The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington

What made him great—at least in the particular circumstances of the Revolutionary War—was his sheer staying power, his total devotion to his army, his relentless sense of duty, and a stubborn refusal to ever give up.

Today, the Central Intelligence Agency acknowledges the Committee on Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies as the first dedicated intelligence agency, and credits John Jay as “America’s first counterintelligence chief” for his work creating the discipline almost from scratch during the early years of the Revolutionary War. The CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, even has a conference room named after Jay.

Before their departure, Washington had instilled in the other generals his conviction that anytime they appear in public, their presentation must be exemplary. In order to persuade young men to become soldiers—and to win the faith and confidence of the public—it is essential always to appear confident, to appear organized, and to appear disciplined, even under the worst circumstances.

Remarkably, the Continental army remains the most integrated fighting force in American history until the Vietnam War.

Over the years, George Washington develops such respect for John Jay that, when Washington becomes the first President of the United States in 1789, he gives Jay first choice of any position on his cabinet or in his administration. Jay, always ready to do the most serious work without public acclaim, chooses to be the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

A reputation for integrity and honor is something you can take anywhere, and it will never let you down.

That in our lowest moments, we can find our greatest strengths.

He has, as John Adams later puts it, the “gift of silence.”

The time is now near at hand, which must probably determine whether Americans are to be … consigned to a state of wretchedness, from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us no choice, but a brave resistance or the most abject submission. This is all that we can expect. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.

In all, Knox’s team hauled roughly 120,000 pounds of artillery (to put it in perspective, that’s about thirty modern full-size sedans) through mostly untamed wilderness over three hundred miles in the dead of winter, an eight-week journey the likes of which has never been undertaken before or since.