The Guard Who Broke Ranks : Thomas Hickey, John Jay, and the Documented 1776 Plot Against George Washington

A traitor inside George Washington's personal guard. A wartime investigation led by John Jay. A city divided between revolution and loyalty to the Crown.

In June 1776, as British forces prepared to strike New York, authorities uncovered a suspected network of Loyalist recruiters, counterfeiters, political operatives, and soldiers willing to turn against the American cause. At the center stood Thomas Hickey, a member of Washington's own guard who would become the first soldier executed for treason during the Revolution.

But was this truly an assassination plot against Washington, or has history transformed a wartime security investigation into something larger?

Built from surviving records, military proceedings, congressional correspondence, and contemporary accounts, this investigative history follows the evidence wherever it leads, separating documented fact from patriotic legend.