* This is a representation of the medal, the size of the original. On

one side 3s a device representing an Indian queen crowned, a quiver on

her back, and wearing a short apron of feathers. A mantle hangs from her

waist behind, the upper end of which appears as if passed through the

girdle of her apron, and hangs gracefully by her left side. With her

right hand she is presenting a wreath to General Wayne; in her left she

is holding up a mural crown toward his head. At her feet, on the left,

an alligator is lying. The American shield is resting against the

animal. Over the figure is the legend "Antonio Wayne Duci Exercitus,"

and beneath, "Comitia Americana "The American Congress to General

Anthony Wayne. On the reverse is a fort on the top of a hill; the

British flag flying; troops in single file advancing up the hill, and a

large number lying at the bottom. Artillery are seen in the foreground,

and six vessels in the river. The inscription is, "Stony Point

expugnatum, xv. Jul. mdcclxxix. "Stony Point captured, July 15, 1779."

Medal awarded to Wayne.--His Popularity.--Medal awarded to Colonel De

Fleury

749of the enterprise, was every where greeted with rapturous applause. *

Congress testified their grateful sense of his services by a vote of

thanks "for his brave, prudent, and soldierly conduct." It was also

resolved that a medal of gold, emblematical of this action, should be

struck, and presented to General Wayne. Thanks were also presented by

Congress to Lieutenant-colonel De Fleury ** and Major Stewart, and a

medal of silver was ordered to be struck and presented to each.

The conduct of Lieutenants Gibbon and Knox was warmly applauded, and

brevets of captain was given to each, and to Mr. Archer, the volunteer

aid of Wayne, who was the bearer of the general's letter to Washington

on the occasion. Pursuant to the recommendation of the commander-in-

chief, and in fulfillment of promises made by Wayne before the assault,

with the concurrence of Washington, Congress resolved, "That the value

of the military stores taken at Stony Point be ascertained and divided

among the gallant

* General Charles Lee, who was not on the most friendly terms with

Wayne, wrote to him, saying, "I do most seriously declare that your

assault of Stony Point is not only the most brilliant, in my opinion,

throughout the whole course of the war, on either side, but that it is

the most brilliant I am acquainted with in history; the assault of

Schiveidnitz, by Marshal Laudon, I think inferior to it." Dr. Rush

wrote, saving, "Our streets rang for many days with nothing but the name

of General Wayne. You are remembered constantly next to our good and

great Washington, over our claret and Madeira. You have established the

national character of our country; you have taught our enemies that

bravery, humanity, and magnanimity are the national virtues of the

Americans."

** De Fleury was descended from Hercule Andre de Fleury, a French

nobleman, who was the preceptor of the grandson of Louis XIV. during the

latter years of the life of that monarch. He was afterward made cardinal

and prime minister. The subject of our sketch came to America soon after

the news of the revolt reached France. Washington received him kindly,

obtained for him a commission, and he proved to be a brave and worthy

soldier. Educated as an engineer, his talents were brought into

requisition here. In that capacity he was acting at the time of the

engagement at Fort Mifflin, on the Delaware. He was at the battle of

Brandywine, and for his gallantry there Congress gave him a horse. He

returned to France soon after the capture of Stony Point.

*** This is a representation of the medal, the size of the original. The

device is a helmeted soldier, standing against the ruins of a fort. His

right hand is extended, holding a sword upright; the staff of a stand of

colors is grasped by his left; the colors are under his feet, and he is

trampling upon them. The legend is, "A memorial and reward of valor and

daring. The American Republic has bestowed (this medal) on Colonel D. de

Fleury, a native of France, the first over the walls (of the enemy)." On

the reverse are two water batteries, three guns each; a fort on a hill,

with a flag flying; a river in front, and six vessels before the fort.

The legend is, "Mountains, morasses, foes, overcome." Exergue, "Stony

Point stormed, 15th of July, 1779."

*** This identical silver medal was found by a boy while digging in a

garden at Princeton, New Jersey, toward the close of April, 1850, and

was deposited in the bank at that place for the inspection of the

curious. How the medal came there is uncertain. Do Fleury returned to

France before the medal was struck, and it probably was never in his

possession. Congress was afterward in session at Princeton, and the

medal may have been lost by the secretary, in whose custody it properly

belonged until delivered to the recipient of the honor.

Promised Rewards for the bravest Men.--Division of the Spoils among the

Troops.--Medal awarded to Major Stewart

750troops by whom it was reduced, in such manner and proportions as the

commander-in-chief shall prescribe." *

* See Journals of Congress, v., 226, 227. The following rewards were

promised: To the first man who entered the enemy's works, five hundred

dollars; to the second, four hundred; to the third, three hundred; to

the fourth, two hundred; to the fifth, one hundred: being fifteen

hundred dollars in the aggregate. The ordnance and other stores were

estimated at one hundred and fifty-eight thousand six hundred and forty

dollars in value, whieh amount was divided among the troops in

proportion of officers and privates.--Sparks's Washington, vi., 540.

** This represents the medal the size of the original. The device is

America personified by an Indian queen, who is presenting a palm branch

to Major Stewart. A quiver is at her back; her left hand is resting on

the American shield, and at her feet is an alligator crouchant. The

legend is, "The American Congress to Major John Stewart." On the reverse

is a fortress on an eminence. In the foreground an officer is cheering

on his men, who are following him over abatis with charged bayonets, the

enemy flying. Troops in single file are ascending to the fort on one

side; others are advancing from the shore; ships are in sight. The

inscription is, "Stony Point attacked 15th of July, 1779."

** I believe there is no biography of Major Stewart extant. Professor

Wyatt, in his Memoirs of American Generals, Commodores, &c., says he was

killed by a fall from his horse, near Charleston, South Carolina.

** Lieutenant James Gibbon, who commanded one of the "forlorn hopes,"

was finally promoted to major. He died at Richmond, Virginia, on the

first of July, 1834, in the seventy-seventh year of his age. His remains

were interred with military honors.

King's Ferry.--Jolly old Waterman.--Stony Point.--Evening walk toward

Haverstraw

751

CHAPTER XXXII.

"From Cain to Catiline, the world hath known

Her traitors--vaunted votaries of crime--

Caligula and Nero sat alone

Upon the pinnacle of vice sublime;

But they were moved by hate, or wish to climb

The rugged steeps of Fame, in letters bold

To write their names upon the scroll of Time;

Therefore their crimes some virtue did enfold--

But Arnold! thine had none--'twas all for sordid gold!"

Estelle Anna Lewis.

HE localities more immediately associated with the brief career of Andre

during his hapless connection with Arnold, now commands our attention,

for toward Haverstraw I next journeyed. It was three o'clock in the

afternoon when I crossed the ferry at Verplanck's Point in a small row-

boat This was the old King's Ferry of the Revolution, where the good

Washington so often crossed, and where battalion after battalion of

troops, royal, French, and American, at various times spanned the Hudson

with their long lines of flat-boats, for it was the main crossing-place

of armies moving between the Eastern and Middle States. It was here,

too, that a portion of the forces of Burgoyne crossed the Hudson when on

their march from Massachusetts to Virginia.

