Presidents Day--1. Prager U Video 2. When Vigilance Saved General Washington's Life
1. Watch a Prager U Video I recorded and 2. Preview excerpt from my upcoming book, The Submarine and the Spies
Happy Presidents Day, the official recognition of George Washington’s birthday.
First, I recorded a video for Prager U on John Quincy Adams for Presidents Day. Enjoy!
Second, below is an excerpt about a real threat to George Washington from my upcoming fictionalized history book, The Submarine and the Spies.
For a limited time, I’m giving you a chance to receive a free, electronic advanced reader copy of The Submarine and The Spies to give you time to read the book before the late April/early May launch. Then when the book launches, I’ll let you know so you can provide an Amazon review if you wish. The publishing industry recommends that a book have at least 15 reviews at launch and suggests providing advance reader copies to special, selected audiences. That’s you!
If you want to receive a free online review copy, send an email to info@janecook.com before March 1, 2023, with the subject line: send me a review copy of The Submarine and the Spies.
Enjoy this excerpt.
Chapter 14: Point of No Return
New York City, New York, June 1776
Benjamin Tallmadge had never been more disturbed and shocked as a soldier in the Continental Army than he was on June 27, 1776, when he read General Washington’s daily orders.
“Thomas Hickey belonging to the General Washington’s guard having been convicted by a general court martial of the crimes of ‘sedition and mutiny, and also of holding a treacherous correspondence with the enemy, for the most horrid and detestable purposes,’ is sentenced to suffer death.”
The British are trying to assassinate General Washington, to take him out from within, Benjamin thought with horror as he understood the meaning of the general orders.
The reality of the situation stung Benjamin, as word quickly swept through camp about what had happened. Thomas Hickey had been one of General Washington’s guards, sworn to protect Washington’s life. Yet, he’d also been in the employment of New York’s Governor, William Tryon, and had corresponded with him for the purpose of killing George Washington.
General Nathaniel Woodhull, an officer who was part of the long-established Woodhull family of New York, was president of the New York Provincial Congress, which was the patriot’s governing body for New York. When Woodhull learned that Hickey had been attempting to use counterfeit money, he arrested him.
General Woodhull is the older cousin of my Yale classmate, Nathan Woodhull, Benjamin remembered. If there’s any family name synonymous with Long Island, it is the name Woodhull.
Woodhull had also imprisoned several others. One of these men, a patriot, who was in jail with Hickey, overheard Hickey discussing a plot that he’d been part of under Governor Tryon’s direction to sabotage patriot activities in New York. Hickey’s job was to assassinate Washington. Ever vigilant, this man told Woodhull about Tryon’s and Hickey’s plans. Because Hickey was a member of the Continental Army, Woodhull turned him over to a secret court martial that tried and convicted him of treason.
Spies. Hickey was a spy for Governor Tryon. I have spent so much of my time drilling and preparing for battle that it never occurred to me that the British would try to sabotage us from within. Praise be to God! It is a miracle that this dreadful plot was uncovered before it was too late! Benjamin thought with gratitude, learning that the assassination was to take place once the British fleet arrived two days later.
From the start of the war, General Washington had advised his soldiers to be vigilant. They were to march with guards in front and back and on their sides. They were to always have guards on duty. “It will be necessary to be very vigilant against a surprise, particularly from a sudden movement of the enemy,” Washington had warned his soldiers. Vigilance was their watchword. Now the vigilance of one patriot had saved Washington’s life.
About the Submarine and the Spies
The Submarine and the Spies is an historical fiction novel adapted from a true story for ages 12 and up. Three friends from Yale College must leave their world of classical education to fight tyranny in the American Revolution. Their heroes’ journey places them on the battlefield, in the shadows as a spy, and underwater in a submarine. Along the way, they discover the virtues of friendship and vigilance.
Will the spirit of 1776 be alive in 2026, the 250th birthday of the United States?
American history has been under attack in the past several years. My goal is to bring the story of the American Revolution to Americans through a variety of books targeted to different audiences to show the many examples of tyranny behind our war for independence. Please join me in spreading these stories far and wide in the lead up to 2026.