A secret meeting between Benjamin Franklin and French spy Julien-Alexandre Achard de Bonvouloir at Carpenters’ Hall in 1775 helped bolster America’s fight for independence, writes Michaela Althouse for PhillyVoice.
At the time, American colonists wanting to break away from Great Britain were gathering resources and preparing to fight for freedom. A pressing question was whether they could rely on support from Britain’s longtime enemy, France.
“The animosity between the two countries was seen as a possible opportunity for the Continental Congress, ‘the enemy of my enemy’ sort of thing,” said Michael Norris, executive director of Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia.
To gauge the support they may get from overseas, a group of Founding Fathers formed the Committee of Secret Correspondence, an early precursor to the Department of State.
The group’s efforts led to secret meetings between Franklin and de Bonvouloir in December 1775, securing a critical supply of ammunition and funding, now highlighted in Carpenters’ Hall’s Year of the Spy programs.
Activities include an espionage-themed book club through March, after-hour whiskey tours of the second floor in November, and a spy soiree with a screening of a film about the historic meetings in December.
Read more about the secret meetings Ben Franklin had the eventually led to America’s independence in PhillyVoice.
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on PHILADELPHIA Today in October 2025.
