Postscripts

LOWER HUDSON VALLEY

The curtain now opens on the third and final act in our drama of the treason that nearly succeeded. Traitorous American Major General Benedict Arnold has reached the British after his precipitous escape. British Major John André and American attorney Joshua Hett Smith have been transported to the Continental Army's encampment at Tappan, N.Y., and are being held there for separate trials.

Friday, September 29, 1780, morning. The board convened by General Washington meets in the Old Dutch Church in Tappan. It includes six major generals and eight brigadier generals, with Nathanael Greene as its head. This is in sharp contrast to the British treatment of American patriot Nathan Hale, who was arrested as a spy on the night of September 21, 1776, and hanged the next morning without a trial. Taking no part in the proceedings, Washington remains in his headquarters at the DeWint house in Tappan (now a museum).

André describes in detail the circumstances of his coming ashore, his inadvertent penetration into American-held territory and his capture at Tarrytown on his way to the British lines. He is asked whether his impression was that he had come ashore under the protection of a flag of truce. André virtually seals his doom by testifying that he does not believe that he did. He adds that if he came ashore under such protection he certainly would have returned under it.

André is excused following his testimony. Letters from Beverley Robinson, Benedict Arnold and Sir Henry Clinton are read. All three insist that André had come ashore under the protection of a flag of truce. Under the etiquette of war, however, no flag of truce can cover an act of treason. Anyway, André's own testimony belies their claim.

After deliberating, the board concludes that André had come ashore (1) "in a private and secret manner"; (2) "he changed his dress within our lines and under a feigned name and in a disguised habit" crossed at King's Ferry and traveled to the place where he was captured, "being then on his way to New York" with "several papers which contained intelligence to the enemy."

The unanimous verdict: "Major André, Adjutant General to the British Army, ought to be considered as a spy from the enemy; and, agreeable to the law and usage of nations, he ought to suffer death."

Saturday, September 30, morning. Washington approves the sentence and orders the execution to take place the next day at five in the afternoon. Now aware of his fate, André sends a gracious letter to Sir Henry Clinton. In it, he absolves his superior of "any suspicion that I was bound by your Excellency's orders to expose myself to what has happened."

"I am perfectly tranquil in mind, and prepared for any fate to which an honest zeal for my King's service may have devoted me," he tells him, ending with assurances of his good treatment in captivity. "I receive the greatest attention from his Excellency General Washington, and from every person under whose charge I happen to be placed." André's meals have been sent to him from Washington's own table. Since his capture, Washington has not seen him.

Saturday, September 30, afternoon. Sympathetic to André, Washington arranges for a message to be passed to Clinton. It suggests that if the exchange of Arnold for André were to be proposed, the Americans would agree to it. The same trial balloon has been floated within Clinton's staff, but he is not about to accede to the suggestion. To him, Arnold's desertion is not a crime but an act deserving of high praise; his crime had been his service in the rebel cause. Having promised to reward and protect Arnold, Clinton cannot give him up to be hanged, whatever André's predicament.

Clinton writes a letter to Washington telling him that three royal officials will be at Dobbs Ferry (across from Tappan) the next day. They are British Lt. Gen. James Robertson, governor of New York, Andrew Elliott, lieutenant-governor, and William Smith, the colony's chief justice. They desire a meeting to present "a true state of the facts." Washington postpones the execution to Monday "at twelve o'clock precisely."

Sunday, October 1, morning. André sends a note to Washington asking for a soldier's death before a firing squad instead of being hanged like a felon. Washington does not answer André's appeal. His feeling is that it is more considerate to keep the truth about his fate from him for as long as possible.

Sunday, October 1, afternoon. The British ship Greyhound anchors off Dobbs Ferry. Only General Robertson is allowed to come ashore to meet with General Nathanael Greene. (Greene would emerge from the Revolution with a military reputation second only to Washington's.) Robertson offers to produce Beverley Robinson and the officers of the Vulture to attest that André had gone ashore under Arnold's flag of truce. He shows Greene a copy of Arnold's letter to Washington claiming responsibility for André's use of an assumed name--although André has used the name John Anderson in secret correspondence for sixteen months.

Greene points out that André has already taken responsibility for wearing a disguise and has testified that he did not have the protection of a flag. Greene promises to report to General Washington the substance of their meeting. Washington takes no action to change the method of execution or to stay it.

Monday, October 2, morning. This will be André's last day of life. His personal servant has been allowed to bring him clean clothing, and André dons his full dress uniform--scarlet tunic, buff vest and knee breeches, and high boots. Five hundred Continental soldiers line the road to the execution site on a hill outside of Tappan (today known as "André Hill"). Fifes and drums play as André is conducted from his cell in the Mabie Tavern (now a restaurant named the '76 House) for the march to the execution site. He still hopes he will die a soldier's death by firing squad.

