THE FOUNDING FATHER WHO WAS A SPY

                If it wasn’t for a prostitute, we’d have one more Founding Father to idolize.  Benjamin Church should be mentioned with the likes of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, John Adams, and Joseph Warren.  Instead, his name is mentioned with Benedict Arnold.  Church was born in Rhode Island, the son of a merchant and deacon.  His wealthy family put him through Harvard and he became a doctor.  When trouble brewed between the colonies and Britain, he was a prominent patriot.  He joined the Sons of Liberty and was a member of the Committee of Correspondence.  He was elected to the Provisional Government of Massachusetts.  He examined the body of Crispus Attucks and treated the wounded of the Boston Massacre.  He was the keynote speaker for the third annual Massacre Day commemoration.  He was appointed the first Surgeon General for the Continental Army, but suspicions began to rise about his patriotism.  After Lexington and Concord, he insisted on making a trip into the besieged Boston.  He was spotted meeting with British General Gage.  He claimed he had been arrested and released.  In July, 1775, he sent a coded letter to Gage that was intercepted by a prostitute friend of Gage.  The letter found its way to Washington and when it was decoded, it included information about the strength of Washington’s army. It proclaimed his loyalty to England and asked for instructions.  A court of inquiry was called.  Church argued that he was presenting exaggerated information about the army to get Gage to forego an attack.  The court was not convinced and declared the letter to be “criminal correspondence”.  Church was put under guard and in 1778 he was banished.  On his way to Martinique, his ship disappeared.  For decades, historians disputed his guilt.  However, in the early 20^th Century, Gage’s personal files became available to historians.  This new information proved that Church was indeed a British spy.  And America’s first traitor. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Church_(physician)

https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/americas-first-traitor-d2afcb86d75