This subtitle of this book is: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington. And while no one who knows anything at all about American history knows the plot did not succeed, who even knew there was a plot? In fact, that seems to be why the author wrote the book in the first place. Meltzer states in the introduction that he found a reference to some kind of plot in a footnote, but then couldn’t find much more about it. So, he and Mensch wrote a book about it themselves. If you are looking for a fresh take on history about our Revolutionary War, then this book is well written and researched. The authors take several different pieces of the conspiracy, track them through time, and show how each piece fit together. And how when one little piece of the plot is exposed, the whole thing comes apart. And the thing that caused the plot to be exposed was not something anyone could have predicted.
Of course, we have all heard that there were Loyalists in the Colonies before and during the war. And you can see their point of view. Many were employed by, or at least profited from, the English who ran the colonies. And the odds of winning any conflict were definitely in favor of the larger and more experienced of the two combatants. But I think I mainly thought of Loyalists as just civilians getting in the way of the battles. And other than Benedict Arnold, I had no idea they worked against the Continental Army. Or at least, not with a leader at the top trying to direct the action, with people being actively recruited to join. Then, as now, money sometimes eclipses patriotism.
One point the authors make is, what if the plotters had succeeded? Washington, soon after he assumed command of the army, became not only the face of the army, but also the symbol of resistance throughout the Colonies. It is not only hard to imagine the United States without Washington as our first president, but also, could we have won the war without him? In addition to Washington surviving and going on the Presidency, another thing that came out of this incident was that the small, secret group that was put together to investigate once a few details started to come out, was the beginning of a counter-intelligence agency in the United State.
If this was your family, how would you research them? You may already know if you have ancestors who served in the Revolution. The Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution has wonderful resources for these records. But what if you suspect you ancestor sided with the British? One place to check would be land records. Many Loyalists fled to Canada, although not everyone who relocated after the war was a Loyalist. Some people who lost property in the war petitioned the British government for reimbursement. If you think your ancestor may have actually fought on the British side, you could check British or Canadian military records.