Ever polite, André compliments the officers escorting him, "I am very much surprised to find your troops under such good discipline, and your music is excellent," he tells them. André hesitates when he catches sight of the gallows silhouetted against the sky.

"I have borne everything with fortitude," André protests, "but this is too degrading." Major Tallmadge, the American escorting officer assures him, "It is unavoidable, sir," explaining that the manner of his death had been fixed at the trial and could not be changed..

"How hard is my fate," André says with uncharacteristic self-pity, then consoles himself with, "It will soon be over." Major Tallmadge, who has been impressed with the prisoner's composure and personal conduct throughout his ordeal, shakes hands with André under the gallows.

Built of two forked trees with a horizontal crosspiece, the gallows is high. The wagon bearing André's coffin is positioned under it. Without being prompted, André leaps up into the wagon and stands on his coffin, surveying the assembled troops and spectators.

The order for his execution is read. André is asked if he has any final words. In a clear voice he says, "I have nothing more to say, gentlemen, than this: I pray you to bear witness that I meet my fate like a brave man."

The hangman is a captive Tory named Strickland, recruited for the task in return for his freedom. He has tried to conceal his identity by blackening his face, but only succeeds in achieving a ridiculous effect. Repelled by the hangman's blackened hands, a proud André passes the noose over his own head and tightens it around his neck. He offers the hangman two handkerchiefs; one is to cover his eyes and the other is used to bind his hands behind his back. At a signal, the wagon moves forward. The body drops and stops abruptly, swinging like a giant pendulum in a wide arc.

As defined by Aristotle, a tragedy is a dramatic series of events culminating in the fall of someone, often of high degree. It captures the tragic sense of life because the protagonist is doomed--through frailties, or errors, or fate--to fail, suffer and die. The André story is a classic tragedy in every sense of the word. Not only is John André the victim, but the villain, Benedict Arnold, goes unpunished.

André's fate--and that of Arnold and the American cause--was determined by a series of random events: André's inability to return to the Vulture after his first meeting with Arnold; the cannonading from Croton Point that drove the Vulture away; André's indifference to Clinton's orders not to carry any papers, not to go in disguise or to enter American-held territory; his willingness to return by a roundabout overland route; his failure to present Arnold's pass on first being stopped in Tarrytown; Major Tallmadge's appearance at headquarters after André was brought in; Colonel Jameson's insistence on notifying Arnold of John Anderson's capture; Washington's decision to detour to Fishkill, thus delaying his receipt of the incriminating documents.

In American hands, West Point immobilized and neutralized British forces on the lower Hudson. With its fortifications on high cliffs, it was almost impregnable from the landside and beyond the reach of guns on ships in the river below. Besides the loss of its garrison and a large store of ordinance, capture of this strong point would have made King's Ferry, a crucial link between the colonies, no longer tenable. Loss of control of the Hudson would have driven a giant wedge between the colonies. With the river opened to British warships and supply vessels, the consequences for the patriots would have been catastrophic.

The Aftermath
John André was buried at the spot where he died. His capture and tragic fate became the subject of folk ballads, engravings and lithograps. In 1821, a request was made by the British for the return of his body to his homeland. After locating the gravesite, the coffin was taken to the British frigate Phaeton and brought to Portsmouth. André was buried in Westminster Abbey with full military honors. In 1879, Cyrus W. Field, of Irvington, N.Y., the industrialist who planned and oversaw the laying of the first transatlantic cable, erected a monument at the execution site. It was attacked by vandals within a few years but was restored.

The British welcomed Benedict Arnold, but his defection caused violent reactions among patriots. Philadelphia, Boston and Providence all held public demonstrations against Arnold. Some suggested that September 25th be made a holiday to remind future generations of "the eternal disgrace of the traitor." Even Benedict fell into disfavor as a name for male children.

Arnold never enjoyed the full trust of the British. Because of his penchant for telling any who would listen how they had mishandled the war, he made few new friends among them. He led a force of loyalist troops by sea to Virginia in December of 1780. During this campaign, he asked a subordinate what he thought he might expect if patriots should capture him. He was shaken by the response. "They will cut off that leg of yours wounded at Quebec and at Saratoga, and bury it with all the honors of war, and then they will hang the rest of you on a gibbet."

In the summer of 1781, Arnold attacked the Connecticut seaport of New London, a center for privateers. One objective was Fort Griswold, where rebel defenders were brutally bayoneted to death after they had surrendered. New London was put to the torch.

After Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in October of 1781, Arnold sailed for England aboard a British man-of-war; he did not dare risk a crossing in a vessel likely to be taken by the enemy. His wife and children followed separately in a merchant ship. By the time he reached London, he found to his dismay that peace sentiment was rife, and negotiations were already under way.

