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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Author’s Note
Notes on the Text
Epigraph
Prologue—New York, April 1776
PART I: The Commander
Prelude
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
PART II: Spies in Boston
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
PART III: A Bloody Summer
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
PART IV: A Most Infernal Plot
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
PART V: Sacricide
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
PART VI: Aftermath
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Acknowledgments
Cast of Characters
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Also by Brad Meltzer
About the Authors
Copyright
THE FIRST CONSPIRACY. Copyright © 2018 by Forty-four Steps, Inc. All rights reserved. For information, address Flatiron Books, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Portrait here courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of History. Recruitment poster image here © Everett Historical / Shutterstock. Forty-shilling image here is from the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution. Banner image here is from The Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution. 2 vols. New York: Harper, 1851–52. Rifle image here courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio. Musket image here © Ken Backer / Dreamstime.com. Bayonet image here courtesy of Skinner, Inc. www.skinnerinc.com. John Jay portrait here © New-York Historical Society.
Cover design by Keith Hayes
Cover photograph of unfinished portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart © H. Armstrong Roberts / CiussicStock / Getty Images
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The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-13033-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-23122-2 (signed edition)
ISBN 978-1-250-13034-1 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250130341
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First Edition: January 2019
* “Tory” is another common term used to describe British sympathizers within the colonies during this period. Although “Tory” refers specifically to the pro-Crown political party, and “Loyalist” is a more general term, the two words are often interchangeable.
† Pomeranians are today a smaller breed of dog, usually with a maximum size of eight pounds. In the eighteenth century, however, the average size of the breed was significantly larger.
‡ “Gouverneur” is Morris’s actual first name—it’s derived from his mother’s maiden name—and has nothing to do with the public title “Governor.”
§ For unknown reasons, Philip Livingston convenes with the main body of the congress on this day, and does not join Jay and Morris in their examination of William Leary and James Mason. In most future examinations connected to the plot, all three members of the secret subcommittee will be present.
* The original provenance of the portrait was based on an inked inscription that appears on the back: “Govr Wm Tryon of No Carolina J. Wollaston, pint. Anno D. 1767.” The inscription refers to John Wollaston, a popular portrait artist of the day. However, according to researchers at the State Library of North Carolina, where the painting is housed, there is no evidence that in 1767 either Wollaston or Tryon visited New York City, where the painting was purportedly executed. In other words, the inscription could be an error or a fraud. If so, the subject is someone else and there may be no surviving portrait of Tryon.