America's First Traitor

Benjamin Church and the politics of American Independence

Benjamin Church is arguably America’s first traitor. At the very beginning of the American War of Independence, the prominent patriot and surgeon led a plot to send military information to British commanders in Boston. His plot failed, and he has been generally forgotten by popular recollection of the period. However Church is a compelling figure. There was no doubt that he understood that he was betraying people who trusted him, but it is difficult to discern his exact motives for doing what he did. His actions are telling of the uncertainty in 1775, a year in which war had broken out but it was not yet clear what that war meant. Was the conflict a war of independence at all or was it simply a large political crisis within the British Empire.

A Harvard educated physician, Benjamin Church was a prominent member of an old New England family. His grandfather had been a hero of King Phillips War(check). He was active in patriot causes and the Sons of Liberty. John Adams considered him a friend and he was made the first surgeon general of the continental army in 17XX.

Six months after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, in October 1775, British and rebel forces were dug in around Boston. The rebels were trying dislodge the British troops from the city. A friend of Church’s informed the rebel leadership that Church was attempting to smuggle a coded message to the British lines via his mistress, who was reportedly a prostitute. The woman was personally questioned by George Washington, and said that Church had asked her to deliver the message. Once the message was decyphered, it was shown to contain military information meant for the British commander Gage. Historians have discovered documents from British commanders that confirm Church was employed as a spy.

Church was tried by Congress and given a life sentence in prison[check source]. He was later allowed to live under house arrest. Eventually, in 1778 he was allowed to emigrate to the Caribbean, where he was lost at sea.

In hindsight it is easy to view the Church affair in the light of America’s successful bid for independence. Church betrayed his fellow patriots at a time when their whole enterprise was in jeopardy. Today it seems like an inevitability that the fighting around Boston would lead to the colonies declaring independence. However, at the time there were many that saw the fighting as a broader political crisis in the British Empire rather than the colonies making a break from Britain. The colonies were divided on the idea of independence. In the various congresses that convened after the fighting started around Boston, several colonies either instructed their delegates to be neutral on the subject of independence or came out against it outright. There were several attempts by the colonies as a whole to reconcile with Britain by appealing to the King directly, bypassing the parliament that was passing the legislation that was angering the colonies in the first place. The colonies would not agree to declare independence for almost another year.

Though there was widespread outrage at parliament’s treatment of the colonies, this did not necessarily translate into the desire for independence. It was possible to be an ardent critic of the British political system while still wanting to be a part of that system. Benjamin Church seems to have held these opinions at some level. While he was an active participant in the rough and tumble of political debate around the rights of the colonies, he seems to have disagreed with the idea of the war and the idea of independence enough to betray those that trusted him. His intercepted communication to the British Leadership not only contains military information about Washington’s army, but also a plea for Parliament to pull back from the pieces of offending legislation.

“for the Sake of the miserable convulsed Empire solicit Peace, repeal the Acts, or Britain is undone. this Advice is the Result of warm Affection to my King & to the Realm. Remember I never deceived you—every Article here sent you is sacredly true.”

In his defense, Church claimed that he was supplying false information to the enemy in order to aid the patriots. It has been argued (even by Church himself) that the information he was passing to the British was of very little practical value. However, the fact that the rebel leadership was unaware of his activity makes his defense of being a double agent lack credibility. Even if the information he provided was of no practical value to Gage, the information about the growing desire for independence and the suggested solution to the issue is politically valuable.

Ultimately Church’s trial before the Continental Congress was also dripping with the delicate politics of independence. Kiracofe argues that Congress could not try him for treason because there was technically no country to betray. The colonies were still a part of the British Empire, albeit a rebellious one. To convict him of treason would be a tacit declaration of independence, something even Massachusetts was unwilling to do in 1775. From a legal perspective, Church was aiding the crown against a group of rebels besieging a colonial city. However, the Colonial authorities needed to be seen to do something because of the popular outcry against his betrayal.

Benjamin Church exemplifies the pivotal time of 1775. War was testing the intellectual positions long argued over in pubs and coffee houses. The fighting around Boston forced those in the area to pick a side. No doubt that Church betrayed his fellows both politically and personally, but his betrayal is indicative of the wider split in the colonies at the time. The war had started, but the issue of independence was far from settled.

References

Kiracofe, David James. “Dr. Benjamin Church and the Dilemma of Treason in Revolutionary Massachusetts.” The New England Quarterly 70, no. 3 (1997): 443-62. doi:10.2307/366762.

“Enclosure: Benjamin Church to John Fleming, 23 July 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, accessed September 29, 2019, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0098-0002. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 2, 16 September 1775 – 31 December 1775, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1987, pp. 103–106.]

Kettell, Samuel, ed. Specimens of American Poetry. Boston: S. G. Goodrich & Co., 1829; Bartleby.com, 2010. www.bartleby.com/96/.

“To George Washington from Benjamin Church, 3 October 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, accessed September 29, 2019, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0084. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 2, 16 September 1775 – 31 December 1775, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1987, pp. 85–87.]

“Council of War, 3–4 October 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, accessed September 29, 2019, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0083. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 2, 16 September 1775 – 31 December 1775, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1987, pp. 82–85.]

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