Major André

“ Under the present circumstances, much good may arise from humanity, much ill from the want of it. If that could give any weight, I beg leave to add, that your favourable treatment of Major Andre, will be a favour I should ever be intent to return to any you hold dear.
My memory does not retain with the exactness I could wish, the words of the letter which General Greene shewed me from Major Andre to your Excellency. For Sir Henry Clinton's satisfaction, I beg you will order a copy of it to be sent to me at New York. ”

“ Andre became troubled in spirit, and from that time until the hour of his execution his most poignant sorrow arose from the reflection that he was branded with the odious name of a spy. *
As soon as Washington had completed all necessary arrangements for the security of West Point, he hastened to the army at Tappan. The next day after his ar-September 29 summoned a board of general officers, and directed them to examine into the case of Major André and report the result. ”

“ My good opinion of the candor and justice of those Gentlemen leads me to believe, that if they had been made fully acquainted with every circumstance respecting Major Andre, that they would by no means have considered him in the light of a spy, or even of a prisoner. In justice to him, I think it my duty to declare, that he came from on board the Vulture at my particular request, by a flag sent on purpose for him by Joshua Smith, Esq. ”

“ I offered to prove, by the evidence of Colonel Robinson and the officers of the Vulture, that Major Andre went on shore at General Arnold's desire, in a boat sent for him with a flag of truce; that he not only came ashore with the knowledge and under the protection of the General who commanded in the district, but that he took no step while on shore but by direction of General Arnold, as will appear by the inclosed letter from him to your Excellency. ”

“ Throughout his examination Major André maintained a manly, dignified, and respectful deportment, replied to every question promptly, discovered no embarrassment, sought no disguise, stated with frankness and truth every thing that related to himself, and used no words to explain, palliate, or defend any part of his conduct. So delicate was he in regard to other persons, that he scrupulously avoided mentioning names, or alluding to any particulars except such as concerned himself. General Greene spoke of Smith's House, in reference to the place of meeting between André and Arnold. ”

“ Clinton sent Major André to arrange the terms of the contemplated treachery. A mournful interest attaches to the name of this young officer: the fate which befell him was so very sad. He was of French descent—high-spirited, accomplished, affectionate, merry-hearted. It was a service which a high-principled man would scarcely have coveted. But André desired eagerly to have the merit of gaining West Point, and he volunteered for this perilous enterprise.
Sept. 1780 A.D. At midnight Major André landed from the boat of a British ship of war, at a lonely place where Arnold waited him. ”

“ André, who came to London about the close of the seventeenth century, and who was undoubtedly nearly related to the future Major André, seems to have passed through a career hardly paralleled by that of Gil Blas himself. From the humblest beginnings, his ready wit, his multifarious accomplishments, and his indomitable assurance speedily carried him to the topmost wave of social prosperity. A brief instruction in surgery gave him such a plausible appearance of proficiency in the art as to permit his public lectures to be favorably received, and to lead to his employment in the royal household. ”

“ Suffer me to intreat your Excellency, for your own and the honour of humanity, and the love you have of justice, that you suffer not an unjust sentence to touch the life of Major Andre.
But if this warning should be disregarded, and he suffer, I call heaven and earth to witness, that your Excellency will be justly answerable for the torrent of blood that may be spilt in consequence.
I have the honour to be, with due respect, your Excellency's Most obedient and very humble servant, B. ARNOLD.
His Excellency General Washington. ”

“ At noon on the 2d day of October, 1780, Major André was executed upon an eminence near Tappaan village, in the presence of a vast concourse of people. He was dressed in full military costume and white top-boots. He was taken to the gallows—a cross-piece between two moderate-sized trees—by a procession of nearly all the field-officers, excepting Washington and his staff, who remained at headquarters. General Greene led the cavalcade, which passed between two files of soldiers, extending from the prison up to the fatal spot. ”

“ While Andre was in this situation, the American general, Arnold, who had displayed much energy in the cause of the colonies, conceiving himself injuriously treated by his colleagues, made a proposition to the British to betray to them the important fortress of West-Point, on the Hudson River, the key of the American position. This seemed a favourable opportunity of concluding the war, and Major Andre was appointed to negotiate with Arnold. ”

“ The Board having maturely considered these facts, DO ALSO REPORT to His Excellency General Washington, that Major Andre, Adjutant General to the British army, ought to be considered as a Spy from the enemy, and that agreeable to the law and usage of nations, it is their opinion, he ought to suffer death. ”

“ On the night of the 21st of September a boat was sent from the shore to fetch major André, and Arnold met him at the beach, without the posts of both armies. Their business not being finished until it was too near morning for André to return to the Vulture, Arnold, telling him he must be concealed until the next night, conducted him within one of the American posts, where he continued with him the following day. The Vulture having in the mean time been compelled to alter her position, André could return to New York in no other way than by land ”

“ He saw at his Tory brother's house, on several occasions, a young man clad in homespun, who was introduced to him as a Virginian, also belonging to the patriot army. After the capitulation, and the British were in possession of the city, the Continental soldier saw at the house of his sick brother the same young man, but in different apparel, who was introduced to him as Major André, of the British army. His brother afterward confessed that the major and the homespun-clad young "Virginian" were one and the same man. ”

“ Generously rejected all pecuniary rewards, the disinterested privates who seized the unfortunate Andre had the fidelity to convey their prisoner as speedily as possible to the headquarters of the American army.
Such instances of fidelity and such contempt for private interest which united with duty and obligation to the public are so rare among the common classes of mankind that the names of John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Vanvert (These were the names of the three soldiers who detected and secured Major Andre.) ought never to be forgotten. ”

