Making of a Patriot: Benjamin Franklin at the CockpitOn January 29, 1774, Benjamin Franklin was called to appear before the Privy Council a select group of the king's advisors in an octagonal shaped room in Whitehall Palace known as the Cockpit. Spurred by jeers and applause from the audience in the Cockpit, Solicitor General Alexander Wedderburn unleashed a withering tirade against Franklin. Though Franklin entered the room as a dutiful servant of the British crown, he left as a budding American