The landing-place on the Stony Point side, in former times, was in the

cove at the opening of the marsh, on the north of the promontory; now

the western terminus of the ferry is a little above, at the cottage of

Mr Tenyck, the jolly old ferryman, who has plied the oar there, almost

without intermission, ever since 1784. He was sitting upon his door-

stone when his son moored the boat at its rock-fastening; and, as we

ascended the bank, the old man held up a bottle of whisky, and proffered

a draught as a pledge of welcome to the "millionth man" that had crossed

his ferry. Preferring milk to whisky, I sat down under the rich-leaved

branches of a maple, and regaled myself with that healthful beverage.

While the veteran and two of his neighbors were enjoying the aqua vitæ.

I sketched the old King's Ferry sign-board, with its device, which was

nailed to a sapling near, and then, accompanied by the old man and his

companions, started for a ramble over the rough site of the fort on

Stony Point. Upon its ancient mounds I sat and listened for an hour to

the adventurous tales of the octogenarian, until the long shadows of the

mountains warned me that the day was fast waning, when I hastened to

make the drawings upon pages 744 and 746. At sunset, accompanied by one

of the men as bearer of my light baggage, I started on foot for the

neighborhood of Haverstraw. The road passes through a truly romantic

region, made so by nature, history, and tradition. I stopped often to

view the beautiful river prospect on the southeast, while the outlines

of the distant shores were imperceptibly fading as the twilight came on.

At dusk we passed an acre of ground, lying by the roadside on the right,

which was given

"God's Acre."--Benson's Tavern.--Interview with a Builder of Stony Point

Fort.--View from Smith's House

752many years ago for a neighborhood burial-place. Its numerous white

slabs proclaimed an already populous city of the dead, and ere long

another generous hand should donate an acre near for the same purpose.

"I like that ancient Saxon phrase which calls

The burial-ground God's Acre! It is just.

It consecrates each grave within its walls,

And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust.

God's Acre! Yes, that blessed name imparts

Comfort to those who in the grave have sown

The seed that they had garner'd in their hearts,

Their bread of life, alas! no more their own."

Longfellow.

It was quite dark when we reached the tavern of Mr. Benson, near

Sampsonville, about three miles below Stony Point. Haverstraw was two

miles distant, and, wearied with the rambles of the day, I halted at

Benson's until morning. After an early breakfast I proceeded to the foot

of Torn Mountain, a little northwest of Haverstraw, to visit a man named

Allison, who was eighty-eight years old. I had been informed of his

vigor of body and mind, and was much disappointed on finding him in bed,

feeble and sinking from the effects of a fall. Our conversation was

brief, but his short communications were interesting. He was a young man

of eighteen when the fort at Stony Point was built, and assisted in

carrying material for its construction from the main. In company with

many others in the neighborhood not allowed to join in Wayne's

expedition, he hung upon the rear of the little army on that eventful

night; and when the shout of victory arose from the fort, his voice was

among the loudest in the echo that was sent back by the yeomanry

gathered upon the neighboring hills. He gave me a minute account of the

movements of the Americans before crossing the morass, and told me of a

black walnut-tree still standing by the roadside between Haverstraw and

Stony Point, under which the negro, Pompey, took charge, as pilot, of

Wayne's assaulting force. I had intended, on leaving Mr. Allison, to go

down near the river bank, where Arnold and Andre met; but the hour was

approaching at which I had promised myself to return to Verplanck's

Point, so I postponed my visit to this interesting spot until a

subsequent date.

On my return toward Stony Point, I tarried at and sketched Smith's

House, delineated on page 720. It is in the present possession of

William C. Houseman, whose good taste has adorned the grounds around it

with fine shrubbery. It is located upon the brow of an eminence, known,

for obvious reasons, as Treason Hill, and commands an extensive view of

the Hudson and the country beyond.1 From the window in the second story,

where, tradition avers, Andre looked with anxious eyes for the

appearance of the Vulture, I made the drawing printed on the opposite

page. Between the foreground and the river is seen the broad alluvial

flat in the rear of Haverstraw, and on the brink of the water is the

village. The headland on the left is Teller's Point, and the highest

ground on the extreme right is Torn Mountain, extending down to the

verge of Haverstraw Bay, where it is called

* The Marquis de Chastellux, in his Travels in North America (i., 98,

99), says, "My thoughts were occupied with Arnold and his treason when

my road brought me to Smith's farm-house, where he had his interview

with André, and formed his horrid plot.... Smith, who was more than

suspected, but not convicted of being a party in the plot, is still in

prison, * where the law protects him against justice. But his home seems

to have experienced the only chastisement of which it was susceptible;

it is punished by solitude; and is, in fact, so deserted, that there is

not a single person to take care of it, although it is the mansion of a

large farm."

* Joshua Hett Smith, implicated in Arnold's treason, was a brother of

the Tory chief justice, William Smith, and a man of considerable

influence. The part which he had acted with Arnold made him strongly

suspected of known participation in his guilt. He was arrested at

Fishkill, in Dutchess county, and was taken to the Robinson House a few

hours previous to the arrival of André. There Smith was tried by a

military court and acquitted. He was soon afterward arrested by the

civil authority of the state, and committed to the jail at Goshen,

Orange county, whence he escaped, and made his way through the country,

in the disguise of a woman, to New York. He went to England with the

British army at the close of the war, and in 1808 published a book in

London, entitled An Authentic Narrative of the Causes which led to the

Death of Major Andre; a work of very little reliable authority, and

filled with abuse of Washington and other American officers. Smith died

in New York in 1818.

Ancient black Walnut-tree.--Tarrytown.--Cow-boys and Skinners.--Neutral

Ground.--Place where André was Captured.

753the Hook Mountain. The vessel in the river denotes the place where

the Vulture lay at anchor.

Half a mile above the Smith House, on the right of the road to Stony

Point, is the huge black walnut-tree mentioned by Mr. Allison.

I procured a branch from it, large and straight enough for a _maul-

stick,_ and then plodded on in the warm sun, to the ferry. The old

waterman, though nearly eighty years of age, rowed his boat across with

a vigorous hand, and at one o'clock I left Verplanck's for Tarrytown, a

village on the eastern bank of the Hudson, twenty-seven miles above New

York, and memorable as the place where Major Andre was captured.

The village of Tarrytown lies scattered over the river front of the

Greenburgh Hills, ana presents a handsome appearance from the water. It

is upon the site of an Indian village called Alipconck, which, in the

Delaware language, signifies the _Place of Elms_. The Dutch, who settled

there about 1680, called the place Tarwe Town, or "wheat town," probably

from the abundant culture of that grain in the vicinity. * The salubrity

of its climate, and the commanding river view in front, has always made

it a desirable place of residence. During the Revolution it was the

theater of many stormy scenes, consisting chiefly of skirmishes between

the lawless bands of marauders known by the distinctive appellation of

_Cow-boys and Skinners_. ** These infested the Neutral Grounds in West

Chester, and made it a political and social hell for the dwellers. Many

left it, and allowed their lands to become a waste, rather than remain

in the midst of perpetual torments.

