In London on February 7, 1775, Benjamin Franklin publishes “An Imaginary Speech” in defense of American courage.
Franklin’s speech was intended to counter an unnamed officer’s comments to Parliament that the British need not fear the colonial rebels, because “Americans are unequal to the People of this Country [Britain] in Devotion to Women, and in Courage, and worse than all, they are religious.”
Franklin responded to the three-pronged critique with his usual wit and acuity. Noting that the colonial population had increased while the British population had declined, Franklin concluded that American men must therefore be more “effectually devoted to the Fair Sex” than their British brethren.
As for American courage, Franklin relayed a history of the Seven Years’ War in which the colonial militia forever saved blundering British regulars from strategic error and cowardice. With poetic flare, Franklin declared, “Indiscriminate Accusations against the Absent are cowardly Calumnies.” In truth, the colonial militias were notoriously undisciplined and ineffective at the beginning of the Seven Years’ War.
New Englanders, unused to taking orders and unfamiliar with the necessary elements of military life, brought illness upon themselves when they refused to build latrines and were sickened by their own sewage. During the American Revolution, Washington repeated many of the same complaints spoken by British officers when he attempted to organize American farmers into an effective army.
With regard to religion, Franklin overcame his own distaste for the devout and reminded his readers that it was “Zealous Puritans that had rid Britain of the despised King Charles I.” Franklin surmised that his critic was a Stuart [i.e. Catholic] sympathizer, and therefore disliked American Protestants, “who inherit from those Ancestors, not only the same Religion, but the same Love of Liberty and Spirit.”
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https://www.worldviewweekend.com/news/article/ben-franklin-hellfire-club-and-his-view-jesus-christ
Franklin & the Hellfire Club
Ben Franklin was, without question, deeply involved in Freemasonry and in other secret societies. Franklin belonged to secret groups in the three countries involved in the War of Independence: America, France and England. He was master of the Masonic Lodge of Philadelphia, while over in France he was master of the Nine Sisters Lodge, from which sprang the French Revolution. In England, he joined a rakish political group founded by Sir Francis Dashwood (member of Parliament, advisor to King George III) called the Monks of Medmenham Abbey, otherwise known as the Hellfire Club. This 18th century group is described as follows:
“The Hellfire Club was an exclusive, English club that met sporadically during the mid 18th century. Its purpose, at best, was to mock traditional religion and conduct orgies. At worst, it involved the indulgence of satanic rites and sacrifices. The club to which Franklin belonged was established by Francis Dashwood, a member of Parliament and friend of Franklin. The club, which consisted of ‘The Superior Order,’ of 12 members, allegedly took part in basic forms of satanic worship. In addition to taking part in the occult, orgies and parties with prostitutes were also said to be the norm.” (Source: Ben Franklin and His Membership in the Hellfire Club: Founding Father or Satanic Killer? as published by the Associated Content Society)