Americas First Traitor

On the night of October 3, 1775, in a drafty room at Cambridge, George Washington set a single ciphered letter on the table. By morning it would put a name to betrayal, Dr. Benjamin Church, the polished Boston physician who ran the army’s hospitals and wore patriot credentials like a second coat. The letter’s road curled through Newport, then into Washington’s hands, where Samuel West, Elbridge Gerry, and Elisha Porter teased its meaning from a tangle of symbols. Out spilled numbers, supplies, plans, and a plea for a safe channel. The council called it criminal. Congress soon sharpened the Articles of War, and the revolution taught itself to guard the inside of the camp as tightly as the lines outside. Tonight we follow the paper trail, weigh Church’s defense, and take the measure of Washington’s response. No melodrama, only facts, consequences, and the cold comfort that comes when a young cause learns to grow up.