Snippet -- One Irishman who almost played a pivotal role in the American Revolution was Sgt. Thomas HICKEY. In the summer of 1776, as the British prepared to invade New York, Hickey hatched a plot to assassinate General George Washington. His motivation seems to have been sheer practicality. He correctly believed that Washington's army in NY would be swept aside by the far superior British forces, but incorrectly believed that the war would end soon thereafter. When the plot was exposed, Hickey was arrested along with another soldier, Private Michael LYNCH. Lynch was acquitted, but Hickey was convicted of mutiny and sedition and hanged on the Bowery Road before a crowd of thousands.