Arnold became obsessed with a desire to make a large fortune quickly. He fought a duel in 1792 with the Earl of Lauderdale, who had impugned his character. After several unsuccessful attempts to start mercantile ventures in Canada and the West Indies, he died in London in 1801. His wife was to follow him in death three years later. Some of their children became officers in the British Army. One son rose to the rank of lieutenant general, and a grandson was a major general in the First World War.

The lone monument to Arnold in America has stood since 1887 at the site of the Saratoga battlefield. On one side it shows in high relief a boot, such as the one he wore when he received his crippling leg wound. The inscription on the back of the stone reads, "in memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army who was desperately wounded on this spot." Arnold's name discreetly does not appear.

In the Old Cadet Chapel adjoining the West Point Cemetery, incised shield-shaped black marble plaques on the walls show the ranks, names, and birth and death dates of all Continental Army generals. One reads only "Major General," and the notation, "Born 1740." The general's name has been chiseled from the stone, leaving a deep rectangular indentation. Legend has it that the missing name is that of Benedict Arnold. Readers interested in seeing this curious and little-known artifact can easily find it. Climb the stairs to the organ loft, where it can be found on the east wall.

Joshua Hett Smith was tried by a court martial and acquitted, only to be arrested by local authorities and held in the Goshen, N.Y., jail as a suspected Tory sympathizer. In May of 1781 he escaped and made his way to Manhattan. When the British evacuated the city in 1783, he went to England. He left there for South Carolina eighteen years later and died in obscurity in New York in 1817.

Col. Beverley Robinson, whose confiscated home in Garrison had been Arnold's headquarters, retired to England devoutly believing he had done his duty for his king and country, and died near Bath in 1792.

Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge, who had immediately perceived the treason of Benedict Arnold, was in charge of André as a prisoner and developed a deep respect for him, as did others who guarded him. He served in Congress from 1801 to 1817 and died in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1835.

Lt. Col. John Jameson, whose actions were responsible for Arnold's escape, returned to his home in Virginia and died there in 1810. Washington later said about Jameson's conduct in the André case that because of "his egregious folly or bewildered conception, he seemed lost in astonishment, and not to know what he was doing."

The three militiamen who had participated in André's capture were each rewarded with a silver medal and a pension for life. John Paulding died in 1818; his grave is in St. Peter's Cemetery in Van Cortlandtville, near Peekskill, N.Y. Isaac Van Wart died in 1828 and is buried in the cemetery adjoining the Elmsford Reformed Church on Route 9A just south of Route 119. David Williams died in Schoharie County in 1830 and is buried in the Old Stone Fort Cemetery in Schoharie, N.Y.

Labels: American Revolution, Benedict Arnold, George Washington, John André

HUDSON VALLEY

The drama of Benedict Arnold and John André continues. Three new players will soon make their appearance:

George Washington, 48, towering, cool-headed commander in chief of the Continental Army, one of America's wealthiest men. His unfailing dignity, courtesy and composure endear him to all who serve under him.

Lt. Col. John Jameson, 29, from Culpeper County in Virginia. A wounded veteran of the Pennsylvania Campaign, he is temporarily in command of Col. Elisha Sheldon's Connecticut regiment of dragoons patrolling the enemy lines.


Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge, 26, in charge of Washington's secret service. After graduation from Yale in 1773, he became a teacher in Connecticut. Two years later, he joined the Continental Army and distinguished himself in several battles. He is Washington's trusted confidant in espionage matters.

Readers familiar with today's military will be struck by the comparative youthfulness of the officers participating in the André affair. The new republic that was in the process of being born was indeed a "young" country.

For readers interested in following André's route in Westchester and Putnam counties after his capture, it is given here in detail.

Saturday morning, September 23, 1780. Near a short bridge on the Albany Post Road north of Tarrytown, three patriot militiamen--John Paulding, Isaac Van Wert and David Williams--are holding an unarmed rider. He claims to be John Anderson, and he carries a pass signed by Major General Benedict Arnold, commander at West Point. But he also carries, hidden on his person, detailed descriptions of the defenses of that stronghold.

Paulding fires his musket, a signal for the five other members of the scouting party to join them. "We have taken a prisoner, searched him and found papers in his stockings," Paulding tells the others. "We don't know what to do with him." After a brief discussion, the militiamen decide to take him to the nearest American outpost. On the way, the dejected prisoner tells his captors, "I would to God you had blown my brains out when you stopped me."

