbes’s official examination before the Committee on Conspiracies will occur several days later, on June 29, 1776 (CHM, 1: 372). As we’re about to see, before this formal examination Forbes will be asked to provide more limited testimony.

  PART V: Sacricide

  He was originally from Ireland … Wethersfield: Details taken from Benson J. Lossing, “Washington’s Life Guard,” Historical Magazine 2, no. 5 (May 1858): 131. Lossing’s account of the plot is unreliable, but the depiction of Hickey’s background is generally accepted.

  “dark hair”: Ibid.

  “enemies of the Colonies”: The resolution
was drafted by the Continental Congress on June 24, 1776, and brought in session before the New York Provincial Congress on June 26. JPC, 1: 506.

  These are the thirteen officers who are called to serve: The list of officers and other details of the court-martial are from AA, 1: 1084–1086.

  “Thomas Hickey, a private sentinel”: Ibid., 1085.

  “[A]bout three weeks ago”: Deposition of William Green. Ibid.

  “I asked him where the money”: Ibid.

  “Forbes left it with me to inlist and swear the men”: ibid.

  “Hickey agreed to the scheme”: Ibid.

  “I was pleased with the notion”: Ibid.

  “I mentioned the matter … to Hickey”: Ibid.

  “A night or two after General Washington arrived”: Deposition of Gilbert Forbes. Ibid.

  “But in repeated applications from him”: Ibid.

  “In a day or two Green gave me”: Ibid.

  “I received upwards of a hundred pounds”: Ibid.

  “In different conversations he informed me”: Deposition of Isaac Ketcham, ibid., 1086.

  “asked me to be one of them”: Ibid.

  “eight of the General’s Guard”: Ibid.

  “[T]he enemy would soon arrive”: Deposition of William Welch, ibid., 1085.

  “I did not relish the project”: Ibid.

  “The prisoner being here called”: Ibid., 1086.

  “The Court being cleared”: Ibid.

  “The General communicated to the Council”: Council of War, 27 June 1776, PGWR, 5: 114–116.

  “Thomas Hickey belonging to the General’s Guard”: GW, General Orders, 27 June 1776. Ibid., 112–113.

  “all the officers and men off duty”: Ibid.

  This particular morning Washington updates Hancock: GW to John Hancock, 28 June 1776. Ibid., 132–136.

  “Congress I doubt not will have heard”: Ibid.

  “The plot had been communicated”: Ibid.

  “I am hopeful this example”: Ibid.

  present-day Grand and Chrystie Streets: Lossing, “Washington’s Life Guard,” 131.

  close to twenty thousand people: Crowd size as reported at the time by the Constitutional Gazette, New York City, 29 June 1776.

  “twenty men, from each Brigade”: GW, General Orders, 27 June 1776, PGWR, 5: 112–113.

  “He appeared unaffected and obstinate”: Letter of William Eustis, 28 June 1776, New England Historical and Genealogical Register 23, no. 1 (1869): 208.

  “With his last breath”: Ibid.

  “By virtue of, and in obedience to”: Warrant signed by Provost Marshal William Morony, 28 June 1776, AA, 6: 1120.

  “The unhappy fate of Thomas Hickey”: GW, General Orders, 28 June 1776, PGWR, 5: 129–130.

  “And in order to avoid those crimes”: Ibid.

  “This forenoon, was executed in a field…”: Quoted from Moore, The Diary of a Revolution, 256–257.

  “ministerial myrmidons”: The word “myrmidon” refers to an ancient Greek legend about a race of ant-people created by the Gods. “Ministerial” refers to the British monarchy, so the writer is essentially comparing the coming British soldiers to ants who work in service to the King.

  “A hellish plot has been lately discovered”: Joseph Hewes to Samuel Johnston, 8 July 1776. AA, 5th Series, 1: 117.

  “Their design was upon the first engagement”: Letter of William Eustis, New England Historical Register, 208.

  “any set of men could be so lost”: Ibid.

  “It is hoped the remainder”: Quoted from Chernow, Hamilton, 76.

  100,000 copies in three months: Beeman, Our Lives, Our Fortunes, 320.

  “not only of her Parliament but of her Crown”: John Adams to Abigail Adams, 17 May 1776, Adams Papers, Adams Family Correspondence, 1: 410–412.

  “Objects of the most stupendous magnitude”: John Adams to William Cushing, 9 June 1776, Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, 4: 244–246.

  After circling back and communicating: Joseph Davison to GW, 27 June 1776, PGWR, 5: 119–120.

  The Greyhound was last spotted: Ibid.

  he quickly sends messages: For example, GW to William Livingston of New Jersey; GW to Massachussetts General Court, both 28 June 1776 (PGWR, 5: 136–139). The next day Washington will write similar letters to officials in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

  “upstairs in an out-house”: Daniel McCurtain, 29 June 1776. Quoted from Schecter, The Battle for New York, 99.

  “in about ten minutes the whole bay”: Ibid.

  between forty and fifty ships: McCullough, 1776, 134.

  now it’s over one hundred ships: Ibid., 135.

  vacates New York city … away from battle: JPC, 1: 512.

