Treason in the Ranks: The Plot to Assassinate George Washington

In June 1776, the Revolutionary cause hung by a thread. The Continental Army had taken up precarious positions in New York, where Loyalists vastly outnumbered Patriots, and where British warships gathered ominously off Staten Island. Amid this tension, a conspiracy emerged—one that reached into General George Washington’s own household guard and threatened the life of the commander himself.

Washington and His Life Guard

General George Washington, appointed commander-in-chief in 1775, had already endured the privations of the Boston siege and now faced an even greater test. When his army moved to defend New York, he sought to secure his person and headquarters by creating an elite unit known as the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard, commonly called Washington’s Life Guard.

Formed in March 1776, the Guard was composed of about 50 carefully chosen men—“sober, young, active, and well-made,” according to Washington’s orders—drawn from each regiment. They were tasked to protect the General, his papers, and the army’s treasury. To serve in the Guard was considered a mark of honor and trust.

Among those selected was Private Thomas Hickey, an Irish-born soldier who had once served in the British Army. Charismatic and trusted at first, Hickey seemed the model of discipline. But by early June, he had been arrested for passing counterfeit money, and while imprisoned, his seditious boasting revealed something far darker.

John Jay and the Committee for Detecting Conspiracies

At this same time, the Provincial Congress of New York, aware of the city’s divided loyalties, appointed a Committee for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies—an early counter-intelligence body headed by John Jay.

Jay, a 30-year-old lawyer and rising statesman, would later become the nation’s first Chief Justice, but in 1776 he acted as the Revolution’s first “spy catcher.” His committee investigated Loyalist plots, intercepted correspondence, and conducted interrogations in coordination with Continental authorities.

When reports reached the committee of possible treachery within Washington’s own guard, Jay oversaw inquiries that exposed what newspapers would later call “The Hickey Plot.”

The Conspiracy Unfolds

According to testimony and later accounts:

• May 1776 – Loyalist networks in New York, allegedly financed by Mayor David Mathews and Royal Governor William Tryon (then aboard a British ship), conspired to subvert the Continental Army from within.
• Early June 1776 – Private Hickey and several others were arrested for counterfeiting and, during questioning, implicated themselves in a broader design to “deliver the city to the enemy.”
• Mid-June 1776 – Evidence suggested that Hickey and confederates within the Life Guard intended to aid British forces and possibly seize or assassinate Washington when the invasion began.
• June 26 1776 – A general court-martial tried Hickey on charges of mutiny, sedition, and treachery.
• June 28 1776 – Hickey was executed by hanging before an estimated crowd of 20,000 near the Bowery in New York City—the first recorded execution for treason in the new nation.

Washington’s Response

Washington, ever measured, treated the affair as both warning and lesson. In his general orders following the execution, he wrote:

“The unhappy fate of Thomas Hickey, executed this day for mutiny, sedition, and treachery, the General hopes will be a warning to every soldier in the Army to avoid those crimes and all others so disgraceful to the character of a soldier and pernicious to his country… Nothing can be more fatal to an army than crimes of this kind.”

He reminded the troops that discipline and virtue were the pillars of liberty—and that the cause could fall from within as easily as from without.

July 9, 1776 — The Declaration Read to the Army

Just eleven days later, on July 9, Washington assembled his troops on the Commons in New York City. Before them, the Declaration of Independence—freshly adopted by Congress—was read aloud for the first time to the Continental Army.

The timing was deliberate and symbolic: treachery had been punished, and now the soldiers were called to unite under a new nation. Washington’s order to the army that day declared:

“The General hopes that this important Event will serve as a fresh incentive to every officer and soldier to act with fidelity and courage… knowing that now the peace and safety of his Country depends, under God, solely on the success of our arms.”

The men erupted in cheers, tearing down the leaden statue of King George III in Bowling Green to be melted into musket balls. The Revolution had declared itself in both spirit and steel.

Aftermath and Legacy

Though the precise scope of the “Hickey Plot” remains uncertain—some historians believe it was exaggerated to maintain morale—the episode demonstrated the fragility of the Patriot cause in 1776. The vigilance of John Jay’s committee and Washington’s swift enforcement of justice preserved the army’s unity at a critical moment.

The affair also marked an early milestone in American intelligence history: Jay’s committee prefigured the counter-espionage work that would later define the Revolution, from the Culper Spy Ring to Washington’s own secret correspondents.

For Washington, it was a grim reminder that leadership in revolution required not just courage, but constant watchfulness—even among one’s own guards.

Sources

• “The Plot to Assassinate George Washington,” History.com (A&E Networks, 2023)
• “Thomas Hickey (soldier),” Wikipedia
• “John Jay: Founding Father and Spy Catcher,” Defense Intelligence Agency Archives
• Washington’s General Orders, June 28 and July 9, 1776, Library of Congress
• “Plotting the Sacricide of George Washington,” Journal of the American Revolution, 2014

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