American Brotherhood of Assassins

The Colonial Assassins were the Brotherhood of Assassins located in the British colonies of North America, which became the United States. They were separate from the French and Spanish Colonial Assassins, basing themselves at the Davenport Homestead in Massachusetts.

During the American Revolutionary War, the Assassins largely supported the colonies' bid for independence and helped them win many battles, though they were not beholden to them, assassinating Templars in the Continental Army or preventing casualties in the British Army.

History

Early history

Not much is known about how or when the Brotherhood was formed. Sometime between 1501 and 1503, the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze sent a group of Assassins to find a map to the New World, and they decided that it would be best to go to the colonies before the Templars overtook them. The British American Brotherhood was founded by John de la Tour after his arrival to the colonies.

After having been recruited in the 1730s, Achilles Davenport became the Mentor of the Colonial Assassins in 1746. Blessed with a talent for recruitment and organization, Achilles also strengthened the Brotherhood's ties with the Iroquois, and the Kanien'kehá:ka in particular. Around this time period, the Assassins created a Navy to attack Templar ships and ports: their flagship, the Aquila was launched from France in 1749.

Decline

In 1754, the Assassins hired a group of mercenaries to steal a chest owned by the Templar William Johnson, containing his research on the First Civilization sites in the region. A group of Templars led by the newly arrived Haytham Kenway attacked the fort where the research was being held and recovered it. Before departing, Haytham warned a surviving mercenary to inform his masters their time was over. The following year, Achilles lost his wife Abigail and son Connor to typhoid fever, weakening his resolve.

In 1763, the Templars launched an attack on the Assassins in the colonies and the Brotherhood was all but destroyed. All members of the chapter were hunted down and killed, except for Achilles, who was captured and tried by the Templars. However, confident that they had broken his spirit, the Templars set Achilles free on the condition that he abandon the Assassins' cause and live quietly in his manor. Five years later, the Templars destroyed the Aquila, and first mate Robert Faulkner had the ship towed into the Homestead's bay.

Revival

In 1769, the Kanien'kehá:ka boy Ratonhnhaké:ton was directed by Juno to join the Assassins. He convinced Achilles to begin training him after preventing mercenaries from seizing the Davenport Manor, and after a year of training, including how to captain the Aquila with Faulkner as his first mate, he joined the Brotherhood. He also invited civilians like Godfrey, Terry and Lance O'Donnell to live and work on the Homestead, providing materials and crafting equipment he would need.

In 1773, Connor had started recruiting locals and immigrants into the Order, starting with Stephane Chapheau a chef from Boston during the time that William Johnson had his men exorbitantly tax the people of the city. Both Chapheau and Connor participated in the Boston Tea Party, where they deprived Templars of certain funding. He also recruited Duncan Little and Clipper Wilkinson, after helping them respectively stop a gang terrorizing North Boston and forceful military drafters. Connor sent his men to stir up rebellion in other colonies, staging tea parties in New Jersey and Maryland.

American Revolution

The Assassins sided with the Patriots when the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775. Initially they aided in the capture of Fort St-Jean, but soon recognized the people of Quebec did not want independence and worked to prevent the misguided generals Richard Montgomery and William Thompson from conquering Canada. The Assassins also worked to relieve Boston during the siege, providing food and protection for civilians while helping Henry Knox transport artillery to Dorchester Heights, ending the British occupation of the city.

The Assassins came to New York City when Connor was being executed on false charges of plotting to kill George Washington. One of the Assassins fired an arrow, helping sever the noose, allowing Connor to escape and assassinate Thomas Hickey. Afterwards, the city fell to the British despite the Assassins' help winning the Battle of Harlem Heights. Connor visited and aided Jacob Zenger in ending martial law. He stopped a conspiracy to spread smallpox in the area damaged by the Great Fire with Jamie Colley, and assisted Deborah Carter in ridding the countryside of a Templar hoarding food supplies and selling them at inflated prices. The Brotherhood was strengthened by these three recruits.

In 1778, Connor broke ties with Washington after learning he ordered an attack on his village, and a few days later, the Assassins killed George Dorrance after learning he was responsible for displacing several Iroquois villages. Regardless, the Assassins continued to aid the Patriots as the war shifted to southern colonies like North Carolina and Georgia. They became particularly wary of a dangerous cavalry officer named Banastre Tarleton, and did everything they could to protect American officers who risked engaging him in battle.

The Assassins also remained active up north. Connor aided the French Navy in the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781, allowing him to enlist their help in the attack on Fort George in New York: Stephane, Deborah, Duncan and Jacob came to aid the Marquis de Lafayette in clearing the tunnels to the fort where Charles Lee was hiding. They were also sent to Yorktown, Virginia, where they infiltrated and sabotaged British fortifications to ensure a relatively quick surrender with limited casualties.

The following year, Connor assassinated Charles Lee, the last of Haytham's Templars, who had been attempting to build his own army to surprise the Founding Fathers in the wake of the de facto peace.

Members

• John de la Tour
• Achilles Davenport
• Robert Faulkner
• Atasá:ta's father
• Benjamin Tallmadge, Sr.
• Ratonhnhaké:ton
• Stephane Chapheau
• Duncan Little
• Clipper Wilkinson
• Deborah Carter
• Jacob Zenger
• Jamie Colley
• Caleb Garret
• Joe

Allies

• Kaniehtí:io
• Samuel Adams
• Benjamin Tallmadge
• Marquis de Lafayette
• Otho Williams
• Duncan McGill
• Emily Burke
• Fillan McCarthy

Allies from other Assassin Guilds

• William de Saint-Prix
• Aveline de Grandpré