Benjamin Church (physician)

Benjamin Church
Posthumous portrait of Benjamin Church[1]
Committee of Safety
In office October 7, 1774 – July 19, 1775
Constituency	Boston
Deputy to the Provincial Congress
In office October 7, 1774 – July 19, 1775
Constituency	Boston
Personal details
Born	August 24, 1734 Newport, Colony of Rhode Island
Died	1778 (aged 43–44)
Other political affiliations	Sons of Liberty
Spouse	Hannah Hill ​ (m. 1754)​
Alma mater	Harvard College
Occupation	Doctor
Military service
Allegiance	Massachusetts Bay United Colonies Kingdom of Great Britain
Branch/service	Continental Army Medical Service British Army Spy
Rank	Chief Physician & Director General

Benjamin Church (August 24, 1734 – 1778) was effectively the first Surgeon General of the United States Army, serving as the "Chief Physician & Director General" of the Medical Service of the Continental Army from July 27, 1775, to October 17, 1775. He was also active in Boston's Sons of Liberty movement in the years before the war. However, early in the American Revolution, Church was also sending secret information to General Thomas Gage, the British commander, and when one of his letters into Boston was intercepted, he was tried and convicted of "communicating with the enemy". He was jailed but eventually released, likely dying somewhere in the Caribbean Sea in 1778.