Stephen Sayre
Encyclopedia
Stephen Sayre was a member of a thousand-strong American community living in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the time of the outbreak of the War of Independence
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
in 1775. A close associate of John Wilkes
John Wilkes
John Wilkes was an English radical, journalist and politician.He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives...
, the radical Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
, Sayre, a merchant and a city sheriff, is alleged to have planned to kidnap George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
with the help of the London mob. The King was to be taken to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, before being bundled off to his ancient patrimony in Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
.
Details of this improbable scheme were revealed to the British government in October 1775 by Lord Rochford
William Nassau de Zuylestein, 4th Earl of Rochford
William Henry Nassau, 4th Earl of Rochford, PC, KG was a British courtier, diplomat and statesman of Anglo-Dutch descent. He occupied senior ambassadorial posts at Madrid and Paris, and served as Secretary of State in both the Northern and Southern Departments...
, the minister responsible for domestic security. It was a time of acute political tension, and the authorities were already alert to the possibility of some form of subversive action. In the Proclamation of Rebellion
Proclamation of Rebellion
The Proclamation of Rebellion, officially titled A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, was the response of George III of the United Kingdom to the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill at the outset of the American Revolutionary War. Issued August 23, 1775, it declared elements of the...
, issued in the autumn, the population was asked to be aware of "diverse wicked and desperate Persons", and asked to inform the authorities of any "traitorous Conspiracies and Attempts against Us, Our Crown and Dignity."
Planning treason
That same month Sayre had a meeting in a London coffeehouse with Lieutenant Francis Richardson, a fellow American who also happened to be serving in the British Army as an adjutantAdjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
in the Tower. Sayre, needing Richardson's support, told him that plans had been laid to intercept George on his way to the State Opening of Parliament
State Opening of Parliament
In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the House of Lords Chamber, usually in November or December or, in a general election year, when the new Parliament first assembles...
on 26 October. The intention was to hold him prisoner in the Tower, while the mob armed themselves with the weapons from the arsenal. Lord Mayor Wilkes, according to Sayre, approved of the scheme, and a proclamation would be issued in the name of the conspirators annulling the authority of all those in civil or military office of whom they disapproved. Richardson was asked to bribe the Tower guards not to resist, and to ensure that the gates were open on the day in question. To secure his co-operation, Sayre appealed to him as an American patriot and a true Briton, because a change of political direction was necessary to avoid the ruin of both countries.
Sayre's arrest
Unfortunately for Sayre, Richardson's loyalty to the crown outweighed any sympathy he may have had for the Colonial struggle. Mindful of the Proclamation of Rebellion, he immediately reported the matter to his commanding officer, who took him to Rochford. With the opening of Parliament fast approaching, Rochford decided to act, though he was initially concerned that the evidence was not strong enough. On Monday, 23 October, Sayre was arrested on a charge of high treasonHigh treason in the United Kingdom
Under the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; having sexual intercourse with the sovereign's consort, with his eldest unmarried daughter, or with the wife of the heir to the...
. His papers were searched, and he was then taken to Rochford's office, where he denied all knowledge of the alleged plot. After this, he was committed to the Tower, while Rochford did his best to uncover some form of corroboration. By now the London press had got hold of the story, and immediately dismissed the whole thing as a political farce. Sayre had been arrested, so it was reported, "upon an Information so romantic, so foolish, so absurd, that if they thought the Accused could have done what he was charged with, he ought to have been committed to Bedlam
Bethlem Royal Hospital
The Bethlem Royal Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in London, United Kingdom and part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Although no longer based at its original location, it is recognised as the world's first and oldest institution to specialise in mental illnesses....
, not the Tower."
Beyond passing unfavourable comment on the particular circumstances of the arrest, the newspapers moved on to consider the wider political implications of Rochford's precipitate action, commenting on the abuse of executive authority, and forms of arbitrary power that had turned England into France, and the Tower into the Bastille
Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. The Bastille was built in response to the English threat to the city of...