The place where Andre was captured is upon the turnpike on the northeast

verge of the village, three quarters of a mile from the river, and near

the academy of Mr. Newman. A few yards south of the academy, a small

stream crosses the road and runs through a deep ravine riverward. The

marshy and thickly-wooded glen into which it poured was known as Wiley's

Swamp. A little south of this stream, on the west side of the road, is a

dwarf cedar, near which (indicated, in the picture, by the spot where

the figure sits) are the remains of a tree, said to be that of the

stately white-wood under whose shadow the captors of Andre caused him to

strip, and then made the momentous discovery of the papers in his

* Bolton. Irving, in his Legend of Sleepy Hollow, says, "This name was

given, we are told, in former days, by the good housewives of the

adjacent country, from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to

linger about the village tavern on market days."

** The party called Cow-boys were mostly Refugees belonging to the

British side, and engaged in plundering the people near the lines of

their cattle and driving them to New York. Their vocation suggested

their name. The Skinners generally professed attachment to the American

cause, and lived chiefly within the patriot lines; but they were of easy

virtue, and were really more detested by the Americans than their avowed

enemies, the Cow-boys. They were treacherous, rapacious, and often

brutal. One day they would be engaged in broils and skirmishes with the

Cow-boys; the next day they would be in league with them in plundering

their own friends as well as enemies. Oftentimes a sham skirmish would

take place between them near the British lines; the Skinners were always

victorious, and then they would go boldly into the interior with their

booty, pretending it had been captured from the enemy while attempting

to smuggle it across the lines. The proceeds of sales were divided

between the parties. See Sparks's Life of Arnold, 218-21 inclusive.

*** The Neutral Ground, thirty miles in extent along the Hudson, and

embracing nearly all West Chester county, was a populous and highly

cultivated region, lying between the American and British lines. Being

within neither, it was called the Neutral Ground. The inhabitants

suffered dreadfully during the war, for they were sure to be plundered

and abused by one party or the other. If they took the oath of fidelity

to the American cause, the Cow-boys were sure to plunder them; if they

did not, the Skinners would call them Tories, seize their property, and

have it confiscated by the state.

Journey of André and Smith to Crompond.--Vigilance of Captain Boyd.--

Andrè's Uneasiness.

September 22. 1780.754stocking. * By a spring in the grove, just over

the fence on the left, the young men were card-playing when their victim

approached. We will not anticipate the history in the description, but

here resume the narrative of events connected with Andrè's capture and

trial, from the time we left him and Smith to pursue their journey from

Verplanck's Point toward the Neutral Ground.

It was after dark when Andre and Smith left Verplanck's Point. They took

the road toward White Plains, and met with no interruption until hailed

by a sentinel near Crompond, a little village eight miles from

Verplanck's Point. ** He belonged to a party under Captain Boyd. That

vigilant officer made many and searching inquiries of the travelers, and

would not be satisfied that all was right until he procured a light and

examined the pass from Arnold, which they assured him they possessed.

During the investigation Andre was uneasy, but the pass being in

explicit terms, and known to be genuine, Captain Boyd was readily

persuaded that all was correct. The captain apologized for the

strictness of his scrutiny, and manifested much concern for their safety

on account of the prevalence of Cow-boys, in the neighborhood. He

advised them to remain till morning; but Smith assured him that their

business was urgent, and it was necessary for them to proceed

immediately toward White Plains. The captain magnified the dangers to

which they were exposed, and Smith, taking counsel of his fears, was

disposed to tarry. Andre was differently inclined, and it was a long

time before he could be persuaded to turn back and take lodging at the

cottage of Andreas Miller. The travelers slept in the same bed, and,

according to Smith's account, it was a weary and restless night for

Andre. He was up at dawn, and at an early hour they were again in the

saddle. As they approached Pine's Bridge, and Andre was assured that

they were beyond patrolling parties, his taciturnity and gloom were

exchanged for garrulity and cheerfulness, and he conversed in an almost

playful manner upon poetry, the arts, literature, and common topics.

Near Pine's Bridge *** they parted company, after partaking of a frugal

breakfast with Mrs. Sarah Underhill, whose grandson, I believe, still

owns the house. Smith proceeded to Fishkill by the way of the

* "This tree towered like a giant," says Irving, in his Sketch Book,

"above all the other trees of the neighborhood, and formed a kind of

landmark. Its limbs were gnarled and fantastic, large enough to form

trunks for ordinary trees, twisting down almost to the earth, and rising

again into the air." The trunk was twenty-six feet in circumference, and

forty-one feet in length. It was struck by lightning on the same day

that intelligence of Arnold's death arrived at Tarrytown, a coincidence

which many thought remarkable.

** Here, at the parsonage, the Yorktown Committee of Public Safety met;

and members of the Provincial Congress assembled there to grant

commissions to officers. Colonel Robertson, who commanded a regiment of

Loyalists, was ordered to destroy that post; and, piloted thither by a

Tory named Caleb Morgan, he burned the parsonage in the autumn of 1776.

*** This bridge, situated in the southeast corner of Yorktown, spanned

the Croton River. At this place the great dam connected with the Croton

aqueduct is situated, and the present bridge crosses the lake above it,

a little eastward of the Revolutionary structure. Here the Americans

generally kept a strong guard, as it was the chief point of

communication between the lines.

Volunteer Expedition against the Cow-boys.--Arrest of Major André.--

Discovery of Papers in his Stockings.

755Robinson House, where he pleased Arnold by communicating the

particulars of the journey and the place where he left Andre. It is not

at all probable that Smith, at this time, was acquainted with the real

name and mission of Andre, for he knee him only as Mr. Anderson.

André, being told that the Cow-boys, were more numerous on the Tarrytown

road, took that direction, contrary to the advice of Smith and others,

for these marauders were his friends, and from them he had nothing to

fear.

On the morning when Andre crossed Pine's Bridge, a little band of seven

volunteers went out near Tarrytown to prevent cattle being driven to New

York, and to arrest any suspicious characters who might travel that way.

John Verks (who was living in the town of Mount Pleasant in 1848)