Saturday, September 23, late afternoon. The prisoner is turned over to Lt. Col. John Jameson at Wright's Mills in North Castle. (A monument at High Street and Greenway Road in Armonk marks the site). Jameson finds himself in a dilemma. A week earlier, American military outposts had been alerted by Arnold to be on the lookout for a John Anderson coming from New York City. They are to escort him to Arnold's headquarters at the Robinson house in Garrison. Arnold had taken this step in case André decided to travel overland rather than by ship.

Jameson is puzzled. This John Anderson came from the wrong direction and had been brought to him from behind the lines. He is also carrying documents that Jameson considers "of a dangerous tendency." Despite the evidence--but in keeping with the order to deliver John Anderson to Arnold's headquarters--he decides to have Lt. Solomon Allen and a squad of dragoons bring the prisoner to Benedict Arnold, his commanding general.

André has still not revealed his true identity. For him, the prospect of being delivered to Arnold is almost too good to be true. Jameson also dispatches a rider carrying the captured documents to General Washington, who is believed to be somewhere on his way to Peekskill from Danbury, Connecticut.

That evening, Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge returns to Wright's Mills from a patrol near White Plains. Jameson fills him in on what has happened. Tallmadge immediately deduces the truth: If Arnold was anxious for a meeting with Anderson and Anderson has been found to be carrying military secrets in Arnold's handwriting, it means that Anderson has already met with Arnold. Arnold must be engaged in a treasonous conspiracy. Tallmadge argues heatedly with Jameson, who outranks him, and persuades him to have Anderson brought back to Wright's Mills.

Sunday, September 24, morning. In the nick of time, the dragoons bringing Anderson to Arnold are intercepted in Van Cortlandtville, only an hour away from the Robinson house, and return with him to Wright's Mills. Jameson, however, stubbornly insists on notifying Arnold of Anderson's capture. Lt. Solomon Allen is dispatched to the Robinson house carrying a letter describing the detention of John Anderson.

Unable to locate Washington, the rider carrying the incriminating documents returns. The American general has unexpectedly made a detour to Fishkill to inspect its defenses. Washington's eventual destination is known to be Arnold's headquarters at the confiscated Robinson house in Garrison. The rider is now sent there with the papers. Ironically, Arnold's fate will be decided in a dramatic race of messengers worthy of a D.W. Griffith movie. Major Tallmadge interviews John Anderson. From his soldierly bearing, it is obvious he is "an officer and a gentleman," and probably of some importance. For safety, Tallmadge convinces Jameson to move the prisoner to South Salem, farther away from the British lines.

With an escort of twenty heavily armed dragoons, Tallmadge and Anderson ride north through the Coman Hills and Bedford Village to the unit's headquarters in the South Salem house of Squire John Gilbert (marked by a plaque on Main Street near Bouton Road).

Sunday, September 24, 3:00 p.m. So long as there has been a chance he might be turned over to Arnold, André has kept mum about his identity. But when Tallmadge purposely tells him the documents he carried have been sent to the American commander in chief, he decides to reveal his identity. From South Salem, André writes a letter to Washington: "The person in your possession is Major John André, Adjutant General of the British Army," he tells him. Careful not to name Arnold, however, he admits he had "agreed to meet, on ground not within the posts of either army, a person who was to give me intelligence." He adds he "was betrayed into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise within your posts" and asks that he be "branded with nothing dishonourable, as no motive could be mine but the service of my king, and I was involuntarily an impostor."

Monday, September 25, morning. The messenger carrying Jameson's fateful letter arrives at the Robinson house as Arnold and his staff are sitting down to breakfast. His face a blank, Arnold scans the letter quickly and orders the messenger to say nothing of Anderson's capture. He rushes upstairs to kiss his young wife and baby goodbye. Because his plan has collapsed, he tells her she must fend for herself.

Arnold orders a horse to be saddled. Leaving word that he has been called to West Point, he rides down a path to the dock at the river. His eight oarsmen and coxswain are waiting with his officer's barge. He orders them to row not to West Point, but down river--he must reach the Vulture at once.

Once aboard the British ship, Arnold tries to induce his boatmen to switch sides, promising them advancement in rank. He is unsuccessful. His coxswain, Corporal James Lurvey, says scornfully, "No, sir, one coat is enough for me to wear at a time." A vindictive Arnold insists that the nine men who saved his neck be made British prisoners of war.

From the Vulture, Arnold sends a letter to George Washington. In it he tries to justify his defection, assuring Washington of his wife's innocence and enclosing a letter for her. He adds a postscript affirming that his two military aides. Lt. Col. Richard Varick and Maj. David Solebury Franks, and Joshua Hett Smith "are totally ignorant of any transactions of mine." Both Varick and Franks had been uneasy about Arnold's activities as the new commander of West Point, but concluded that he was engaged in nothing more dishonorable than profiteering. Varick would later serve as Mayor of the city of New York from 1789 to 1801.