. This was, so it was said, "French Law". Despite the growing criticism, Rochford continued to hold his prisoner, though the charge was reduced from high treason to one of "treasonable practices". Two days after the opening of Parliament, with no further evidence coming forward, Sayre was finally released from the Tower, on payment of a bail of £1000, a very high figure for the day.
Rochford's retreat
With Parliament opened, and the King safely back in Buckingham HouseBuckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, serious questions started to be asked about the exact nature of Rochford's 'emergency.' In the Cabinet
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
he was increasingly isolated, as his fellow ministers stepped back from the whole affair in an attempt to minimise the political damage. Finally, on November 7, the hapless minister resigned for reasons of 'ill health.' Soon after Sayre was released, all charges against him having been dropped, and the bail returned. He then began his counter-attack, commencing legal action against the former minister. In the end, though the law was on his side, the action came to nothing, because the escalation of the war in North America turned Sayre from a defender of liberty, in the mould of John Wilkes, into an enemy alien.
Rochford has been blamed, both then and since, for acting in such a manner on the flimsiest of evidence. However, he had in his possession information of a sensitive nature which could not be made public, but which nevertheless gave him reason to hold Sayre in the highest suspicion. For some time before the events in question Sayre's correspondence, together with that of other suspect Americans in London, had been intercepted by the intelligence agencies of the day
Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War
Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War was essentially monitored and sanctioned by the Continental Congress to provide military intelligence to the Continental Army to aid them in fighting the British during the American Revolutionary War...
. Military advice was being sent to Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and arms shipments were being arranged from Holland
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Sayre and others had spoken of the need to replace George III as king. At the beginning of 1777 fresh accusations arose, this time implicating Sayre in a plot to assassinate George. In the event, the government, having been burned once, decided to take no action.
Roving rebel
Sayre left England in the summer of 1777, going on to serve the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a diplomatic agent in various parts of Europe, from Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
to Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, where he tried unsuccessfully to charm the Empress Catherine
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
. Still later he was to become an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, even attempting to arrange American weapons for the French Army. He was also active in diplomatic efforts to prevent hostilities between Britain and the new French Republic, which failed when the two countries went to war
French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1793
The French Revolutionary Wars continued from 1792, with new powers entering the First Coalition after the execution of King Louis XVI. Spain and Portugal entered the coalition in January 1793, and on 1 February France declared war on Great Britain and the Netherlands.At the opening of the year,...
in February 1793. Back in the United States he continued to argue the French case, giving him the reputation of a political extremist, which seemed to be confirmed by his hostility to the emerging Federalist Party
Federalist Party (United States)
The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...
. Disappointed in his attempts to obtain a position within the federal government, he finally retired to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, where he died in 1818.
Conspiracy or hoax?
A definitive conclusion to the "Sayre Plot" remains unclear. It has been suggested that the whole thing was nothing more than an elaborate hoaxHoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
, intended to test the constitutionality of the emergency provisions within the newly issued Proclamation of Rebellion. There were significant sections of London opinion, including Lord Mayor Wilkes, sympathetic to the cause of the disaffected colonialists, and who may very well have wished to embarrass the government, and possibly bring a change of political direction. There was a precedent here in Wilkes' prosecution for seditious libel
Seditious libel
Seditious libel was a criminal offence under English common law. Sedition is the offence of speaking seditious words with seditious intent: if the statement is in writing or some other permanent form it is seditious libel...
in 1763, over the publication of the infamous issue 45 of North Briton
The North Briton
The North Briton was a radical newspaper published in 18th century London. The North Briton also served as the pseudonym of the newspaper's author, used in advertisements, letters to other publications, and handbills....
. Then "Wilkes and Liberty" was the war-cry of the London mob. The affair of 1775 certainly caused some temporary discomfiture; but there was no cry of "Sayre and Liberty" and no change of political direction. Events across the Atlantic
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
were moving too fast for that.