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I have mentioned that, on the arrival of Washington at Tappan, he ordered a court of inquiry. This court, consisting of fourteen general officers, * was convened at Tappan on the 29th of September, and on that day Major Andre was arraigned before it and examined. John Laurance, ** afterward a distinguished legislator and jurist, was judge advocate. Andre made a plain statement of the facts we have been considering; acknowledged and confirmed the truthfulness of his statements in his letter to General Washington from Salem; confessed that he came ashore from the Vulturein the night, and without a flag; and answered the query of the Board, whether he had any thing further to say respecting the charges preferred against him, by remarking, "I leave them to operate with the Board, persuaded that you will do me justice."
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He was remanded to prison, and, after a long and careful deliberation, the Board reported, "That Major André, adjutant general of the British army, ought to be considered as a spy from the enemy, and that, agreeably to the law and usage of nations, it is their opinion he ought to suffer death." On the next day Washington signified his approval of the decision as follows:
* The following are the names of the officers who composed the court martial on that occasion: Major-generals Greene, Stirling, St. Clair, La Fayette, R. Howe, and the Baron Steuben; and Brigadiers Parsons, James Clinton, Knox, Glover, Paterson, Hand, Huntington, and Stark. General Greene was president of the board, and John Laurance judge-advocate general.
** Mr. Laurance was a native of Cornwall, England, where he was born in 1750. He held the rank of colonel in the Continental army, and was highly esteemed by the commander-in-ehief. Colonel Laurance was a representative for New York in the first Congress held after the adoption of the Federal Constitution, and retained a seat therein during President Washington's first administration. On his retiring from office, Washington appointed him a judge of the District Court of New York. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1796, and served four years, when he resigned his seat and retired to private life. He died at No. 356 Broadway, New York, in November, 1810, in the sixtieth year of his age. Judge Laurance married a daughter of General Alexander M'Dougall, of the Continental army, who, with Sears. Willett, Lamb, and others, early and earnestly opposed the British government in its aggressive acts. An interesting sketeh of the public life of Judge Laurance, from the pen of Edwin Williams, Esq., was published in a New York journal in February, 1851.
*** This is a fac simile of a pencil sketeh which I received from London with the drawing of Andre's monument in Westminster Abbey, printed on page 767. I do not know from what picture the artist copied, but, considering the channel through which I received it, I think it may be relied on as a correct profile.
*** John André was a native of London, where he was born in 1751. His parents were from Geneva, in Switzerland, and at that place he was educated. He returned to London before he was eighteen years of age, and entered the counting-house of a respectable merchant, where he continued nearly four years. Possessing a literary taste and promising genius, he became acquainted with several of the writers of the day, among whom was Miss Anna Seward, the daughter of a clergyman in Litchfield. Miss Seward had a cousin named Honora Sneyd, a charming girl of whom Andre became enamored. * His attachment was reciprocated by the young lady, and they made an engagement for marriage. The father of the girl interposed his authority against the match, and the marriage was prevented. Four years afterward, Honora was wedded to Richard Lovell Edgeworth, ** father of the late Maria Edgeworth, the novelist, by a former wife. Until that event occurred, Andre had cherished the hope that some propitious circumstance might effect their reunion. The portal of hope was now closed, and, turning from commercial pursuits, he resolved to seek relief from the bitter associations of his home amid the turmoils of war. He entered the army which came to America in 1775. He was taken prisoner at St. John's, on the Sorel, when that post was captured by Montgomery, and was sent to Lancaster, in Pennsylvania. In a letter written to a friend from that place, he said, "I have been taken prisoner by the Americans, and stripped of every thing except the picture of Honora, which I concealed in my mouth. Preserving that, I yet think myself fortunate." This picture had been delineated by his own hand from the living features of his beloved, at the time of his first acquaintance with her at Buxton, in 1769. The bravery and talents of Andre secured for him the affectionate regards of his commander, Sir Henry Clinton, and he raised him to the duty of adjutant general of the British army in America, with the rank of major. His future career was full of brilliant promises, when Arnold, the wily serpent, crept into the paradise of his purity and peace, and destroyed him. He was not yet thirty years old when he suffered the death of a spy. Major Andre possessed a graceful and handsome person, with rare mental accomplishments. He was passionately fond of the fine arts, and his journal, kept during his life in America, was enriched by many drawings of such objects of interest as attracted his attention. While here, he wrote several poetical pieces for the loyal newspapers; and it is a singular fact that the last canto of his satirical poem, called The Cow Chase, was published in Rivington's Royal Gazette, in New York, on the 23d of September, 1780, the day of his capture. It ends with the following stanza:
"And now I've closed my epic strain,I tremble as I show it,Lest this same warrio-drover, Wayne,Should ever catch the poet!" ***
*** His memory has been embalmed in verse by his friend, Miss Seward; **** and his king testified his admiration of his character and genius by the erection of a beautiful monument to his honor in Westminster Abbey, near the Poets' Corner. The monument is in relief against the wall, and is about seven and a half feet in height. It is composed of a sarcophagus, elevated on a molded paneled base and plinth, and was executed in statuary marble by P. M. Van Gelder, from a design by Robert Adam. On the front of the sarcophagus is a basso relievo, in which is represented General Washington and officers in a tent at the moment when the chief had received the report of the court of inquiry; at the same time a messenger has arrived with the letter from André to Washington, petitioning for a soldier's death (see page 770). On the right is a guard of Continental soldiers, and the tree on which Andre was executed. Two men are preparing the prisoner for execution, while at the foot of the tree, Mercy, accompanied by Innocence, is bewailing his fate. On the top of the sarcophagus is the British lion, and the figure of Britannia, who is lamenting the fate of the accomplished youth. Upon a panel is the following inscription: "Sacred to the memory of Major John André, who, raised hy his merit at an early period of life to the rank of adjutant general of the British forces in America, and employed in an important but hazardous enterprise, fell a sacrifice to his zeal for his king and country, on the 2d of October, A.D. 1780, universally beloved and esteemed by the army in which he served, and lamented even by his Foes. His gracious sovereign, King George the Third, has caused this monument to be erected." On the base of the pedestal upon which the sarcophagus rests has subsequently been inscribed the following: "The remains of Major John André were, on the 10th of August, 1821, removed from Tappan by James Buchanan, Esq., his majesty's consul at Now York, under instructions from his Royal Highness, the Duke or York; and with the permission of the Dean and Chapter, finally deposited in a grave contiguous to this monument, on the 28th of November, 1821." *
*** The king settled a pension upon the family of Andre; and, to wipe out the imputed stain produced by his death as a spy, the honor of knighthood was conferred upon his brother. A certified copy of Andre's will is in the office of the Surrogate of New York. It is dated at Staten Island, 7th of June, 1777, and signed "John André, captain in the 26th regiment of foot." The date of probate is October 12, 1780, ten days after his execution. The will is sworn to October 9, 1781, before Carey Ludlow, Esq., then Surrogate of New York. By his will, Andre gave the bulk of his property to his three sisters (Maria, Anna Marguerite, and Louisa) and his brother, each $3500, on condition that they pay to his mother, Mary Louise Andre, each $50 a year. Anna Marguerite Andre—"the tuneful Anna," as Miss Seward called her—his last surviving sister, lived a maiden, and died in London in 1848, at the age of ninety years. Andrô's watch was sold for the benefit of his captors. It was bought by Colonel William S. Smith, of the Continental army, for thirty guineas, and, through General Robertson, he generously transmitted it to Andrô's family. His commission was sold by Sir Henry Clinton for the benefit of his mother and sisters.
