Dr. Benjamin Church

Although not as notorious as Benedict Arnold, he earned the unpleasant distinction of being the first American caught spying for the British. A physician from Boston, he had established powerful credentials as a patriot and zealot of the American Revolution. He was the first on hand to treat the wounded at the Boston Massacre. In 1775, coded documents he was transmitting to the British were intercepted and he was tried as a spy. Later convicted, he was spared the hanging sentence that George Washington requested.