proposed the expedition the day before, and first enlisted John

Paulding, John Dean, * James Romer, and Abraham Williams. They were at

North Salem, and Paulding procured a permit from the officer commanding

there, at the same time persuading his friend, Isaac Van Wart, to

accompany them. On their way toward Tarrytown they were joined by David

Williams. They slept in a hay barrack at Pleasantville that night, and

the next morning early they arrived near Tarrytown. Four of the party

agreed to watch the road from a hill above, while Paulding, Van Wart,

and David Williams were to lie concealed in the bushes by the stream

near the post-road. Such was the position of the parties when Andre

approached. The circumstances of the capture are minutely narrated in

the testimony of Paulding and Williams, given at the trial of Smith,

eleven days afterward. The testimony was written down by the judge-

advocate on that occasion, from whose manuscript Mr. Sparks copied it,

as follows: ** "Myself, Isaac Van Wart, and David Williams were lying by

the side of the road about half a mile above Tarrytown, and about

fifteen miles above Kingsbridge, on Saturday morning, between nine and

ten o'clock, the 23d of September. We had lain there about an hour and a

half, as near as I can recollect, and saw several persons we were

acquainted with, whom we let pass. Presently, one of the young men who

were with me said, 'There comes a gentleman-like looking man, who

appears to be well dressed, and has boots on, and whom you had better

step out and stop, if you don't know him.' On that I got up, and

presented my firelock at the breast of the person, and told him to

stand, and then I asked him which way he was going. 'Gentlemen,' said

he, 'I hope you belong to our party.' I asked him what party. He said,

'The Lower Party.' Upon that I told him I did. *** Then he said, 'I am a

British officer, out in the country on particular business, and I hope

you will not detain me a minute,' and, to show that he was a British

officer, he pulled out his watch. Upon which I told him to dismount. He

then said, 'My God! I must do any thing to get along,' and seemed to

make a kind of laugh of it, and pulled out General Arnold's pass, which

was to John Anderson, to pass all guards to White Plains and below. Upon

that he dismounted. Said he, 'Gentlemen, you had best let me go, or you

will bring yourselves into trouble, for your stopping me will detain the

general's business;' and said he was going to Dobbs's Ferry to meet a

person there and get intelligence for General Arnold. Upon that I told

him I hoped he would not be offended; that we did not mean to take any

thing from him; and I told

* While strolling among the ancient graves in the Sleepy Hollow church-

yard, a little north of Tarrytown, at the time of my visit there, I was

joined by an elderly gentleman, a son of Mr. Dean. He pointed out a

brown freestone at the head of his father's grave, on which is the

following inscription: "In memory of John Dean. He was born September

15th. A.D. 1755, and died April 4th, A.D. 1817, aged 61 years, 6 months,

and 20 days.

"A tender father, a friend sincere, A tender husband slumbers here; Then

let us hope his soul is given A blest and sure reward in heaven." By his

side is the grave of his father, Who was buried eighty years ago.

** See Sparks's Life and Treason of Arnold, Am. Biog., iii., 223-226.

*** "Paulding had effected his escape," says Bolton (i., 224), "only

three days previously, from the New York Sugar House, in the dress of a

German Yager. General Van Cortlandt says that Paulding wore this dress

on the day of the capture, which tended to deceive Andre, and led him to

exclaim, 'Thank God! I am once more among friends.'"

Deposition of David Williams.--Strange Conduct of Colonel Jameson.--His

Letter to General Arnold.

756him there were many bad people on the road, and I did not know but

perhaps he might be one."

When further questioned, Paulding replied, that he asked the person his

name, who told him it was John Anderson; and that, when Anderson

produced General Arnold's pass, he should have let him go, if he had not

before called himself a British officer. Paulding also said, that when

the person pulled out his watch, he understood it as a signal that he

was a British officer, and not that he meant to offer it to him as a

present.

All these particulars were substantially confirmed by David Williams,

whose testimony-in regard to the searching of Andre, being more minute

than Paulding's, is here inserted.

"We took him into the bushes," said Williams, "and ordered him to pull

off his clothes, which he did; but, on searching him narrowly, we could

not find any sort of writings. We told him to pull off his boots, which

he seemed to be indifferent about; but we got one boot off, and searched

in that boot, and could find nothing. But we found there were some

papers in the bottom of his stocking next to his foot; on which we made

him pull his stocking off, and found three papers wrapped up. Mr.

Paulding looked at the contents, and said he was a spy. We then made him

pull off his other boot, and there we found three more papers at the

bottom of his foot within his stocking.

"Upon this we made him dress himself, and I asked him what he would give

us to let him go. He said he would give us any sum of money. I asked him

whether he would give us his horse, saddle, bridle, watch, and one

hundred guineas. He said 'Yes,' and told us he would direct them to any

place, even if it was that very spot, so that we could get them. I asked

him whether he would not give us more. He said he would give us any

quantity of dry goods, or any sum of money, and bring it to any place

that we might pitch upon, so that we might get it. Mr. Paulding

answered, 'No, if you would give us ten thousand guineas, you should not

stir one step.' I then asked the person who had called himself John

Anderson if he would not get away if it lay in his power. He answered,

'Yes, I would.' I told him I did not intend he should. While taking him

along, we asked him a few questions, and we stopped under a shade. He

begged us not to ask him questions, and said when he came to any

commander he would reveal all.

"He was dressed in a blue over-coat, and a tight body-coat, that was of

a kind of claret color, though a rather deeper red than claret. The

button-holes were laced with gold tinsel, and the buttons drawn over

with the same kind of lace. He had on a round hat, and nankeen waistcoat

and breeches, with a flannel waistcoat and drawers, boots, and thread

stockings."

Andre was conducted to North Castle, the nearest military post, and

there, with all the papers found upon his person, he was delivered up to

Lieutenant-colonel Jameson, the officer in command. With an obtuseness

of perception most extraordinary and unaccountable, Jameson resolved to

send the prisoner immediately to Arnold! He knew a portion of the papers

to be in the undisguised handwriting of General Arnold, and it is most

extraordinary that the circumstances under which they were found should

not have awakened a suspicion of the fidelity of that officer.

Washington afterward said, in allusion to Jameson's conduct, that,

either on account of his "egregious folly or bewildered conception, he

seemed lost in astonishment, and not to know what he was doing." There

can be no doubt of the purity of his intentions, but who can respect his

judgment? He penned a letter to Arnold, saying that he sent a certain

Mr. Anderson forward under the charge of Lieutenant Allen and a guard,

who had been taken while on his way to New York. "He had a passport,"

said Jameson, "signed in your name, and a parcel of papers, taken from

under Colonel Jameson's Head-quarters.

* This is a view of the out-buildings of Mr. Sands, at North Castle,

situated a few yards from his residence. The lowest building, on the

left, is the dwelling, now attached to the barn of Mr. Sands, which,

Jameson used as his head-quarters. In that building André was kept

guarded until sent to West Point.

Better Judgment of Colonel Tallmadge.--Major André at Sheldon's Head-

quarters.--Andrè's Letter to Washington.

757Major Benjamin Tallmadge, next in command to Jameson, was on duty

below White Plains on that day, and did not return until evening. When

informed of the September 23, 1780 circumstances, he was filled with

astonishment at the folly of Jameson, and boldly expressed his

suspicions of Arnold's fidelity. He offered to take upon himself the

entire responsibility of proceeding on that ground, if Jameson would

allow it. The latter refused to sanction any action that should imply a

distrust of Arnold. Tallmadge then earnestly besought him to have the

prisoner brought back. To this he reluctantly consented, but insisted

that his letter to Arnold should be forwarded, and that the general

should be informed why the prisoner was not sent on. This was the letter

which Arnold received in time to allow him to make his escape to the

Vulture.