Washington's Approval of the Decision of the Court.—Memoir of André.—Honora Sneyd.—Mr. Edgeworth.—Miss Seward.
"Head-quarters, September 30,1780. "The commander-in-chief approves of the opinion of the Board of general officers respecting Major Andre, and orders that the execution of Major Andre take place to-morrow at five o'clock P.M."
* Miss Seward, in her poem entitled "The Anniversary," thus alludes to her cousin:
"Why fled ye all so fast, ye happy hours,That saw Honora's eyes adorn these bowers!These darling bowers that much she loved to hail,The spires she called The Ladies of the Vale!"
** Mr. Edgeworth was educated partly at Trinity College, Dublin, and partly at Oxford. Before he was twenty, he ran off with Miss Elers, a young lady of Oxford, to whom he was married at Gretna Green. He embarked in a life of gayety and dissipation. In 1770 he succeeded to his Irish property. During a visit to Litchfield soon afterward, he saw Honora Sneyd, loved her, and married her after the death of his wife. Honora died six years afterward of consumption, when he married her sister.—Chambers's Cyclopedia of English Literature, ii" 568.
** This satirical poem was written at General Clinton's head-quarters, now No. 1 Broadway, New York. It is not a little singular that Wayne commanded the division of the army at Tappan when André was executed.
*** In Ainsworth's Magazine of a recent date I find the following record of A dream realized: "Major André, the circumstances of whose lamented death are too well known to make it necessary for me to detail them here, was a friend of Miss Seward's, and, previously to his embarkation for America, he made a journey into Derbyshire to pay her a visit, and it was arranged that they should ride over to see the wonders of the Peak, and introduce André to Newton, her minstrel, as she called him, and to Mr. Cunningham, the curate, who was also a poet.
** "While these two gentlemen were awaiting the arrival of their guests, of whose intentions they had been apprised, Mr. Cunningham mentioned to Newton that, on the preceding night, he had a very extraordinary dream, which he could not get out of his head. He had fancied himself in a forest; the place was strange to him; and, while looking about, he perceived a horseman approaching at great speed, who had scarcely reached the spot where the dreamer stood, when three men rushed out of the thicket, and, seizing his bridle, hurried him away, after closely searching his person. The countenance of the stranger being very interesting, the sympathy felt by the sleeper for his apparent misfortune awoke him; but he presently fell asleep again, and dreamed that he was standing near a great city, among thousands of people, and that he saw the same person he had seen seized in the wood brought out and suspended to a gallows. When André and Miss Seward arrived, he was horror-struck to perceive that his new acquaintance was the antitype of the man in the dream."
Andre's Death-warrant.—His Will.—Disposition of his Remains.—His Monument.
The youth, candor, and gentlemanly bearing of Andre during the trying scenes of his examination made a deep impression upon the court; and had the decision of those officers been in consonance with the ir feelings instead of their judgments and the stern necessities imposed by the expedients of war, he would not have suffered death.
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When the decision of the court was made known to him, the heroic firmness of his mind challenged the admiration of all. He exhibited no fear of death, but themannerwas a subject that gave him uneasiness; he wished to die as asoldier, not as aspy.Tender of the feelings of his commander, he obtained permission of Washington to write to Sir Henry Clinton,
September 29.
for the purpose of assuring him that the dilemma in which he found himself was not attributable to the duty required of him by his general. In that letter he implied a presentiment of his fate, and said, "I have a mother and two sisters, to whom the value of my commission would be an object, as the loss of Grenada has much effected their income." * There could be no question among military men as to theequityof Andre's sentence, and
* Colonel Hamilton, who was the bearer of the request from André to Washington asking his permission to send this open letter to Clinton, observes, in an account which he gave to Colonel Laurens, that Andre seemed to foresee the result of the proceedings in which he was concerned. "There is only one thing which disturbs my tranquillity," he said to Hamilton. "Sir Henry Clinton has been too good to me; he has been lavish of his kindness; I am bound to him by too many obligations, and love him too well, to bear the thought that he should reproach himself, or others should reproach him, on the supposition of my having conceived myself obliged, by his instructions, to run the risk I did. I would not for the world leave a sting in his mind that should imbitter his future days."