“ But he had embarked in a barge, and proceeded down the river under a flag to the Vulture sloop-of-war, which lay some miles below Stony and Verplanck's Points. After he got on board, he wrote to me a letter, of which the enclosed is a copy.
Major André is not arrived yet, but I hope he is secure, and that he will be here to-day. I have been and am taking proper precautions, which I trust will prove effectual, to prevent the important consequences which this conduct on the part of General Arnold was intended to produce. ”

“ Should ever catch the poet.
John André.
The last stanza was singularly prophetic. The Americans relied for the defence of the Hudson upon the impregnable position at West Point, to the command of which Benedict Arnold had been appointed in July, 1780. Arnold, one of the most brilliant officers in the army, had been treated with great injustice by Congress, and to revenge [237] himself determined to betray West Point into the hands of the British. He therefore opened communication with Clinton, and on September 21 Major André was sent to confer with the traitor. ”

“ To shew the effects which Major André's excellent qualities had upon the minds of men, the Author has drawn a generous and amiable [Pg 509] youth, so blinded by his love for the accomplished Briton, as to consider his country, and the great commander of her armies, as in the commission of such horrid injustice, that he, in the anguish of his soul, disclaims the service. ”

“ The unfortunate young man met his death courageously; he said loudly that he did not think it dishonourable to have acted as he did against "rebels."
The inevitable doom of Major Andre only served to accentuate the scorn and hatred that Arnold obtained and deserved. The traitor received his promised reward from the British government, but care was taken not to employ him as a general, the soldiers, both men and officers, being exasperated against him. ”

“ After the exchange of two or three letters, and with the impression that "Gustavus" was an officer of high rank in the American army, Clinton committed the task of carrying on the correspondence to Major André, who wrote over the signature of "John Anderson," in a slightly disguised hand. Not doubting that "Gustavus" was General Arnold, André probably wrote the letter to Mrs. Arnold in August for the purpose of making clear to her husband the name and character of "John Anderson" by means of his handwriting:
Fac-simile of Arnold's Disguised Handwriting. ”

“ Mr. Sargent has been somewhat more liberal with his ‘Andreana,’ a collection of documents relating to André's trial, of which he has printed no less than 100 copies. See also Benson's Vindication of the Captors of Major André (1817, and reprinted in 1865) ; and Joshua H. Smith's Narrative of the Causes which led to the Death of Major André (London, 1808) ; Miss Seward's Monody, with the notes; the lives of Benedict Arnold by Jared Sparks and Isaac T. Arnold; and the various biographers of Washington and historians of the American war. ”

“ As for Andre, having spent two years at sea and even made a voyage to America, he rebelled against the hard life and harsh treatment which were the lot of the seaman, and enlisted as a private soldier in the Royal-Italian regiment, under the auspices of his uncle Marcel, who had reached the rank of sergeant-major, and was soon to be commissioned. This Marcel Massena, whom I met in 1800, when he was commandant of the fortress at Antibes, was a serious and capable man, highly thought of by his Colonel, M. Chauvet d'Arlon. ”

“ It was no more a monument "in honor of Major André, the British spy," than was the monument of white marble, twenty-five feet in height, which was erected by patriotic men, in 1853, to mark the spot at Tarrytown where the spy was captured, or the naming of the rivulet near which it stands "André Brook." Surely every intelligent and right-minded American, clearly comprehending the truth of the whole matter, will award to Mr. ”

“ The person in your possession is Major John André, adjutant-general in the British army.
"The influence of one commander with another in the army of his adversary is an advantage taken in war. A correspondence for this purpose I held, as confidential, in the present instance, with his Excellency Sir Henry Clinton. ”

“ Charleston had fallen and here André had twice risked his life disguised as a spy; the South was in British possession; Gates had been beaten at Camden and Manhattan was in their army's occupation. Arnold astutely chose the proper moment for his act of treachery, certain in that dark hour to produce a strong moral reaction upon the Revolutionaries. In September 1780 the American General forwarded to André a letter asking for a personal interview within the American lines, the Major to disguise himself as John Anderson. ”

“ On the other hand, by not firing we knew the foe to be wherever fire appeared and a charge ensured his destruction; that amongst the enemy those in the rear would direct their fire against whoever fired in front, and they would destroy each other. General Grey's detachment marched by the road leading to the White Horse, and took every inhabitant with them as they passed along. About three miles from camp they turned to the left and proceeded to the Admiral Warren, where, having forced intelligence from a blacksmith, they came in upon the out sentries, piquet and camp of the rebels. ”

“ What would have occurred if André had not been recalled, but had reached Arnold—whether both could have escaped by boat to the Vulture as did Arnold; whether Arnold, leaving André to his fate, could have escaped alone under these suspicious circumstances; or whether Hamilton and the others, who were dining with Arnold when the news of André's capture reached him, could have managed to hold both until Washington's arrival, cannot now be surmised. We only know that to Major Tallmadge belongs the credit of the recall and retention of André as a prisoner, thereby preventing the loss of West Point. ”

“ General Grey being Major General of the day, the affair of the plundering a house at the landing came under his notice; he confined a Corporal and three soldiers of the 5th regiment. The 17th Dragoons, 35th, 38th, and 52nd, Foot marched to Amboy; the 7th and 26th Regiments took up their ground. The flat boats, carriages and pontoons were sent to Amboy. A great deal of firing was heard towards 8 o'clock in the evening in the direction of the Rebel Camp, both of cannon and small arms. The piquets were ordered to load in consequence of General Grey's reporting that this was always neglected. ”