Jameson sent an express after Lieutenant Allen, with orders to conduct

his prisoner back to head-quarters at North Castle. As soon as Tallmadge

saw him, and observed his manner and gait while pacing the room, he was

convinced that he was a military man; and, joining this belief with

other circumstances, * his suspicions of Arnold's treachery were fully

confirmed to his own mind. He partially imbued Jameson with the same

opinions, and that officer agreed, with Tallmadge, that it was advisable

to keep their prisoner in close custody until orders should be received

from Arnold or Washington. Andre was accordingly removed, under an

escort commanded by Major Tallmadge, to Colonel Sheldon's quarters at

North Salem, as a more secure place. They arrived there at about eight

in the morning. Andre was introduced to Mr. Bronson, who was attached to

Sheldon's regiment, and that gentleman kindly offered to share his

little room with the prisoner. Learning that the papers found on his

person had been sent to General Washington, he wrote, in Bronson's room,

a letter to the American chief, in which he frankly avowed his name and

rank, and briefly related the circumstances connected with his present

situation. This letter he handed to Major Tallmadge to read, who was

greatly astonished to find that the prisoner in his custody was the

adjutant general of the British army. The letter was sealed and sent to

Washington. From that hour the prisoner's mind seemed relieved. **

* Eight or nine days previous to the capture, Major Tallmadge received a

letter from Arnold of similar import to the one Colonel Sheldon received

from him, in which he requested, if a man by the name of Anderson should

come within the lines, to have him sent to head-quarters with two

horsemen. This incident was strongly in favor of Tallmadge's suspicions.

** The following is a copy of the letter:

"Salem, September 24th, 1780.

"Sir,--What I have as yet said concerning myself was in the justifiable

attempt to be extricated. I am too little accustomed to duplicity to

have succeeded.

"I beg your excellency will be persuaded that no alteration in the

temper of my mind, or apprehension for my safety, induces me to take the

step of addressing you, but that it is to rescue myself from an

imputation of having assumed a mean character for treacherous purposes

or self-interest; a conduct incompatible with the principles that

actuate me, as well as with my condition in life. It is to vindicate my

fame that I speak, and not to solicit security. The person in your

possession is Major John André, adjutant general to the British army.

"The influence of one commander 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. To favor it, I agreed to meet, upon ground not within the posts

of either army, a person who was to give me intelligence. I came up in

the Vulture man-of-war for this effect, and was fetched by a boat from

the ship to the beach. Being here, I was told that the approach of day

would prevent my return, and that I must be concealed until the next

night. I was in my regimentals, and had fairly risked my person.

"Against my stipulations, my intention, and without my knowledge

beforehand, I was conducted within one of your posts. Your excellency

may conceive my sensation on this occasion, and must imagine how much

more must I have been affected by a refusal to reconduct me back the

next night as I had been brought. Thus become a prisoner, I had to

concert my escape. I quitted my uniform, and was passed another way in

the night, without the American posts, to neutral ground, and informed I

was beyond all armed parties, and left to press for New York. I was

taken at Tarrytown by some volunteers. Thus, as I have had the honor to

relate, was I betrayed (being adjutant general of the British army) into

the vile condition of an enemy in disguise within your posts.

"Having avowed myself a British officer, I have nothing to reveal but

what relates to myself, which is true on the honor of an officer and a

gentleman. The request I have to make to your excellency, and I am

conscious I address myself well, is, that in any rigor policy may

dictate, a decency of conduct toward me may mark that, though

unfortunate, I am branded with nothing dishonorable, as no motive could

be mine but the service of my king, and as I was involuntarily an

impostor. Another request is, that I may be permitted to write an open

letter to Sir Henry Clinton, and another to a friend for clothes and

linen.

"I take the liberty to mention the condition of some gentlemen at

Charleston, who, being either on parole or under protection, were

engaged in a conspiracy against us. Though their situation is not

similar, they are objects who may be set in exchange for me, or are

persons whom the treatment I receive might affect. It is no less, sir,

in a confidence of the generosity of your mind, than on account of your

superior station, that I have chosen to importune you with this letter.

"I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, your excellency's most

obedient and most humble servant,

"John Andre, Adjutant General

André taken to West Point and thence to Tappan.--His Disclosures to

Tallmadge.--His Case and Hale's compared

758Pursuant to an order from General Washington, Andre was conducted to

West Point, September, 1780 where he remained until the morning of the

28th, when he was conveyed in a barge to Stony Point, and from thence

conducted, under a strong escort, to Tap-pan, about two miles westward

of the present Piermont, the Hudson Hiver terminus of the New York and

Erie rail-road. Major Tallmadge, who commanded the escort, and rode by

Andre's side all the way, has left, in a communication to Mr. Sparks, an

interesting account of the events of that day's march. As he and Andre

were about the same age, and held the same rank in the respective

armies, they agreed on a cartel, by the terms of which each one was

permitted to put any question to the other not involving a third person.

In the course of conversation, thus made as unreserved as possible,

Andre informed Tallmadge that he was to have taken a part in the attack

on West Point, if Arnold's plan had succeeded, and that the only reward

he asked was the military glory to be won by such service to his king.

He had been promised, however, the rank and pay of a brigadier general

if he had succeeded. In reply to Andre's earnest inquiries respecting

the probable result of his capture, Tallmadge frankly reminded him of

the character and fate of the unfortunate Captain Hale. "But you surely

do not consider his case and mine alike?" said Andre. "Yes, precisely

similar," replied Major Tallmadge, "and similar will be your fate."

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. He also directed them to give their opinion as to the light in

which the prisoner ought to be regarded, and the punishment that should

be inflicted. We shall visit Tappan presently, and then the events in

the last scene of this drama shall be rehearsed; for the present, let us

stroll about Tarrytown during the remainder of this pleasant afternoon.

After sketching a view of the spot where Andre was captured, I walked to

the famous old Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow, standing by the side of

the post-road, about a mile northward. I can not better describe its

location than by quoting the language of Mr. Irving concerning it. "The

sequestered situation of the church," he says, "seems always to have

made it a favorite haunt of troubled spirits. It stands on a knoll,

surrounded by locust-trees and lofty elms, from among which its decent

white-washed walls shine modestly forth, like Christian purity beaming

through the shades of retirement. A gentle Ancient Dutch Church.* slope

descends to it from a silver sheet of water,

* See Sparks's Amer. Biog., iii., 255-259.

** This view is from the church-yard, looking southwest. The porch seen

on the right fronts upon the highway, and is a modern addition, the

ancient entrance being on the south side. This is believed to be the

oldest church in existence in this state, having been erected, according

to an inscription upon a stone tablet upon its front, by Vredryck

Flypsen (Frederic Philips) and Catharine his wife, in 1699. It is built

of brick and stone, the former having been imported from Holland for the

express purpose. The old flag-shaped vane, with the initials of the

founder cut out of it, yet turns upon its steeple, and in the little

tower hangs the ancient bell, bearing this inscription: "If God be for

us, who can be against us!" The pulpit and communion-table were imported

from Holland; the latter alone has escaped the ruthless hand of modern

improvement.

Bridge over Sleepy Hollow Creek.--Ichabod Crane and the Headless

Horseman.--Castle Philipse.--Tarrytown Cemetery

759bordered by high trees, between which peeps may be caught of the blue

hills of the Hudson.

To look upon its grass-grown yard, where the sunbeams seem to sleep so

quietly, one would think that there, at least, the dead might rest in

peace. On one side of the church extends a woody dell, along which laves

a large brook among broken rocks and trunks of fallen trees.