Equity of Andrè's Sentence.—Efforts to Save him.—Embassy of Colonel Ogden.—Washington Vilified
yet there was a general desire on the part of the Americans to save his life. Washington was deeply impressed with this feeling, and was ready to employ any measure to effect it consistent with his public duty. *
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The only mode to save Andre was to exchange him for Arnold and hold the traitor responsible for all the acts of his victim. This could hardly be expected, for Sir Henry Clinton was a man of nice honor; nor would the American commander make a formal proposition of this kind. It was, however, determined that an opportunity for such an arrangement should be offered, and a plan for that purpose was conceived. Washington placed a packet of papers, directed to Sir Henry Clinton, in the hands of a trusty officer of the New Jersey line, Captain Aaron Ogden, containing an official account of the trial of André, the decision of the Board of inquiry, and the letter written by Andre to his general. Ogden was directed to go to General La Fayette for further instructions, after he should arrange his escort of men, known for their tried fidelity. La Fayette was in command of the light infantry, stationed nearest to the British lines. He instructed Ogden to travel so slowly, that when he should reach Paulus's Hook (now Jersey City), it might be so late that he would be invited to stay all night. He was then to communicate to the commandant of the post, as if incidentally, the idea of an exchange of Andre for Arnold. Every thing occurred as was an-
* Never was a sympathy more real, or feeling more genuine, than that exhibited by the American officers on this occasion; and yet the prejudiced M'Farland, after quoting from a letter of La Fayette to his wife, in which he expressed his sympathy for André, says, "Some of the American generals, too, lamented., but kept twisting the rope that was to hang him and then falsely adds, "There are accounts which say that the deep sympathy and regret was all a farce, and that Andre, who was a wit and a poet, was most cordially hated by the Americans on account of some witticisms and satirical verses at their expense."—Pictorial History of the Reign of George III., i., 434.
* The London General Evening Post for November 14th, 1780, in an article abusive of Washington, gives a pretended account of Andrè's "last words," in which the unfortunate man is made to say, "Remember that I die as becomes a British officer, while the manner of my death must reflect disgrace on your commander." André uttered no sentiment like this. Miss Seward, his early friend, on reading this account, wrote thus in her "Monody on Major André:"
"Oh Washington! I thought thee great and good,Nor knew thy Nero-thirst for guiltless blood!Severe to use the pow'r that Fortune gave,Thou cool, determin'd murderer of the brave!Lost to each fairer virtue, that inspiresThe genuine fervor of the patriot fires!And you, the base abettors of the doom,That sunk his blooming honors in the tomb,Th' opprobrious tomb your harden'd hearts decreedWhile all he asked was as the brave to bleed!"
* Aaron Ogden was born the 3d of December, 1756, at Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He graduated at Princeton in 1773. He was nurtured in the love of Whig principles, and took an active part in the early struggles of the patriots. In the winter of 1775-6, he was one of a party who boarded and captured a vessel lying off Sandy Hook, named Blue Mountain Valley, and carried her safely into Elizabethport. Mr. Ogden received an appointment in the first New Jersey regiment in the spring of 1777, and continued in the service until the close of the war. He was in the battle of Brandywine in the autumn of 1777; was brigade major in a portion of the advanced corps of General Lee at Monmouth in the summer of 1778, and served as assistant aid-de-camp to Lord Stirling during that memorable day. He was aid-de-camp to General Maxwell in the expedition of Sullivan against the Indians in 1779, and was in the battle at Springfield, in New Jersey, in 1780, where he had a horse shot under him. On the resignation of Maxwell, Ogden was appointed to a captaincy of light infantry under La Fayette, and was serving in that capacity when called upon to perform the delicate service mentioned in the text. He afterward accompanied La Fayette in his memorable campaign in Virginia in 1781. At the siege of Yorktown, Captain Ogden and his company gallantly stormed the left redoubt of the enemy, for which he was "honored with the peculiar approbation of Washington." He applied himself to the study of the law after the war, and rose rapidly in his profession. He was appointed one of the electors of president and vice-president in 1800, a stale senator in 1801, and in 1812 he was elected governor of New Jersey. He died in April, 1839, at the age of eighty-three years.
Proposition to Exchange Andre lor Arnold declined.—A Deputation from the British General.
ticipated. The commandant received Ogden courteously, sent the packet across the river, asked him to stay all night, and in the course of the evening André became the subject of conversation. Ogden, in reply to the commandant's question, "Is there no way to spare Andre's life?" assured him that, if Sir Henry Clinton would give up Arnold, Andre might be saved. He informed him, however, that he had no assurance to that effect from Washington, but that he had reason to know that such an arrangement might be effected. The commandant immediately left the company, crossed the river, and had an interview with Clinton. Sir Henry promptly refused compliance, for honor would not allow the surrender of a man who had deserted from the Americans and openly espoused the cause of the king. This decision was communicated to Ogden, and he prepared to return to the camp. At dawn, on mustering his men, a sergeant was missing—he had deserted to the enemy during the night. No time could be lost in searching for the deserter, and Ogden returned to Tappan without him. *October 1, 1780
Great was the distress of Sir Henry Clinton on reading Washington's dispatch and the letter of Andre. He immediately summoned a council of officers, and it was resolved that a deputation of three persons should proceed to the nearest American outpost, open a communication with Washington, and, presenting proofs of the innocence of Andre, endeavor to procure his release. Toward noon on the 1st of October, General Robertson, Andrew Elliott, and William Smith, the deputation appointed by Clinton, accompanied by Beverly Robinson as a witness in the case, arrived at Dobbs's Ferry, in the Greyhound schooner, with a flag of truce. A request for a parley had been sent by Clinton to Washington, by Captain Ogden, in the morning. General Greene was deputed by the chief to act in his behalf, and he was already at the ferry when the Greyhound came to anchor. General Robertson, with great courtesy of manner and flattering words, opened the conference, and was proceeding to discuss the subject at issue, when Greene politely interrupted him by saying, "Let us understand our position. I meet you only as a private gentleman, not as an officer, for the case of an acknowledged spy admits of no discussion." With this understanding the conference proceeded; but Robertson produced nothing new calculated to change Greene's opinion respecting the justice of the sentence of the prisoner. A letter from Arnold to Washington, which had been kept in reserve, was now produced and read. The deputies believed that this would have the desired effect, and kept it back until verbal arguments should fail. Had their words been full of persuasion and convincing facts, this letter, so hypocritical, malignant, and impudent, would have scattered all favorable impressions in the mind of Greene to the winds. The traitor menaced Washington with dreadful retaliation if André should be slain, and in prospective charged upon the commander-in-chief the guilt of causing torrents of blood to flow. ** "It is hardly possible," says Sparks, "that this letter could have been read by Sir Henry Clinton, although written at his request, with
* The desertion of the sergeant was arranged by Washington, without the knowledge of Ogden. The object was to obtain information of much importance. A paper had been intercepted in which was found the name of General St. Clair, so relatively connected with other particulars as to excite a suspicion that he was concerned in Arnold's treason. The intelligent sergeant soon ascertained that there were no grounds for such suspicion, and that the paper in question was designed by the enemy to fall into Washington's hands, and excite jealousy and ill feelings among the American officers. The papers were traced to a British emissary named Brown. The sergeant found means to convey this intelligence to Washington.
