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Meltzer Brad - The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington

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Meltzer Brad The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington

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In 1776, an elite group of soldiers were handpicked to serve as George Washingtons bodyguards. Washington trusted them; relied on them. But unbeknownst to Washington, some of them were part of a treasonous plan. In the months leading up to the Revolutionary War, these traitorous soldiers, along with the Governor of New York William Tryon and Mayor David Mathews, launched a deadly plot against the most important member of the military: George Washington himself. This is the story of the secret plot and how it was revealed. It is a story of leaders, liars, counterfeiters, and jailhouse confessors. It also shows just how hard the battle was for George Washington--and how close America was to losing the Revolutionary War. Taking place during the most critical period of our nations birth, The First Conspiracy tells a remarkable and previously untold piece of American history that not only reveals George Washingtons character, but also illuminates the origins of Americas counterintelligence movement that led to the modern day CIA--.

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For Dale Flam, my mother-in-law, the quiet leader, who does all the heavy lifting, but never takes the credit.

B.M.

For Mary and Malcolm, with all my love.

J.M.

This book started as a detective story. Nearly a decade ago, I found my first clues where all the best clues are foundin the footnotes. I forget the name of the book, but there it was: a supposed plot to kill George Washington.

Naturally, I started with skepticism. Was this true, or just some overhyped myth? Weeks went by and I couldnt shake it. A bit of digging found small mentions in many scholarly works. Some called it a plot to kill George Washington; others said the goal was to seize or kidnap him, but I couldnt find an entire book written on the subject.

Searching for information, and wondering if this should be my new project, I eventually reached out to Pulitzer Prizewinning historian Joseph J. Ellis. As the author of His Excellency: George Washington, I thought hed know a thing or two about the subject. Naturally, hed heard the story. He was fascinated by it too, and when I told him I was thinking about writing a book about it, he warned me how hard the project would be. This was a story about espionagea secret plotand the clandestine investigation to stop that plot. For everyone involved, including George Washingtons inner circle, their entire purpose was to ensure there was no record of their actions. As Ellis told me that day, You can find the number of slaves at Mount Vernon; youll never find all his spies. By its nature, this is something that will always be elusive.

He was right. Thankfully, with the help of Josh Mensch, as well as historian and Washington expert Barnet Schecter, there was still plenty to find. Youll see the evidence in these pagesfrom private letters, to pension requests, to the transcripts of secret trialseach detail an additional puzzle piece.

Along the way, one key question remained: Were they trying to kill George Washington, kidnap him, or something else? The evidence, along with our analysis and conclusions, are in these pages, though whether it was killing or kidnapping, the result would most likely have been the same. During the Revolution, if those at the top level of American leadership were captured, they expected to be hanged as traitors. Only at lower levels were officers like Major General Charles Lee, Washingtons second-in-command, exchanged for their British counterparts. Does that tell us definitively what was in the heart of each and every conspirator back then? Of course not. Like Ellis said during our first conversation, some details are forever elusive.

In the end, youll see how the plot against George Washington was planned. Youll see how it was foiled. And most important, when it came to Washington himself, youll see how easily history couldve turned out differently.

Brad Meltzer

When quoting directly from eighteenth-century written sources, weve standardized the original spelling, capitalization, and punctuation to make the language more accessible to modern readers. The wording itself is not changed, unless otherwise indicated in the text or endnotes.

Also, many chapters begin with a heading that indicates the location, using the familiar City, State construction. The states were still colonies during most of the time period we cover, but because the colony and state names are the same in every case, weve opted to use the modern format.

We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.

ATTRIBUTED TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, JULY 4, 1776

New York, New York

April 1776

The trap is set.

Its quiet on this night. Moonlight shines over a clearing in a dense wood.

The silence is broken by the drumbeat of hooves in the distance, growing steadily louder. Soon several uniformed men on horseback emerge from the blackness. The party halts not far from a large wooden manor house that sits at the clearings edge. A few of the riders dismount and prime their muskets, standing guard. They scan the clearing, apparently thinking all is safe.

Theyre wrong.

A moment later, another rider steps down from his horse. Hes taller than the rest and wears a long officers coat.

His name is George Washington, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army.

There is a traitorous plan against him. He has no idea its coming.

For the last ten months, since the day he was appointed to his command, Washington has had a nearly impossible task: to organize a scattered mess of backwoods militias and untrained volunteers into a functioning national army. And not just any army. This small, inexperienced, poorly equipped group of soldiers needs to stand up to what is probably the biggest and most powerful military force in the world. By any normal measure, they dont stand a chanceand Washington knows this, just as he knows that with every decision he makes, thousands of young soldiers lives could be lost.

Tonight, even more is at risk.

Washington has just arrived in the western woods of Manhattan, about two miles north of New York Citys bustling commercial district, which covers the islands southern tip. Hes just finished a weeklong journey from Boston, and hes here now to fortify the city against the first major British offensive of the war. What hes facing is terrifying: Sometime in the next few weeks or months, a massive fleet of the vaunted British navy will swarm into New York Harborhundreds of ships and tens of thousands of soldiers prepared to invade the city.

Theyre coming. Its just a question of when.

The colonies have placed all their hope and trust in him. It is up to this one man, George Washington, to lead the small Continental army and withstand the massive attack.

Tonight, among the soldiers accompanying Washington, a few are dressed differently from the rest, in short blue-and-white coats with brass buttons. Theyre known as the Life Guards, an elite group of specially trained soldiers handpicked to serve as Washingtons bodyguards. He takes particular pride in these men, whom he trusts above all others.

In the faint moonlight, Washington walks slowly toward the nearby manor house that will serve as his lodging for the next few critical weeks before the British attack.

Yet what George Washington doesnt know is that here in Manhattan, the coming battle isnt the only thing he should fear.

There are other enemies waiting for himenemies more dangerous than even the British army.

At this exact moment, three miles away due southeast in New York Harbor, a ship is anchored in the darkness. On board is one of the most powerful men of the coloniesthe exiled Governor of New Yorkand he is masterminding a clandestine plan to sabotage the colonies rebellion. In the dead of night, small boats carrying spies shuttle back and forth to him, delivering intelligence from shore.

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