By all accounts Isaac Ketcham was truly a scoundrel. What little history has recorded of his activities confirms that, although completely unintentional, and for the worst possible motives, he saved the Continental Army from certain destruction.
His story begins with another rogue, one Henry Dawkins, an English born New Yorker of less then sterling quality. For reasons unknown today, Henry was in the New York City Jail when the war broke out, and was released in 1776. Shortly after his release, Dawkins, an engraver by trade, decided to enhance his fortune by counterfeiting the new continental paper money. He enlisted the support of two brothers, Israel and Isaac Youngs. Henry convinced them to buy him a printing press and conceal it in the attic of their home, where he intended to set up his illegal operation.
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