Over a deep black part of the stream, not far from the church, was

formerly thrown a wooden bridge. The road that led to it, and the bridge

itself, were thickly shaded by overhanging trees, which cast a gloom

about it, even in the daytime, but occasioned a fearful darkness at

night." *

It was at this bridge, in the dark glen near the church, that poor

Ichabod Crane had his terrible encounter with the headless horseman of

Sleepy Hollow. The road still "leads through a sandy hollow, shaded by

trees for about a quarter of a mile," but "the bridge famous in goblin

story" is no more. The present structure is a few yards westward of the

site of the old one; and although not so shaded in cavernous gloom, is

quite as romantic in its situation. From its planks there is a fine view

of Castle Philipse, as the ancient manor house of Frederic Philipse was

called, from the circumstance of its being originally fortified against

the Indians. It is a spacious and substantial stone building, and near

it is the old mill, whose wheel turned in the same place during the

Revolution. The dam forms a pleasant little lake extending back almost

to the bridge.

Upon the slopes and the brow of the hill eastward of the old church is

the Tarrytown cemetery, extending down to the ancient burial-ground. It

is susceptible of being made one of the most attractive burial-places in

this country, for, aside from the beauties of nature there spread out,

associations of the deepest interest give a charm to the spot. The

Receiving Tomb, constructed of light stone, is near the top of the hill;

and around it for many

* Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

** Ichabod, according to Irving, in the Legend, returning from a late

evening tarry with Katrina Van Tassel, on his lean steed Gunpowder, was

chased by a huge horseman, without a head, from the Andre tree to the

bridge. "He saw the walls of the church dimly gleaming under the trees

beyond. He recollected the place where Brom Bones's ghostly competitor

had disappeared. 'If I can but reach that bridge,' thought Ichabod, 'I

am safe.' Just then he heard the black steed panting and blowing close

behind him; he even fancied that he felt his hot breath. Another

convulsive kick in the ribs, and old Gunpowder sprang upon the bridge;

he thundered over the resounding planks; he gained the opposite side;

and now Ichabod cast a look behind, to see if his pursuer should vanish,

according to rule, in a flash of fire and brimstone. Just then he saw

the goblin rising in his stirrups, and in the very act of hurling his

head at him. Ichabod endeavored to dodge the horrible missile, but too

late; it encountered his cranium with a terrible crash; he was tumbled

headlong into the dust, and Gunpowder, the black steed, and the goblin

rider, passed like a whirlwind." A shattered pumpkin was found on the

road the next day, but Ichabod had gone to parts unknown. Brom Bones,

his rival, soon afterward led the pretty Katrina to the altar. The good

country people always maintained that Ichabod was spirited away by the

headless horseman, who was the ghost of a Hessian soldier, whose body,

deprived of its caput by a cannon-ball, was sleeping in the church-yard

near.

Greenburgh or the Nepera. Van Wart's Monument.--Sunny side, the

Residence of Washington Irving

760rods, where the hand of improvement had not yet effaced them, might

be seen vestiges of a small fortification, thrown up there during the

war.

I passed the night at Tarrytown, and the next morning rode out to the

beautiful Saw-mill Valley, to visit the burial-ground at Greenburgh,

wherein repose the remains of Isaac Van Wart, one of the captors of

Andre. The ground is attached to the Presbyterian church, and is near

the lovely Nepera, or Saw-mill River. Over the remains of the patriot is

a handsome marble monument, erected to his memory by the citizens of

West Chester county, in 1829.

Its completion was celebrated by a large concourse of people assembled

there on the 11th of June of that year.

General Aaron Ward, of Sing Sing, was the orator on the occasion. Mr.

Van Wart was an efficient officer of that church for many years, and

acted as chorister up to the time of his death. On returning to

Tarrytown, I rode down to Sunny side, the residence of Washington

Irving, situated upon the river bank, about two miles below. It is

reached from the post-road by a winding carriage-way, that cleaves rich

cultivated fields and pleasant woodlands. Desirous of passing an hour at

Dobbs's Ferry, and of crossing the Hudson at Tappan in season to visit

places of note there, I enjoyed the friendly greeting of the gifted

proprietor but a few moments, and then pursued my journey. I

subsequently visited Sunny-side, and made the sketch given on the

opposite page. It was in leafy June, and a lovelier day never smiled

upon the Hudson and its green banks. Close by Mr. Irving's residence, a

prospective village * had recently burst into existence, almost as

suddenly as the leaves had unfolded from the buds in the adjacent

groves; and a rail-way station, with its bustle and noise, was upon the

river margin, within bird-call of the once secluded Wolfert's Roost. I

strolled along the iron way to a stile, over which I clambered, and,

ascending the bank by a shaded pathway, was soon seated in the elegant

little parlor at _Sunnyside_, where the kindest courtesy makes the

stranger-visitor feel that he is indeed upon the sunny side of humanity,

and in the warmest glow of that generous feeling which illumines every

pen-stroke of Geoffrey Crayon. Beautified and enriched by the hand of

nature, hallowed by the voice of traditionary history speaking out from

the old walls and umbrageous trees, and consecrated by the presence of

true genius, Sunnyside has a charm for the American mind as bewitching

and

* Dearman; afterward altered to Irvington.

** The following are the inscriptions upon this monument: North side.--

"Here repose the mortal remains of Isaac Van Wart, an elder in the

Greenburgh church, who died on the 23d of May, 1828, in the 69th year of

his age. Having lived the life, he died the death, of the Christian."

South side.--"The citizens of the county of West Chester erected this

tomb in testimony of the high sense they entertained for the virtuous

and patriotic conduct of their fellow-citizen, as a memorial sacred to

public gratitude." East side.--"Vincit, Amor Patriae. Nearly half a

century before this monument was built, the con script fathers of

America had, in the Senate chamber, voted that Isaac Van Wart was a

faithful patriot, one in whom the love of country was invincible, and

this tomb bears testimony that the record is true." West side.--

"Fidelity. On the 23d of September, 1780, Isaac Van Wart, accompanied by

John Paulding and David Williams, all farmers of the county of West

Chester, intercepted Major Andre, on his return from the American lines

in the character of a spy, and, notwithstanding the large bribes offered

them for his release, nobly disdained to sacrifice their country for

gold, secured and carried him to the commanding officer of the district,

whereby the dangerous and traitorous conspiracy of Arnold was brought to

light, the insidious designs of the enemy baffled, the American army

saved, and our beloved country free."

View of Sunnyside, the ancient "Wolfert's Roost"--Jacob Van Tassel

761classic as were the groves where Orpheus piped and Sappho sang to the

Acadians of old. As I sat beneath a spreading cedar sketching the unique

villa, and scolded without stint by a querulous matronly cat-bird on one

side and a vixen jenny-wren on the other, and observed the "lord of the

manor" leading a little fair-haired grand-nephew to the river brink in

search of daisies and butter-cups, I could not repress the thoughts so

beautifully expressed in his own little story of _The Wife_: "I can wish

you no better lot than to have a wife and children. If you are

prosperous, they are to share your prosperity; if otherwise, they are to

comfort you.... Though all abroad is darkness and humiliation, yet there

is still a little world of love at home [for the husband] of which he is

the monarch." *

The residence of Mr. Irving is upon the site of the famous "Wolfert's

Roost" of the olden time. It w'as built by Wolfert Beker, an ancient

burgher of the town, and afterward came into the possession of Jacob Van

Tassel, one of the "race of hard-headed, hard-handed, stout-hearted

Dutchmen, descended of the primitive Netherlanders." Van Tassel was the

owner when the Revolution broke out, and was a stanch Whig. His house

was in the midst of the debatable region called the Neutral Ground, and

in the broad waters of the Tappan Sea ** in front, British vessels were

almost constantly anchored. The Republican propensities of Van Tassel

were well known, and as the Roost was a place of general ren-

* Sketch Book.