** "If, after this just and candid representation of Major Andre's case," wrote Arnold, "the board of general officers adhere to their former opinion, I shall suppose it dictated by passion and resentment; and if that gentleman should suffer the severity of their sentence, I shall think myself bound by every tie of duty and honor to retaliate on such unhappy persons of your army as may fall in my power, that the respect due to flags and the law of nations may be better understood and observed."
** What could have been more injudicious than holding such language to Washington, under the circumstances? and as to the "respect due to flags," the traitor well know that in no part of the transaction had Andre been under such protection.
Result of the Efforts to Save André.—His Letter to Washington asking to be Shot.—Willis's Paraphrase.
a view of operating on the judgment and clemency of Washington. Could any language written by an individual have a more opposite tendency? Disgust and contempt were the only emotions it could excite; and it was at least an evidence that neither the understanding or the heart of the writer had been improved by his political change. Hitherto he had discovered acuteness and mental resources, but in this act his folly was commensurate with his wickedness." *
The conference ended at sunset, and Greene returned to Tappan. Robertson expressed his confidence in Greene's candor in communicating the substance of their discussion to Washington; informed him that he should remain on board the Greyhound all night, and expressed a hope that in the morning he might take Major Andre back with him, or at least bear to his general an assurance of his ultimate safety. At an early hour the next morningOctober 2, 1780the commissioners received a note from Greene, stating that the opinion and decision of Washington were unchanged, and that the prisoner would be executed that day. Robertson was overwhelmed with astonishment and grief. He had written to Clinton the evening before, expressing his belief that Andre was safe. The wish was father to the thought, for he had no reasonable warrant for such a conclusion, except in the known clemency of General Washington. Reluctant to return without some word of consoling hope for Clinton, Robertson wrote a letter to Washington, recapitulating the points discussed at the conference; but it was of no avail. No new fact was presented; no new phase was exhibited. Sir Henry Clinton also wrote a long letter to Washington, offering some important prisoners in exchange; but it was too late. Let us turn from the contemplation of their noble efforts to save the prisoner, to the victim himself.
I have said that Andre had no fear of death, but themannerwas a subject that disturbed him. When the sentence of the Board was communicated to him, he evinced no surprise or evident emotion; he only remarked, that, since he was to die, there was still a choice in the mode, which would make a material difference in his feelings. He was anxious to be shot—to die the death of a soldier—and for this privilege he importuned Washington, in a letter written the day before his execution. ** He pleaded with a touching yet manly earnestness for this boon, but it could not be granted by the customs of war. Unwilling to wound his feelings by a positive refusal, no answer was returned either to his verbal solicitation or his letter, and he was left the consoling hope that his wish might possibly be gratified.
The 1st of October, at five o'clock in the afternoon, had been fixed for the time of his
* Life of Arnold, Amer. Biog., iii., 275.
** The following is a copy of his letter: the original is at Charlottesville, Virginia.
"Sir,—Buoyed above the terror of death by the consciousnessof a life devoted to honorable pursuits, and stained with noaction that can give me remorse, I trust that the request Imake to your excellency at this serious period, and which isto soften my last moments, will not be rejected. Sympathytoward a soldier will surely induce your excellency, and amilitary tribunal, to adapt the mode of my death to thefeelings of a man of honor. Let me hope, sir, that if aughtin my character impresses you with esteem toward me, ifaught in my misfortunes marks me as the victim of policy andnot of resentment, I shall experience the operation of thesefeelings in your breast by being informed that I am not todie on a gibbet."I have the honor to be, your excellency's most obedient andmost humble servant,"John André."
** This letter has been thus beautifully paraphrased in verse by N. P. Willis:
"It is not the fear of deathThat damps my brow;It is not for another breath I ask thee now;I can die with a lip unstirr'd,And a quiet heart—Let but this prayer be heardEre I depart.'I can give up my mother's look—My sister's kiss;I can think of love—yet brookA death like this!I can give up the young fame I burn'd to win;All—but the spotless name I glory in."Thine is the power to give,Thine to deny,Joy for the hour I live,Calmness to die.By all the brave should cherish.By my dying breath,I ask that I may perishBy a soldier's death."
Andre's Composure of Mind.—Pen-and-ink Sketch of himself—Name of his Executioner.
execution, but, in consequence of the protracted conference at Dobbs's Ferry, it was postponed until the next day. Andre had procured his military suit, and in calmness counted
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the speeding hours of his life, talking with self-possession to those who visited him, and even indulging in the practice of his favorite accomplishment. On the morning of the day fixed for his execution, he sketched with a pen a likeness of himself, sitting by a table,October, 1780of which a fac simile is here given. The original is now in theTrumbull Galleryat Yale College. It will be seen that there is a strong resemblance in the features of this sketch to those in the portrait on page 197.
Major Andre was executed at Tappan, at twelve o'clock, on the 2d of October, 1780. ** Doctor Thacher, then a surgeon in the Continental army, and present on the occasion, has left the following account in his Journal: "Major Andre is no more among the living. I have just witnessed his exit. It was a tragical scene of the deepest interest.... The
* I copied this fac simile from one in Sparks's Life and Treason of Arnold, where is given the following extract from a letter, written by Ebenezer Baldwin to the president of Yale College, and dated at New Haven, August 8th, 1832: "It affords me pleasure, as agent of Mr. Jabcz L. Tomlinson, of Stratford, and of Mr. Nathan Beers [sec page 431, this volume, for a notice of Mr. Beers], of this city, to request your acceptance of the accompanying miniature of Major John André. It is his likeness, seated at a table, in his guard-room, and drawn by himself, with a pen, on the morning of the day fixed for his execution. Mr. Tomlinson informs me that a respite was granted until the next day, and that this miniature was in the mean time presented to him (then acting as officer of the guard) by Major André himself. Mr. Tomlinson was present when the sketch was made, and says it w-as drawn without the aid of a [looking] glass. The sketch subsequently passed into the hands of Mr. Beers, a fellow-officer of Mr. Tomlinson, on the station, and from thence was transferred to me. It has been in my possession several years."