Monday, September 25, noon. Washington arrives at the Robinson House at about 10:30 a.m. with a party that included Lafayette, Henry Knox and Alexander Hmilton, and is told that Arnold has left for West Point. After breakfast, Washington crosses the river, only to discover that Arnold has not been seen there. In the meantime, the second messenger has arrived at the Robinson house with the incriminating documents. Washington returns about four in the afternoon. His aide, Alexander Hamilton, greets him with the stunning details of Arnold's treachery.

Among the papers that had been carried by Anderson are a summary of the Continental army's strength, a report of the troops at West Point and vicinity, an estimate of the forces needed to garrison the defenses properly, a report on the ordnance on hand, the plan of artilley deployment in the event of an attack, a copy of the minutes Washington had sent to Arnold on the council of war held on Sept. 6, and a report by Arnold on the defects of the West Point defenses. Washington is then handed the letter identifying John Anderson as André. When he learns that Arnold received a message at the breakfast table just before his sudden departure, Washington knows the worst.

"Whom can we trust now?" Wasington asks. He quickly overcomes his momentary despair. Taking command of the situation in characteristic fashion, he orders two officers to ride the sixteen miles to Verplanck's Point to intercept Arnold. They are unsuccessful; Arnold's barge has already passed.

The entire Continental Army is put in a state of readiness in expectation of a British attack. Washington orders Gen. Nathanael Greene, commanding the main body of troops at Tappan, to send troops to bolster the King's Ferry defenses. To forestall rumors, Greene later informs the army what has happened in a general order that opens with, "Treason of the blackest dye was yesterday discovered."

Washington summons Col. James Livingston, commander of the posts at Verplanck's Point and Stony Point, replacing him with Col. John Lamb, commander of artillery at West Point. An officer untainted by involvement with Arnold must hold the pivotal King’s Ferry. Livingston arrives and convinces Washington of his loyalty. It was Livingston who sent the cannon to Croton Point that drove off the Vulture days earlier.
Joshua Hett Smith, André's escort through northern Westchester, immediately comes under suspicion. Smith has gone to Fishkill to join his wife and family. Lt. Col. Jean Baptiste Gouvion, a French military engineer and designer of West Point's defenses, rides to Fishkill to arrest him. At midnight, as his men surround the house, Gouvion bursts into Smith's bedroom. He marches the hapless prisoner on foot to the Robinson house, eighteen miles away.

Mindful of the danger of an escape or an attempt by the British to free André, Washington orders Jameson to send him under a heavy guard to the Robinson house . "He had better be conducted to this place by some upper road rather than the route through Crompond," he tells him. "I would not wish Mr. André to be treated with insult, but he does not appear to stand upon the footing of a common prisoner of war and therefore he is not entitled to the usual indulgencies they receive, and is to be most closely and narrowly watched."

Tallmadge, three other officers and a formidable force of a hundred dragoons leave South Salem with André on an all-night ride through a drenching rain. Just before reaching North Salem, however, they are intercepted by a courier carrying new orders. To avoid loyalist marauders believed to be in the vicinity, their route takes them through Purdy's, Croton Falls, Mahopac and the Red Mills (now Mahopac Falls).

After a brief stop at James Taylor's tavern in Van Cortlandtville (later called the Dusenberry Tavern abd the Gardner Hollman House) they head north over Bald Hill , or Drake's Hill (now Gallows Hill), past Continental Village on the King's Highway orPostRoad, then over the Old West Point Road to the present Route 9, south for a half mile to Cat Rock Road (Route 403), and down this road to the river road (Route 9D). From here a short ride south brings them to the Robinson house in Garrison. (The house burned in 1892; a historical marker identifies the site.)

Tuesday, September 26. André and Smith arrive separately at the Robinson house. Washington declines to see André, but he does get the details of his capture and of the disagreement between Jameson and Tallmade over how this should be reported. Washington now writes to Congress to tell them of the momentous events of the previous five days.

André and Smith are brought to West Point. Tallmadge, a skilled intelligence officer, refuses to allow the prisoners to talk to one another. André is placed in a casemate in Fort Putnam; Smith is housed in the military police hut.

Wednesday, September 27. Lt. Col. John Jameson, whose letter about André's capture enabled Benedict Arnold to escape, writes an apologetic and self-serving letter to Washington. "I am very sorry I wrote to General Arnold. I did not think of a British ship being up the river, and expected that, if he was the man he has since turned out to be, he would have come down to the [British] troops in this quarter, in which case I should have secured him."