** Tappaan Zee, or Tappan Sea, was the name given by the Dutch to the

expansion of the Hudson at this place.

"The Roost" a Castle.--Its Garrison.--Attack upon, and Defense of "the

Roost."--Dobbs's Ferry.

762dezvous for the American water-guards * and land-scouts, he was made

liable to attacks from the enemy. He pierced his old mansion with

musketry loop-holes, and took other measures for defense. His garrison,

_per se_, consisted of his stout-hearted wife and a redoubtable sister,

Nochie Van Wurmer, a match, as he said, for the "stoutest man in the

country."

His ordnance was a goose gun "of unparalleled longitude," capable of

doing great execution. He was in league with many ardent Whigs in his

vicinity, who had sworn eternal hostility to the Cow-boys and Skinners

who infested the region, and the Roost was their head-quarters. Van

Tassel frequently joined his companions in distant expeditions. On one

of these occasions, while far away from his castle, an armed vessel came

to anchor off the Roost. The garrison consisted of only Jacob's spouse,

his sister Nochie, a blooming daughter, and a brawny negro woman. A

boatfull of armed men put off from the vessel toward the Roost. The

garrison flew to arms. The goose gun, unfortunately, was with its owner.

Broomsticks, shovels, and other missiles were seized, and a vigorous

defense was made; but, alas it was all in vain. The house was sacked,

plundered, and burned; and as the marauders were about departing, they

seized the pretty "Laney Van Tassel, the beauty of the Roost," and

endeavored to bear her to the boat. Mother, aunt, and Dinah flew to the

rescue, and a fierce struggle ensued all the way to the water's edge. A

voice from the frigate ordered the spoilers to leave the prize behind,

"and the heroine of the Roost escaped with a mere rumpling of the

feathers." ** Soon after this event Van Tassel fell into the hands of

the enemy, was sent to New York, and there remained a prisoner until

near the close of the war. *** His house was rebuilt upon the ruins of

the Roost and that phoenix, modified and enlarged, is the present

mansion at Sunnyside.

From Mr. Irving's I rode down to Dobbs's Ferry, two or three miles

below. This is a small village, lying pleasantly upon the river slope,

and along a ravine of the Greenburgh

Hills, at the mouth of the Wysquaqua Creek. It derives its name from the

ancient family of Dobbs, who owned the property here, and first

established a ferry. It is a place memorable 1698 in the annals of the

Revolution, not for sanguinary battles, but for the relative importance

of its location in the movements of armies. Upon the high bank

immediately above the rail-way station at the lower landing are remains

of the first fort erected there. It was built at the beginning of 1776,

and in October of that year Colonel Sargent strongly garrisoned it, by

order of General Heath. (v) Several other strong redoubts were thrown

* The water-guards were resolute men, well armed with muskets, and

skillful with the oar, who, in small vessels technically called whale-

boats (sharp, canoe-shaped boats), lurked in the coves and behind the

headlands of the river, to obtain information of the approach or

position of vessels of the enemy. With muffled oars, they often

reconnoitered the British ships at night, and sometimes cut off boats

that ventured from them toward the shore.

** Knickerbocker Magazine.

*** There were a number of the Van Tassels living in the vicinity of the

Greenburgh church. In November, 1777, a party of Chasseurs, under

Captain Emerick, went up from Kingsbridge, surprised the Van Tassels,

burned their houses, stripped the women and children of their clothing,

and carried off Peter and Cornelius Van Tassel prisoners. In retaliation

for the outrage, the patriots fitted out an expedition at Tarry-town

under the command of Abraham Martlingh, which proceeded down the river

in boats, passed the water-guards of the enemy in safety, landed a

little below Spuyten Devil Creek, set fire to General Oliver de Lancey's

house, and returned without losing a man. General De Lancey was a most

active and bitter Loyalist. He will come under our observation in a

conspicuous manner hereafter. See page 624, vol. ii.

**** The garrison consisted of five hundred infantry, forty light horse,

a company of artillery, with two twelve-pounders under Captain Horton,

and Captain Crafts with a howitzer.

* (v) This view is from the bank immediately above the rail-way station,

looking northwest. In the foreground is seen the wagon-road, passing by,

on an arch of masonry, over the rail-way. On the left is the wharf.

Toward the right, in the distance, is seen the long pier and village of

Piermont; and at the extreme right, in the distance, is the mountain

near the foot of which Andrè and Arnold first met. Piermont is the port

of Tappan, the place where Andre was executed. The sketch here presented

was made when I visited Dobbs's Ferry in the autumn of 1849, after the

rail-way was finished.

Old Fort at Dobbs's Ferry.--The Livingston Mansion.--Rendezvous of the

British.--The Palisades.--Tappan.

763up in the vicinity, remains of which are still visible. One, a little

southwest of the residence of Mr. Stephen Archer (the ancient mansion of

Van Brugh Livingston), appears to have been equally strong with the one

just mentioned.

A few rods north of this mansion, in a locust grove, on the west of the

post-road, are very prominent re mains of a strong redoubt. They

extended through the adjoining garden, but there the mounds have been

leveled and the fossé filled up. These forts commanded the ferry to

Paramus (now Sneeden's) landing on the Jersey shore, and also the

passage of the river. They often greatly annoyed the British shipping

while passing and repassing.

In this vicinity the British portion of the enemy rendezvoused after the

battle of White Plains, (a) before marching against Fort Washington; (b)

and at Hastings, one mile below, a British force of six thousand men,

under Cornwallis, embarked in boats, and, crossing over to Paramus,

marched to the attack of Fort Lee, and then commenced the pursuit of

Washington and his broken army through the Jerseys. Here, in January,

1777, the division of the American army under Lincoln was encamped for a

brief space. Here was the spot selected by Arnold for his first

conference with Andre in 1780; and here, on the night of the 3d of

August, 1781, while the American army lay in the neighborhood, and the

chief's head-quarters were at the Livingston mansion, a skirmish ensued

between some guard-boats of the enemy and the little garrison of the

fort on the river bank.

a October 28, 1776.

b November 16.

November 18.

After viewing the remains of the old forts, and passing a pleasant half

hour with Mr Archer (a member of the society of Friends) upon the shaded

porch of the Livingston Mansion, I crossed the Hudson in a small boat to

Sneeden's, and proceeded on foot to Tappan, a distance of about two

miles, where I arrived in time to sketch the head-quarters of

Washington, printed on page 196, and to visit the place of Andre's

execution.