  Washington sends messages: See GW to John Hancock, 30 June 1776, PGWR, 5:159–60; GW to John Hancock, 14 August 1776, PGWR 6:22–25; for more on the volume of ships arriving see McCullough, 146–148.

  “The time is now near at hand”: GW General Orders, 2 July 1776, PGWR, 5: 179–182.

  “lie on the table”: Department of State, The Declaration of Independence 1776 (Washington, DC: Literal Print, 1911), 10.

  On July 2, after furious debates: Ibid.

  for another few weeks: Ellis, Revolutionary Summer, 61.

  “dainty food of reconciliation”: GW to John Augustine Washington, 31 May 1776, PGWR, 4: 411–414.

  he orders each brigade of soldiers: GW, General Orders, 9 July 1776, ibid., 5: 245–247.

  Tuesday, July 9, 1776: Ellis, Revolutionary Summer; 71. A few sources differ on the exact date, and suggest Washington receiving his copy of the Declaration one day earlier, on July 8 (Chernow, Washington, 237).

  the troops converge on the Commons: McCullough, 137.

  the entire crowd … lets out a massive cheer: See for example Schecter, Battle of New York, 102.

  Tear down the massive lead statue: See for example Joseph Ellis, Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.), 72. One of many contemporary accounts of this night is found in Moore, Diary of the American Revolution, p. 270–271.

  head in a wheelbarrow: Detail is from Solomon Drowne to William Drowne, 13 July 1776, in New York City During the American Revolution, Mercantile Library Association, ed. (New York: Mercantile Library Association, 1861), 80.

  PART VI: Aftermath

  over four hundred British ships: Schecter, Battle of New York, 4.

  a total of roughly 34,000: Ibid.

  too few troops stationed on Long Island. See for example McCullough, 1776, 152.

  In the so-called Battle of Brooklyn: Several details of the Battle of Brooklyn taken from Schecter, Battle for New York, 146–153.

  kept far too many troops in Manhattan: For more on Washington’s decision to divide his troops, and of his other mistakes, see Ellis, His Excellency, 95–96. Also Schecter, Battle for New York, 147-153.

  One noteworthy example: Irving, Life of Washington, 2: 215.

  with the plate of lethal peas in front of him: A classic version of the poisoned peas story, and the one that arguably started the rest, is reported in Benson J. Lossing, “Washington’s Life Guard,” Historical Magazine 2, no. 5 (May 1858): 131.

  daughter of Samuel Fraunces: Ibid.

  Minutes of a Conspiracy Against the Liberties of America: There are a few versions of this unusual text, sometimes containing different titles. A relatively accessible edition from the 19th century is Minutes of a Conspiracy Against the Liberties of America (Philadelphia: John Campbell, 1856). The originally-published British version is called Minutes of the Trial and Examination of Certain Persons in the Province of New York, Charged with Being Engaged in a Conspiracy Against the Authority of Congress, and the Liberty of America. (London: J. Bew, 1786).

  Two fictional women: For the fictionalized testimony concerning Mary Gibbons and “Judith,” see Minutes of a Conspiracy, 20–25.

  “most hellish report that has been propagated”: David Mathews to John McKessen, 20 August 1776
, Force, AA, 5th Series, 1: 1085.

  “You well know the cause of that treatment”: Letter to David Mathews, 28 August 1776. Ibid., 1: 1551.

  “formed a plan for the taking of Mr. Washington:”: Quoted from McBurney, Abductions in the American Revolution, 16.

  a plan to kidnap him … more likely: Writers who take the general position that the goal of the plot was most likely to kidnap Washington include Christian McBurney in Abductions in the American Revolution: Attempts to Kidnap George Washington, Benedict Arnold and other Military and Civilian Leaders (2016) and John Bakeless in Turncoats, Traitors, and Heroes: Espionage in the American Revolution (1998).

  they would be hanged as traitors: Early in the war, while Washington’s army was still in Boston, the British Commander Thomas Gage used colorful language to inform Washington and other colonial leaders of the potential fate of prisoners of war: “your prisoners, whose lives by the laws of the land are destined to the cord” (Thomas Gage to GW, 13 August 1775, PGWR, 301–302). In other words, captured rebels can expect to be hanged as traitors. Washington himself also voiced this assumption; see Chernow, Washington, 237.

  captured officers like Charles Lee: Maj. Gen. Charles Lee was captured by the British in New Jersey, in December 1776. After over a year of negotiations between the two armies, the British exchanged Lee back to the Americans in exchange for a British general named Richard Prescott. See for example Jared Sparks, Lives of Charles Lee and Joseph Reed (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1864), 143–153.

  “Mathews was installed”: New York City Parks Department. https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/matthews-muliner-playground/history.

  crafted by a playwright: The Joseph Addison play Cato, a Tragedy, written in 1712 but popular during the Revolution, contains the line “what a pity it is/that we can die but once to serve our country.”

  spies and double agents known as the “Culper Ring”: Two recent books that explore the Culper Ring are Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution (New York: Penguin Group, 2013) and Kenneth A. Daigler, Spies, Patriots, and Traitors: American Intelligence in the Revolutionary War (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2014).