Thursday, September 28, morning. André and Smith are brought in separate boats from West Point to Stony Point. On the way, André asks Tallmadge what he thinks will happen to him. Tallmadge has gotten to like his prisoner but cannot avoid the memory of the 1776 execution of Nathan Hale, his Yale classmate, by the British.

"Surely, you do not consider his case and mine alike?" André asks.

"Yes, precisely similar, and similar will be your fate," Tallmadge tells him, prophetically. They arrive at the King's Ferry dock, the same spot from which André had started his journey only six days before. Here an impressive escort of American dragoons meets them. The two prisoners reach Tappan in the afternoon. Smith is held in the Dutch Reformed Church, and André is kept in a room in the Mabie Tavern (now known as the 1776 House). André will be tried first.

Washington arrives in Tappan and orders a board of general officers to take testimony. Their task is to decide whether André should be considered a prisoner of war or a spy. The verdict will determine whether he lives or dies. The curtain now comes down on the second act in the drama of Benedict Arnold and John André.

Labels: American Revolution, Benedict Arnold, George Washington, John André

LOWER HUDSON VALLEY

Aristotle defined tragedy as a drama recounting the fall of persons of high degree and exemplifying the tragic sense of life. One September 229 years ago in the lower Hudson Valley, a profoundly moving Aristotelean tragedy of errors played itself out. Two human beings, one, British Major John André, and the other, American General Benedict Arnold, were each inevitably doomed by their own failings and by fate or destiny.

Theirs is a story that celebrates one man's courage and dignity in the face of disaster and another man's craven willingness to abandon his wife and children to save his own skin. It is a story that portrays both the grandeur and the baseness of the human spirit. First, allow me to set the scene:

British troops have held New York City for four years. The Americans hold the area north of the Croton River, Peekskill and the fortified Hudson Highlands. The bastion at West Point commands a key navigation point and denies the British access to the upper Hudson. Because of the dogleg in the river formed by the jutting Point, sailing ships must tack to change direction. Slowing down exposes enemy ships to artillery fire from the batteries on the heights above. A great iron chain also hinders navigation.

Much of Westchester is a veritable no man's land ravaged by four years of marauding by both sides. In this so-called "Neutral Ground" of shifting allegiances, roving bands carry on an unrelenting campaign of raiding, plundering and retaliation.

Here are the major players in the drama about to unfold:

Sir Henry Clinton, 37, the British commander-in-chief headquartered in New York City. He knows the strategic value of West Point. In 1777, he moved up the Hudson to capture and briefly hold two American forts near Bear Mountain, south of West Point.

Benedict Arnold, 39, short (5' 4"), scrappy American general, a wounded hero of the attack on Quebec and the battles at Saratoga. In command of West Point for only two months, he is deeply in debt and bitter that others have received recognition he feels should be his. For nearly eighteen months Arnold has been secretly carrying on coded correspondence with Clinton that will lead to the surrender of West Point.

John André, 29, major in the British Army, son of a Swiss merchant from Geneva who settled in London. He is Clinton's Adjutant General; among his duties is handling spies and informers. In these dealings, he calls himself "John Anderson."

Beverley Robinson, 59, wealthy Tory leader and colonel in the Loyal Americans, the loyalist regiment he raised. Married to Susanna Philipse and with friends in high places, Robinson is extremely useful to the British.

Joshua Hett Smith, 44, a successful lawyer. Unlike his brother, William, a well-known Tory and Chief Justice of New York, he has patriot sympathies.

John Paulding, Isaac Van Wart and David Williams, members of a band of eight "volunteer militiamen" from Salem, who have come down to Tarrytown to intercept anyone trading with the British. Under a recently passed New York law, they can claim any property seized from enemy prisoners.

Cooped up in New York City, British General Clinton has ambitious plans to capture West Point and drive a wedge between the colonies. But he needs details about its defenses and its garrison of 3,000 men, artillery and supplies. Clinton is willing to pay Arnold 20,000 pounds if the attack is successful. But Arnold insists on a minimum payment 10,000 pounds for his cooperation, whatever the outcome. André has been authorized to make a counteroffer of 6,000 pounds.

To make negotiations with the enemy easier, Benedict Arnold moves his headquarters from West Point across the river to the confiscated Beverley Robinson house in Garrison. The conspirators finally work out a plan: Robinson is to request a meeting with Arnold, ostensibly to discuss his confiscated property. André will accompany Robinson to this meeting and negotiate details with Arnold for West Point's surrender. Clinton gives André specific instructions: He is not to enter the enemy lines; he is not to carry papers of any kind; and he is not to disguise himself.