Tappan village lies in the bosom of a fertile, rolling valley, not far

from the head of the deep gorge which terminates on the Hudson at

Piermont. Southwest of the village is a lofty ridge, on which the

American army lay encamped. Upon its gentle slope toward the road to old

Tappan, Major André was executed. Travelers passing up the Hudson, and

viewing with astonishment the mighty amorphous wall of the _Palisades_,

along the western shore, have no idea of the beauty and fertility of the

country in the rear. The Palisades, so bare and precipitous in front,

present a heavily-wooded slope in the rear, reaching down into a plain

of great fertility. This plain extends, with a slight variance from a

level, from Tappan to Bergen Point, a distance of twenty-seven miles,

and is watered by the Hackensack and its tributaries. It was a country

noted for the abundance of its forage at the time of the Revolution, and

was an eligible place for an army to encamp. After visiting the

interesting localities in the neighborhood, I walked to Piermont, about

two miles distant, where I arrived in time to embark in the boat of the

Erie Rail-road Company, at eight o'clock, for New York. Though "wearied

and worn" with the day's ramble, let us turn to history a while before

retiring to rest.

Tappan, lying upon one of the great lines of communication from the

East, by way of

* This is a view from the lawn on the north side. It is embowered in

trees and shrubbery, and is one of the most pleasantly-located mansions

in the country, overlooking interesting portions of the Hudson River.

Within its walls many of the leading men of the Revolution were

entertained. It was the head-quarters of Washington, when he abandoned

an attempt to capture New York city, changed his plans, and marched his

whole army to Virginia to capture Cornwallis. There, at the close of the

war, Washington, Governor Clinton, and General Sir Guy Carleton, and

their respective suites, met to make arrangements for the evacuation of

the city of New York by the British. Washington and Clinton came down

the river from West Point in a barge: Carleton ascended in a frigate.

Four companies of American Infantry performed the duty of guards on that

occasion.

Massacre of Baylor's Corps at Tappan.--The "76 Stone House," where André

was confined.--Washington's Headquarters

764King's Ferry, was made a place of considerable importance as a

camping-ground; its position among the hills, and yet contiguous to the

river, being very favorable. When, in September, 1778, Cornwallis had

possession of the Hudson portion of New Jersey, foraging parties were

sent in this direction, as well as scouts, to ascertain the condition of

the posts at West Point. General Knyphausen, with a large force, was at

the same time on the east side of the Hudson, at Dobbs's Ferry, and

Washington believed that an expedition up the river was intended.

Lieutenant-colonel Baylor, with a regiment of light horse, was sent to

watch the movements of the enemy, and to intercept their scouts and

foragers. He made his head-quarters at old Tappan, and there lay in a

state of such unsoldierly insecurity, that Cornwallis was led to form a

plan for taking his whole corps by surprise. ** General Grey, September

27, 1778 with some light infantry and other troops, was sent, at night,

to approach Tappan on the west, while a corps from Knyphausen's division

was to approach from the east, and thus surround and capture not only

the sleepers in Baylor's camp, but a body of militia, under Wayne, who

were stationed near. Some deserters from the enemy gave the militia

timely warning; but Baylor's troops, who lay unarmed in barns, ** were

not apprised of the proximity of the enemy. At midnight, Grey approached

silently, cut off a sergeant's patrol of twelve men without noise, and

completely surprised the troop of horse. Unarmed, and in the power of

the enemy, they asked for quarter, but this was inhumanly refused by

Grey, who, like Tryon, was a famous marauder during the war. *** On this

occasion he gave special orders not to grant any quarter. Many of the

soldiers were bayoneted in cold blood. Out of one hundred and four

persons, sixty-seven were killed or wounded. Colonel Baylor was wounded

and made prisoner, and seventy horses were butchered.

The event of the most importance which occurred at Tappan was the trial

and execution of Major Andre. He was confined, while there, in the old

stone mansion, now 1850 occupied as a tavern, and called the "76 Stone

House." Its whole appearance has been materially changed. The room

wherein the unfortunate prisoner was confined, and which was kept with

care in its original condition more than half a century, has been

enlarged and _improved_ for the purposes _of a ball-room!_ I was there a

few years ago, when the then owner was committing the sacrilege, and he

boasted, with great satisfaction, that he had received a "whole dollar

for the old lock that fastened up Major Andrew!" Sentiment does not obey

the laws of trade--it seems to cheapen with a decrease of supply. The

sign-board is now the only evidence that there is any on hand at the "76

Stone House." The trial took place in the old Dutch church, which was

torn down in 1836. Upon its site another and larger one of brick has

been erected. It stands within a few yards of the house where Andre was

confined. Washington's head-quarters were in the old stone building now

occupied by Samuel S Verbryck, situated near the road from Sneeden's

Landing, within a few rods of its junction with the main street

* Gordon, ii., 391.

** The encampment, on the night in question, was about two and a half

miles southwest of Tappan village, near the Hackensack River.

*** General Grey, on account of his common practice of ordering the men

under his command to take the flints out of their muskets, that they

might be confined to the use of the bayonet, acquired the name of the

no-flint general.

**** This view is from the yard, near the well. The date of its erection

(1700) is made by a peculiar arrangement of the bricks in the front

wall. In the large room called "Washington's quarters" the fireplace is

surrounded by Dutch pictorial tiles illustrative of Scripture scenes.

Indeed, the whole house remains in precisely the same condition, except

what the elements have changed externally, as it was when the chief

occupied it. When I visited it, Mrs. Verbryck's sister, an old lady of

eighty, was there. She said she remembered sitting often upon

Washington's knee. She was then ten years old.

Court of Inquiry in Andre's Case.--The Prisoner's Conduct.--Names of

those who composed the Court.--Judge Laurence.

1760.765of the village. It was then owned by John de Windt, a native of

St. Thomas's, West Indies, and grandfather of Mrs. Verbryck, who now

resides there.

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 Vulture _in 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."

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.

766"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.

767The 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.

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 the _manner_ was a subject that gave him uneasiness;

he wished to die as a _soldier_, not as a _spy._ 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 the _equity_ of 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

768yet 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. *

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

inspires The 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 decreed While 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.

769ticipated. 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.

770a 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 morning October 2, 1780 the 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 the _manner_ was 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 consciousness of a life

devoted to honorable pursuits, and stained with no action that can give

me remorse, I trust that the request I make to your excellency at this

serious period, and which is to soften my last moments, will not be

rejected. Sympathy toward a soldier will surely induce your excellency,

and a military tribunal, to adapt the mode of my death to the feelings

of a man of honor. Let me hope, sir, that if aught in my character

impresses you with esteem toward me, if aught in my misfortunes marks me

as the victim of policy and not of resentment, I shall experience the

operation of these feelings in your breast by being informed that I am

not to die on a gibbet.

"I have the honor to be, your excellency's most obedient and most humble

servant,

"John André."

** This letter has been thus beautifully paraphrased in verse by N. P.

Willis:

"It is not the fear of death That 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 heard Ere I depart. 'I can give up my

mother's look--My sister's kiss; I can think of love--yet brook A 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 perish By a soldier's

death."

Andre's Composure of Mind.--Pen-and-ink Sketch of himself--Name of his

Executioner.

771execution, 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

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,

1780 of which a fac simile is here given. The original is now in the

_Trumbull Gallery_ at 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

772principal 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.

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

773handkerchief 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." **

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 resolution November, 1780 expressive 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.

774they 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.

775ton. 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, 1780 mounted 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 that

_one_ had 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

776immediate 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.

777gave 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's October 23, 1789 correspondents 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.