How Plot to Kill George Washington Unfolded

 
There are two versions of how the plot to murder George Washington first came to light in June 1776, precisely at the moment a large British invasion fleet was descending on New York harbor. In one, as fellow soldiers restrained him, private Thomas Hickey was forced to watch as suspected poisonous peas destined for his commander's table “were given to some hens … when they immediately sickened and died.”[1] At that, his stomach must have turned for their deaths assuredly sealed his fate had he confessed his own involvement. In the second scenario, Hickey and another soldier, both held in custody for passing counterfeit currency, were overheard making incriminating statements indicating that something untoward was about to descend on the rebel cause. Exposed at one of the most critical moments in the nation's early history, Hickey soon paid dearly for his actions, becoming the first member of the American military ever executed for treasonous conduct.