After unsuccessful attempts to meet on September 11th and again on the 20th, contact is finally made. The drama now begins:

Thursday, September 21, 1780, near midnight. Robinson and André have traveled upriver from Dobbs Ferry on the armed British sloop Vulture, anchored for the past two days off Haverstraw, opposite Croton Point (then called Teller's Point). Evading the small American patrol boats in the river, Joshua Hett Smith, Arnold's emissary, rows downriver and arrives at the Vulture in a rowboat whose oarlocks are muffled with pieces of sheepskin.

Apparently expecting Arnold himself, Robinson refuses to go ashore. André, who has identified himself as John Anderson, impulsively offers to go ashore. and conceals his elegant staff officer's red tunic under a long blue outer cloak. Smith brings André to the west shore at the Long Clove, below Stony Point. (A marker erected by the Historical Society of Rockland County identifies the site of the landing.) André climbs the bank and finds Arnold waiting in a clump of fir trees. They hold a long conversation.

Friday, September 22, about four a.m. Smith comes up from the boat and warns of the approach of daylight. Arnold convinces André to accompany him to Smith's house about two miles to the north and wait there until nightfall before returning to the Vulture. Arnold tells Smith the mysterious John Anderson is a merchant who likes to pretend he is an officer.

Smith, Arnold and André ride up the road to Haverstraw. At the southern edge of the hamlet, an American sentry challenges them. Arnold gives the countersign, and they pass though. In penetrating the American lines, André violates the first of Clinton's orders. The trio reaches the Smith house on a hill in West Haverstraw (later called Treason Hill). It has a commanding view of the river. (Helen Hayes Hospital now occupies the site.) Arnold and André breakfast together.

As they watch in amazement from the Smith house, a four-pounder patriot cannon on Croton Point bombards the Vulture. Well-placed shots cause the warship to retreat downriver with the tide. André appears to have been abandoned in enemy territory.

Arnold advises him to dispose of his scarlet uniform jacket and to travel by land. He gives André six pages of detailed plans and descriptions of West Point's defenses and tells him to hide them in his stockings. In taking these, André violates the second of Clinton's orders.

Breakfast over, Arnold returns by boat to his headquarters in the Robinson House. Before leaving, he writes official passes for André as John Anderson and for Smith. Arnold instructs Smith to see that John Anderson returns to the British lines safely. Resigning himself to an overland journey, André violates the third of Clinton's orders. He exchanges his British officer's tunic for one of Smith's jackets. Over this, he dons the same long blue cloak he wore when he left the Vulture.

Friday, September 22, late afternoon. Riding a brown horse provided by Arnold, "at the decline of the sun" André leaves for the western terminus of King's Ferry at Stony Point with Smith and his Negro servant. King's Ferry is a crucial communication link between New England and the colonies to the south, with a permanent force of 166 boatmen on duty. The trip across the river to Verplanck's Point is by a flat-bottomed boat.

Once ashore, King's Ferry Road brings them to the Albany Post Road (now Route 9A). An interior route through Westchester offers less likelihood of interception. To bypass checkpoints at Peekskill, a local resident, Angus Sutherland, guides them over back roads. At what will one day be the site of the Hudson Valley Hospital Center, they turn east on Crompond Road (now Route 202).

André's intention is to ride to White Plains that night. Four miles east of Peekskill, however, the three riders are stopped at a militia checkpoint west of Stony Street. Arnold's pass is honored, but they are warned not to ride at night because of roving bands of marauding loyalists.

They turn back to the little farmhouse of Andreas Miller, on the south side of old Crompond Road a third of a mile past Hog's Lane (now Lexington Avenue). Inns are infrequent on back roads, and it is a common practice for farmers to take in travelers. Smith spends a restless night sharing the one available bed with André, who does not remove his clothes or even his boots and spurs.

Saturday, September 23, morning. At break of day, the three riders are on their way. Another militia checkpoint is near Strang's tavern at Crompond Corner, where Arnold's pass works its magic again. André has some fearful moments when they meet Col. Samuel B. Webb, an American officer just freed by the British, but Webb fails to recognize him.

In what is now the village of Yorktown Heights, they reach the farm of Isaac Underhill, where they hope to take breakfast. (The house still stands at the corner of California Road and Hanover Street.) Because of recent depredations, Mrs. Underhill can only give them a dish of "suppawn" (corn meal mush and milk).

Joshua Hett Smith, fearing loyalist partisans below the Croton River, announces he will go no farther. Smith pays Mrs. Underhill for breakfast and divides his Continental paper money with André. Accompanied by his servant, Smith turns back, headed toward Arnold's headquarters at the Robinson House.

Carrying a rough sketch map drawn by Smith, André rides on alone and crosses Pine's Bridge at the Croton River. Now he is in the notorious "Neutral Ground" and less likely to meet armed Americans. Roads are unmarked. Unsure of his way, he seeks directions frequently.

