Melons for the Enemy Fleet

During a war with Britain, while an enemy fleet was operating in a river leading to the national capital, a local man was indicted for treason. Prosecutors charged that he supplied fruit and melons to the British, showed them the river channel, and passed on information about American troops. Witnesses said he tried to buy watermelons, saying a British commodore let him pass on condition that he bring some back; that he bought melons and apples from a neighbour; that he showed a British vessel how to get out of shallow water; that he asked about the local militia so he could tell the British; and that he said he preferred the English government to ours. The defence argued that buying produce and asking questions were not proven treasonable acts and that his own admissions could not prove them.