** His executioner was a Tory named Strickland, who resided in the Ramapo Valley. He was in confinement at Tappan, and was set at liberty on condition that he should perform the office of hangman. Benjamin Abbot, a drum-major, who died at Nashua, New Hampshire, in June, 1851, at the age of 92 years, played the dead march on that occasion.
Dr. Thacher's Account of Andrè's Execution.—Feelings of the Spectators.—The Place of his Death and Burial
principal guard-officer, who was constantly in the room with the prisoner, relates, that when the hour of execution was announced to him in the morning, he received it without emotion, and, while all present were affected with silent gloom, he retained a firm countenance, with calmness and composure of mind.
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Observing his servant enter his room in tears, he exclaimed, 'Leave me, until you can show yourself more manly.' His breakfast being sent to him from the table of General Washington, which had been done every day of his confinement, he partook of it as usual, and, having shaved and dressed himself, he placed his hat on the table, and cheerfully said to the guard-officers, 'I am ready at any moment, gentlemen, to wait on you.' The fatal hour having arrived, a large detachment of troops was paraded, and an immense concourse of people assembled. Almost all our general and field officers, excepting his excellency * and his staff, were present on horseback. Melancholy and gloom pervaded all ranks, and the scene was awfully affecting. I was so near, during the solemn march to the fatal spot, as to observe every movement, and to participate in every emotion the melancholy scene was calculated to produce. Major Andre walked from the stone house in which he had been confined between two of our subaltern officers, arm-in-arm. The eyes of the immense multitude were fixed on him, who, rising superior to the fears of death, appeared as if conscious of the dignified deportment he displayed. He betrayed no want of fortitude, but retained a complacent smile on his countenance, and politely bowed to several gentlemen whom he knew, which was respectfully returned. It was his earnest desire to be shot, as being the mode of death most conformable to the feelings of a military man, and he had indulged the hope that his request would be granted. At the moment, therefore, when suddenly he came in view of the gallows, he involuntarily started backward and made a pause. 'Why this emotion, sir?' said an officer by his side. Instantly recovering his composure, he said, 'I am reconciled to my death, but I detest the mode.' While waiting, and standing near the gallows, I observed some degree of trepidation—placing his foot on a stone and rolling it over, and choking in his throat as if attempting to swallow. So soon, however, as he perceived that things were in readiness, he stepped quickly into the wagon, and at this moment he appeared to shrink; but, instantly elevating his head with firmness, he said, 'It will be but a momentary pang;' and, taking from his pocket two white handkerchiefs, the provost marshal, with one, loosely pinioned his arms, and with the other the victim, after taking off his hat and stock, bandaged his own eyes with perfect firmness, which melted the hearts and moistened the cheeks not only of his servant, but of the throng of spectators. The rope being appended to the gallows, he slipped the noose over his head, and adjusted it to his neck, without the assistance of the awkward executioner. Colonel Scam-mel now informed him that he had an opportunity to speak, if he desired it. He raised the
* It is said that Washington never saw Major Andre, having avoided a personal interview with him from the beginning.
** The place of Andre's execution is now designated by a stone, lying on the right of a lane which runs from the highway from Tappan village to old Tappan, on the westerly side of a large peach orchard owned by Dr. Bartow, about a quarter of a mile from Washington's head-quarters. The stone is a small bowlder, on the upper surface of which is inscribed "André executed Oct. 2d, 1780." It is about three feet in length. This stone was placed there and inscribed in 1847, by a patriotic merchant of New York. A more elegant and durable monument should be erected upon the spot.
The Captors, of André rewarded.—Disinterment of Andre's Remains.—Honored by the Duke of York
handkerchief from his eyes, and said, 'I pray you to bear me witness that I meet my fate like a brave man.' The wagon being now removed from under him, he was suspended, and instantly expired. It proved, indeed, 'but a momentary pang.' He was dressed in his royal regimentals and boots. His remains, in the same dress, were placed in an ordinary coffin, and interred at the foot of the gallows * and the spot was consecrated by the tears of thousands. Thus died, in the bloom of life, the accomplished Major André, the pride of the royal army, and the valued friend of Sir Henry Clinton." **
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The captors of Andre (Paulding, Williams, *** and Van Wart), were nobly rewarded by Congress for their fidelity. In a letter to the president of Congress, Washington said,October 7,1780"Their conduct merits our warmest esteem; and I beg leave to add, that I think the public would do well to allow them a handsome gratuity. They have prevented, in all probability, our suffering one of the severest strokes that could have been meditated against us." Pursuant to this recommendation, Congress adopted a resolutionNovember, 1780expressive of the public sense of the virtuous and patriotic conduct of the "three young volunteer militia-men," and ordered "that each of them receive annually, out of the public treasury, two hundred dollars in specie, or an equivalent in the current money of these states during life, and that the Board of War procure for each of them a silver medal, on one side of which shall be a shield with this inscription; Fidelity; and on the other the following motto: 'the love of country conquers,' and forward them to the commander-in-chief, who is requested to present the same, with a copy of this resolution and the thanks of Congress, for their fidelity, and the eminent service
* In a subsequent publication by Doctor Thacher, entitled Observations relating to the Execution of Major Andre, he says that the regimentals of that officer were given to his servant. His remains were taken up in 1831 by Mr. Buchanan, the British consul at New York, removed to England, and deposited near his monument in Westminster Abbey. As no metallic buttons were found in his grave, it is evident he had been stripped of his regimentals before burial. He was interred in an open field then belonging to a Mr. Mabie.