On the road to Chappaqua (now Quaker Street), he spots 12-year-old Jesse Thorne standing on a woodpile at a house at the corner of Kipp Street (now Hardscrabble Road). André asks directions and decides to turn south on Kipp Street. Ironically, in the crazy quilt of warring parties that is the "Neutral Ground," had he ridden on to Chappaqua he would have reached British forces.

He stops to water his horse at a roadside spring just north of Pleasantville Road, chatting amiably with unsuspecting militia member Sylvanus Brundage, the occupant of the house across the road. (The spring still flows and is marked by a plaque.) Continuing through Mekeel's Corners (the intersection of Bedford Road and the old Saw Mill River Road) without incident, he comes to Hammond's Mills (now Hawthorne) on the Saw Mill River.

The Hammond children, 14-year-old David and 12-year-old Sally, offer him water. He gives Sally a sixpence. David tells him troubling news: an American patrol is on the road to White Plains at Young's Corners (the junction of Bradhurst Avenue and Grasslands Road), about four miles to the south. A worried André hastily returns to Mekeel's Corners and heads southwest on the old Tarrytown-Bedford Road (Route 448) through the Pocantico Hills. He reaches the Albany Post Road (Route 9) just north of Clark's Kill (now called "André's Brook").

Saturday, September 23, 11 a.m. Consulting his sketch map, André crosses the bridge over the little stream and makes his way up the slope. A grim-faced John Paulding pointing a musket directly at him suddenly confronts him. Paulding, recently a prisoner of the British, wears the uniform jacket of a Jaeger, a mercenary German rifleman. It is unmistakable--green with red piping. The jacket had helped Paulding to escape from captivity in the North Dutch Church in New York City. Isaac Van Wart and David Williams, two other members of Paulding's group, gather around. Paulding's jacket convinces André he is among friends. Instead of showing the pass from Arnold that had worked so successfully at other patriot checkpoints, he makes a monumental blunder.

"My lads," he says, "I hope you belong to our party."
"What party might that be?" Paulding asks, innocently.
"The lower party," André answers. The term is a geographical euphemism for the loyalists in British-occupied New York City.
Paulding assures him, "Oh, we do." He adds, "My dress shows that."
Relieved that his ordeal is over, André announces, "I am a British officer and have been up the country on business, and would not wish to be detained a minute." To prove that he is an officer, he takes out a gold watch, something no ordinary soldier would carry.

At this, Paulding reveals that they are patriots and orders him to dismount. André blanches and sighs deeply. Thinking fast, he says "God bless my soul, a body must do anything to get along nowadays." Now he belatedly produces Arnold's pass.

Paulding, the only one of the three who can read or write, studies it. "You had best let me go, or you will bring yourselves into trouble," André warns, "for your stopping me will detain General Arnold's business. I am going to Dobbs Ferry to meet a person there and get information for him."

Paulding reflects for a minute. "I hope you will not be offended. We do not mean to take anything from you, but there are many bad people on the road, and I don't know but that you may be one. What is your name?"André tells him, "John Anderson," It is the name on General Arnold's pass.

Nevertheless, the three escort him into a nearby clump of bushes. Paulding tells Williams to search the prisoner. André removes his outer clothing. It reveals nothing incriminating. Next, he is told to remove his boots, which also conceal nothing. His captors notice that his stockings fit badly and order him to remove them. Inside one, three sheets of paper are found.

Paulding examines these and exclaims, "He's a spy!" The other stocking contains three other papers. Some are in Arnold's handwriting. He refuses to say how he came by the incriminating papers, offering only the patently lame excuse that he received them "of a man at Pine's Bridge, a stranger to me."

An unusual exchange ensues that has troubled historians ever since. Based on their later testimony, the captors of André may have been less than patriotic in their motives. Paulding asks what he would give to be let go. "Any sum you want," is the answer.

"A hundred guineas with the horse, saddle, bridle--and your watch?" (A guinea was a gold coin worth a pound and a shilling, a total of 21 shillings. The gold coin has not been minted since 1813. Certain amounts, such as philanthropic contributions and bequests, are still quoted in guneas.)

"Yes, and the money shall be sent here if you want."

"Will you give more?" asks Paulding. "Any amount you may name, in cash or dry goods," André assures him.
Eventually, the amount promised is raised to 10,000 guineas--a king's ransom. He offers to write a letter to be sent to the British outpost at Dobbs Ferry for the money. Fearing this might result in their capture or in a retaliatory attack, the militiamen decline. His captors take his horse, bridle and saddle, gold watch, and the Continental paper money Smith had given him. He also surrenders a silver watch. With this climactic incident, the curtain comes down on the first act in the drama of American General Benedict Arnold and British Major John André.

Labels: American Revolution, Benedict Arnold, John André