* Mr. Buchanan published an interesting account of the disinterment in 1831. It was done by command of the Duke of York. On opening the grave, the moldering coffin was found about three feet below the surface. The roots of a peach-tree, which some sympathizing hand had planted at the head of his grave, had twined like a net-work around the young hero's skull. A leather string, which he had used for tying his hair, was perfect; this Mr. Buchanan sent to Andre's surviving sisters. While a prisoner after his capture at St. John's in 1775, Andre parted with his watch. This was also obtained and sent to his sisters. Two small cedars were growing by the grave. A portion of one of these was sent to England with the remains, and Mr. Buchanan suggested to the duke the propriety of having a snuff-box made of some of the wood, as a present for the Reverend Mr. Demarest, of Tappan, who greatly assisted the consul in the disinterment. The duke had an elegant box made, lined with gold, and inscribed "From his royal highness the Duke of York to the Reverend Mr. Demarest." Mr. Buchanan received a silver inkstand, inscribed "The surviving sisters of Major Andre to James Buchanan, Esq., his majesty's consul, New York." They also sent a silver cup, with a similar inscription, to Mr. Demarest,
** Military Journal, p. 222, 223.
*** David Williams was born in Tarrytown, October 21st, 1754. He entered the army in 1775, was under Montgomery at St. John's and Quebec, and continued in the militia service until 1779. He took an active part against the Cow-boys and Skinners on the Neutral Ground. He was not in regular service when he joined in the expedition the day before the capture of André. After the war he married a Miss Benedict, and settled in Schoharie county. He died at Broome, in that county, on the 2d day of August, 1831, at the age of seventy-seven. His remains were interred, with military honors, at Livingstonville, in the presence of a large concourse of citizens. His widow, I believe, is yet living with her son at Broome, at the age of ninety-four. Ten years after the death of her husband, she obtained a continuance of his pension, which had been stopped at his death, receiving $2000 at once. Congress has been repeatedly petitioned for an appropriation to erect a monument to Williams, but without success. See Simms's Schoharie County.
Desire to secure Arnold.—A Plan to Abduct him.—Its Execution committed to Major Henry Lee.
they have rendered their country." * The medals were afterward given to the three individuals by Washington himself, at head-quarters, and the captors enjoyed the annuity during their lives. **
Commensurate with the strong feeling of sympathy evinced for Andre was the sentiment of indignant hatred and disgust of Arnold, and it was the ardent desire of Washington and his compatriots to obtain possession of the person of the arch-traitor and punish him as his wickedness deserved. Various plans were arranged, secret and open, to capture him, and several expeditions were formed for that avowed object. One, while the army was yet at Tappan, and the tears of sympathy for poor Andre were hardly dry upon the cheeks of the soldiers, was almost successful. It was known only to Washington, Major Henry Lee, and Sergeant Champe, the latter the principal actor in the movement.
Washington had learned that Arnold's quarters in New York were next door to those of Sir Henry Clinton (now No. 3 Broadway), and that he seemed to feel so secure with his new friends that his usual caution was but little exercised. The chief conceived a plan for abducting the traitor and bringing him to the American camp. The principal difficulty appeared to be to procure the proper instruments for such an enterprise. Recent events had made the commander-in-chief suspicious, for he knew not where smaller traitors might be lurking. He sent for Major Henry Lee, the commandant of a brave legion of cavalry; a man in whose patriotism, prudence, and judgment he knew he could confide. Already he had intrusted to this officer the delicate service of ascertaining the truth of many flying rumors that other officers of high rank were likely to follow Arnold's example. To him Washington disclosed his wishes. "I have sent for you, Major Lee," he said, "in the expectation that you have in your corps individuals capable and willing to undertake an indispensable, delicate, and hazardous project. Whoever comes forward on this occasion will lay me under great obligations personally, and in behalf of the United States I will reward him amply. No time is to be lost; he must proceed, if possible, to-night." The nature of the service was disclosed to Lee, and he promptly replied to his commander that he had no doubt his legion contained many men daring enough to undertake any enterprise, however perilous; but for the service required there was needed a combination of talent rarely found in the same individual. *** Lee suggested a plan which was highly approved of by Washing-
* Journals of Congress, vi., 154.
** In 1817, Mr. Paulding applied to Congress for an augmentation of his annuity. Major Tallmadge, who was then a member of the House of Representatives, strongly opposed the prayer of the petitioner, on the ground that he and his companions had been more than compensated for the real patriotism which they exercised on the occasion of making Major Andre a prisoner. The statements of Andre, at the time, impressed Tallmadge with the belief that the plunder of a traveler was their first incentive to arrest his progress, and that, could they have been certified of their prisoner's ability to perform his promises of large pay for his release, they would not have detained him. Andre solemnly asserted that they first ripped up the housings of his saddle and the cape of his coat, in search of money, but finding none, one of the party said, "He may have it [money] in his boots." The discovery of the papers there concealed gave them the first idea that he might be a spy. Major André was of opinion that if he could have given them a small sum in specie at first, they would have let him pass; but he only had a small amount in Continental bills, which was given him by Smith. While we may not claim entire purity of intent on the part of the captors when they first arrested the progress of Andre, we can not doubt the strength of their patriotism to withstand the lure of large bribes after they discovered his real character. For particulars on this point, see a small volume, entitled Vindication of the Captors of Major Andre, published in New York in 1817; also Walsh's American Register, vol. ii., 1817. In this volume of the Register may be found a translation of Marbois's Complot du Arnold.
*** In addition to the capture of Arnold, the emissary was to be commissioned to ferret out information touching the alleged defection of other officers of the Continental army. Already, as we have noticed, a sergeant under the command of Captain Ogden had been employed for such a purpose, and satisfied Washington of the innocence of one general officer who was accused!
Sergeant Champe.—His Sense of Honor.—Consents to attempt the Abduction of Arnold.—His Desertion favored by Lee.
ton. He named Champe, the sergeant major of his cavalry, as every way well qualified for the service, but he was afraid his sense of personal honor would not allow him to take the first step in the perilous expedition—desertion—for he was anxiously awaiting a vacancy in the corps to receive a promised commission. *
Lee sent instantly for Champe, communicated to him the wishes of Washington, and depicted, with all the earnestness and eloquence of which he was master, the glory that awaited him, if successful. Champe listened with the deepest attention, his countenance evincing the greatest excitement of feeling. He expressed himself charmed with the plan, and its proposed beneficial results; declared that he was ready to embark in any enterprise for his country's good, however perilous, which did not involve his honor; but the idea of desertion to the enemy, and hypocritically espousing the cause of the king, were obstacles in his way too grave to be disregarded, and he prayed to be excused. Lee combated these scruples with every argument calculated to impress the heart of a brave soldier. He spoke of the personal honor which success promised; the honor of the corps to which he belonged; the great service which he would perform for his beloved eommander-in-ehief, and the plaudits of his countrymen. He told him that desertion, by request of his general, for a laudable purpose, earned with it no dishonor, and that the stain upon his character would remain only until prudence should allow the publication of the facts. After long persuasion, the sergeant major consented to undertake the mission, and preparations were immediately made.
Washington had already drawn up instructions. These were read to Champe, and he carefully noted their import in such a way that their true meaning could not be understood by another. He was to deliver letters to two individuals in New York, unknown to each other, who had long been in the confidence of the general. He was to procure such aid in bringing Arnold away as his judgment should dictate; and he was strictly enjoined to forbear killing the traitor under any circumstances. ** These preliminaries being settled, the difficulties that lay in his way between the camp and the enemy's outposts at Paulus's Hook, were next considered. There were many pickets and patrols in the way, and straggling parties of American irregulars often ventured almost to Bergen Point in search of booty or an adventure. Major Lee could offer the sergeant no aid against these dangers, lest he should be involved in the charge of favoring his desertion, and Champe was left to his own resources. All that Lee could do was to delay pursuit as long as possible, after it should be ascertained that the sergeant major had deserted.
At eleven o'clock at night, Champe took his cloak, valise, and orderly-book,October 20, 1780mounted his horse secretly, and with three guineas in his pocket, which were given him by Lee, "put himself on fortune." Lee immediately went to bed, but not to sleep. Within half an hour, Captain Carnes, the officer of the day, came to him in haste, and informed him that one of the patrols had fallen in with a dragoon, who, on being challenged, put spurs to his horse and escaped. Lee complained of fatigue and drowsiness, pretended to be half asleep, and thus detained the captain some minutes before he seemed fairly to understand the object of that officer's visit. He ridiculed the idea that one of his own dragoons had deserted, for such an event had occurred but once during the whole war. The captain was not to be convinced by such arguments, but immediately mustering the whole squadron of horse, by Lee's reluctant order, satisfied both himself and his commander thatonehad deserted, and that he was no less a personage than Champe, the sergeant major, who had decamped with his arms, baggage, and orderly-book. Captain Carnes ordered an
* John Champe was a Virginian. "He was-a native of Loudon county," says Lee, in his Memoirs, "and at this time twenty-three or twenty-four years of age; enlisted in 1776; rather above the common size; full of bone and muscle; with a saturnine countenance, grave, thoughtful, and taciturn, of tried courage and inflexible perseverance, and as likely to reject an overture, coupled with ignominy, as any officer in the corps."—Memoirs, p. 272.
** Lee made an arrangement with Mr. Baldwin, of Newark, to aid Champe. With him the sergeant was to have daily intercourse, as if by accident, and through him Lee was to receive communications from his sergeant major. He agreed to pay Baldwin, if successful, one hundred guineas, five hundred acres of land, and three negroes.
Pursuit of Champe.—His Skill in eluding his Pursuers.—He Escapes to a British Galley.—Sir Henry Clinton deceived
immediate pursuit. Lee made as much delay in the preparation as possible, and when all was ready, he ordered a change in the command, giving it to Lieutenant Middleton, a young man whose tenderness of disposition would cause him to treat Champe leniently, if he should be overtaken. By parleying and other delays, Champe got an hour the start of his pursuers.
It was a bright starry night, and past twelve o'clock, when Middleton and his party took the saddle and spurred after the deserter. A fall of rain at sunset had effaced all tracks in the road, and thus favored the pursuit, for the single foot-prints of the dragoon's horse were easily traced and recognized. * Often, before dawn, when coming to a fork or a cross-road, a trooper would dismount to examine the track. Ascending an eminence at sunrise near the "Three Pigeons," ** a tavern a few miles north of the village of Bergen, they descried from its summit the deserting sergeant, not more than half a mile in advance. The pursuers were discovered by Champe at the same moment, and both parties spurred onward with all their might. They were all well acquainted with the roads in the vicinity. There was a short cut through the woods to the bridge below Bergen, which left the great road a little below the Three Pigeons. There Middleton divided his party, sending a detachment by the short road to secure the bridge, while himself and the others pursued Champe to Bergen. He now felt sure of capturing the deserter, for he could not reach Paulus's Hook without crossing the bridge in question. The two divisions met at the bridge, but, to their great astonishment, Champe had eluded their vigilance, and was not to be found. He, too, was acquainted with the short cut, and shrewdly considered that his pursuers would avail themselves of it. He therefore wisely determined to abandon his design of going to the British post at Paulus's Hook, and seek refuge on board one of two of the king's galleys which were lying in the bay in front of the little settlement of Communipaw, about a mile from Bergen.
Middleton retired hastily from the bridge to Bergen, and inquired if a dragoon had been seen there that morning. He was answered in the affirmative, but no one knew which way he went from the village. The beaten track no longer gave a legible imprint of his horse's shoes, and for a moment his pursuers were foiled. The trail was soon discovered on the road leading to Bergen. The pursuit was vigorously renewed, and in a few moments Champe was discovered near the water's edge, making signals to the British galleys. He had lashed his valise, containing his clothes and orderly-book, upon his back. When Middleton was within a few hundred yards of him, Champe leaped from his horse, cast away the scabbard of his sword, and with the naked blade in his hand, he sped across the marsh, plunged into the deep waters of the bay, and called to the galleys for help. A boat filled with strong oarsmen responded to his call, and he was soon on board the galley, with all the evidences of the sincerity of his desertion in his possession. The captain of the galley gave him a letter to Sir Henry Clinton, in which the scene just mentioned was described, and before night the sergeant was safely quartered in New York.
Middleton recovered the horse, cloak, and scabbard belonging to Champe, and returned to Tappan. Lee was grieved when he saw the supposed evidence that poor Champe was slain; but equally great was his joy when he learned from Middleton that the sergeant had escaped safely on board one of the enemy's galleys. Four days afterward Lee received a letter from Champe, in a disguised hand, and without signature, informing him of the occurrence just narrated.
Champe was sent by Clinton, for interrogation, to his adjutant general. The faithfulness of the legion to which he had hitherto been attached was well known in the British army, and this desertion was regarded as an important sign of increasing defection among the Americans. This opinion Champe fostered by adroit answers to questions proposed, Sir Henry Clinton also questioned him closely; and so sincere seemed to be the sergeant's desire to serve the king, that he won the entire confidence of the British general. Clinton
* The horses of Lee's legion were all shod by a farrier attached to the corps, and every shoe, alike in form, had a private mark put upon it. By this means the foot-prints of Champe's horse were recognized, and the course of the deserter made obvious to his pursuers. There is now a hamlet of that name there, situated on the high road from Haekensack to Hoboken.
Champe sent to Arnold.—Joins his Legion.—Preparations for carrying off the Traitor.
gave Champe a couple of guineas, and recommended him to call upon General Arnold, who was engaged in raising an American legion, to be composed of Loyalists and deserters. This was exactly the course to which Champe had hoped events would tend. Arnold received him courteously, and assigned him quarters among his recruiting sergeants. The traitor asked him to join his legion, but Champe begged to be excused, on the plea that if caught by the rebels, he would surely be hanged; but promised Arnold that, if he changed his mind, he would certainly join his legion.
Champe found means to deliver the two letters before mentioned, and five days after his arrival in New York, he made arrangements with one of "Washington'sOctober 23, 1789correspondents to assist him in abducting Arnold, and then communicated the facts to Major Lee. * He enlisted in the traitor's legion, so as to have free intercourse with him, and ascertain his night habits and pursuits. In the rear of Arnold's quarters was a garden, extending down to the water's edge. ** Champe ascertained that it was Arnold's habit to return to his quarters at about midnight, and that previous to going to bed he always visited the garden. Adjoining the garden was a dark alley leading to the street. These circumstances were favorable to Champe's plans. He had arranged with two accomplices (one of whom was to have a boat in readiness) to seize and gag Arnold, on a certain night, in his garden, convey him to the alley, and from thence, through the most unfrequented streets, to the river. In case of detection while carrying the traitor, they were to represent him as a drunken soldier whom they were conveying to the guard-house. Once in the boat, they might pass in safety to Hoboken.
Champe carefully removed some of the palings between the garden and the alley, and replaced them so slightly that they might again be removed without noise. When all was arranged, he wrote to Lee, and appointed the third subsequent night for theNovember 5, 1780delivery of the traitor on the Jersey shore. On that evening, Lee and a small party left the camp, with three accoutered horses—one for Arnold, one for the sergeant, and one for his associate—and at midnight concealed themselves at an appointed place in the woods at Hoboken. Hour after hour passed, and the dawn came, but Champe and his prisoner did not arrive. Lee and his party returned to camp greatly disappointed. A few days afterward he received a letter from his sergeant, explaining the cause of his failure, and an assurance that present success was hopeless. On the very day when Champe was to execute his plan, Arnold changed his quarters, to superintend the embarkation of troops for an expedition southward, to be commanded by himself. *** In this expedition the American le-
* In this first communication he assured Lee that his inquiries concerning the alleged defection of other American officers were satisfactory, and that no such defection existed.
** Arnold's quarters were at No. 3 Broadway, adjoining those of Sir Henry Clinton. The house is yet standing, and is represented, with Clinton's quarters, on page 592, of volume ii. The garden extended along the street to the northern boundary of the Atlantic Hotel, No. 5, where the dark alley, mentioned in the text, divided it from the premises No. 9, now known as the Atlantic Garden. The shore of the liver was formerly a few yards west of Greenwich Street, West Street being all "made ground."
*** Arnold received, as the price of his desertion from the Americans and attempted betrayal of the liberties of his country into the hands of the enemy, a commission as colonel, with a brevet rank of brigadier, in the British army, and the sum of nearly fifty thousand dollars. It may be mentioned, for the information of those unskilled in the technicalities of the military service, that the term brevet is used to a commission giving nominal rank higher than that for which pay is received. A brevet major serves and draws pay as a captain, and a brevet brigadier as colonel. Arnold was lower in office, both actual and nominal, among his new friends than he had been in the American army. But large bribes of gold was a salvo to that nice sense of honor for which he had so often wrangled. He was heartily despised by the British officers, and he was frequently insulted without possessing the power to show his resentment. Many anecdotes illustrative of this point have been related. It is said that, on one occasion, a British statesman, as he rose to make a speech in the House of Commons, saw Arnold in the gallery. "Mr. Speaker," he said, "I will not speak while that man (pointing toward Arnold) is in the house." George the Third introduced Arnold to Earl Balcarras, one of Burgoyne's officers at Bemis's Heights. "I know General Arnold and abominate traitors," was the quick reply of the earl, as he refused his hand and turned on his heel. When Talleyrand was about to come to America, he was informed that an American gentleman was in an adjoining room. He sought an interview, and asked for letters to his friends in America. "I was born in America, lived there till the prime of my life, but alas! I can call no man in America my friend," replied the stranger. That stranger Arnold.
Champe foiled.—Taken by Arnold to Virginia.—Escapes and rejoins his Legion in the Carolinas.—Ramapo Valley.
gion was to be employed, and poor Champe, who had enlisted in it to carry out his plans, was in a sad dilemma. Instead of crossing the Hudson that night, with the traitor his prisoner, he found himself on board of a British transport, and that traitor his commander!December 16, 1780The expedition sailed, and Champe was landed on the shores of Virginia. He sought opportunities to escape, but found none, until after the junction with Cornwallis at Petersburg, where he deserted. He passed up toward the mountains, and into the friendly districts of North Carolina. Finally, he joined the legion of Major Lee, just after it had passed the Congarec in pursuit of Lord Rawdon. Great was the surprise of his old comrades when they saw him, and it was increased at the cordial reception which the deserter received at the hands of Lee. His story was soon told, and four-fold greater than before his desertion was the love and admiration of his corps for him. They felt proud of him, and his promotion would have been hailed by general acclamation. Knowing that he would immediately be hanged if caught by the enemy, he was discharged from service. The commander-in-chief munificently rewarded him; and seventeen years afterward, when President Adams appointed Washington to the chief command of the armies of the United States, then preparing to defend the country from the threatened hostility of the French, the chief sent to Colonel Lee for information concerning Champe, being determined to bring him forward in the capacity of a captain of infantry. But the gallant soldier had removed to Kentucky, and was asleep in the soil. *