Major John André Hanged as a Spy
Major John André was a British officer during the American Revolutionary War, known for his involvement in a conspiracy with General Benedict Arnold to surrender the American fort at West Point to British forces. André, who initially served as an aide-de-camp to British General Sir Henry Clinton, was considered a talented and promising soldier. His plans with Arnold came to light when he was captured on September 23, 1780, by American militiamen while attempting to return to British lines after meeting Arnold to finalize their plot.
Despite efforts from British leadership to secure his release, André was tried and found guilty of espionage by an American military board. General George Washington ordered his execution, which took place on October 2, 1780. André's death elicited sympathy among his fellow British soldiers, and he was respected for his character and abilities. Posthumously, he was honored with a monument in Westminster Abbey, where his remains were eventually laid to rest, reflecting his legacy in British history despite the controversial nature of his actions during the war.
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Major John André Hanged as a Spy
Major John André Hanged as a Spy
During the American Revolution, General Benedict Arnold betrayed the colonial cause and plotted with the British to give them control of the vital Hudson River fortification at West Point, New York. The plot failed, and Arnold himself escaped punishment by fleeing to safety behind British lines. Major John André, the British officer who had plotted with Arnold, was not so fortunate. By order of General George Washington, the commander in chief of the Continental army, André was hanged as a spy on October 2, 1780.
A brilliant young soldier, André first came to the American colonies as a lieutenant in the British army in 1774. Captured the next year at St. John's (north of Lake Champlain) during the abortive American campaign against Canada, André spent a year on parole in Pennsylvania before being exchanged and returning to service with the British army occupying New York City. André‘s superior officers quickly recognized the young man's abilities. By 1779 he had advanced to the rank of major, and Sir Henry Clinton, the commander in chief of British forces in America, had selected him to be his aide-de-camp and adjutant general.
As Clinton's aide, André was in charge of the British general's correspondence with secret agents and informants, the most notable of whom was Benedict Arnold. Beginning in May 1779 Arnold provided the British with important information regarding American defenses, but not until the summer of 1780 did he gain command of West Point and develop the plan to betray that strategic fortification. Using the pseudonyms Gustavus and John Anderson, Arnold and André exchanged considerable correspondence about the plot against the American garrison. Finally, in August 1780 Clinton agreed to pay Arnold 20,000 British pounds for his assistance in bringing West Point under British control.
On September 20 André ventured up the Hudson River on the British sloop Vulture, wearing his British uniform so that he could not be charged as a spy if he was captured behind enemy lines. On September 22, before dawn, André was able to go ashore as planned. He and Arnold met in a wooded area across the Hudson from West Point until about 4:00 A.M. and worked out the specific details for the British takeover of the garrison.
Fearing detection if he attempted to return to the Vulture at daybreak, André decided to wait at the home of a British sympathizer, Joshua Hett Smith, until nightfall. This delay proved to be disastrous for him. At dawn on the 22nd, Colonel James Livingston, a Continental officer who had no knowledge of the plot between Arnold and André, ordered his men to fire on the Vulture. The British sloop managed to escape down the Hudson, but its retreat left André stranded within rebel territory.
The departure of the Vulture forced André to return to the British forces in New York City by an overland route through perilous countryside. Before beginning the trip André decided to remove his scarlet uniform. By doing so he discarded his chief advantage as well as his worst handicap, for although his military garb made him conspicuous it also guaranteed him protection as a soldier from the reprisals and punishments accorded a captured spy. For his hazardous journey he donned civilian clothes, including a round beaver hat and a long flowing blue cloak, and hid the papers detailing the secrets of West Point's defenses in his boots.
Arnold wrote out special passes so that André would be allowed through the American lines. Then, with Smith as his guide, André set out at nightfall on Friday, September 22 for New York City. Smith accompanied André as far south as the Croton River. There he considered André to be beyond all danger, and shortly after dawn the next day he left the British major to complete the remaining 15 miles of his journey alone.
André‘s trip continued without mishap until about 9:00 A.M., when he encountered three volunteer militiamen. John Paulding, Issac Van Wart, and David Williams were, probably adventurers acting under a New York law that permitted them to claim any property they might find on a captured enemy. However, when they stopped André, he mistook them for British sympathizers and in the confusion of the moment revealed his true identity. The militiamen searched their captive, and when they discovered the incriminating papers relating to West Point in his boots, they immediately turned him over to Lieutenant Colonel John Jameson, the commander of the American outposts in the region.
During the two days that followed, American leaders slowly unraveled the complicated plot involving Arnold and André. On September 25 Arnold heard of André‘s capture and managed to flee to safety with the British just hours before General George Washington arrived in the vicinity of West Point and learned of his subordinate's treachery. André, however, had no hope of escaping punishment. On September 29 a military board consisting of such respected officers as Nathanael Greene, Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Ludof Gerhard Augustin von Steuben, and Henry Knox met to interrogate him. During the hearing, which lasted only one day, the evidence that was presented conclusively indicated that André was guilty of spying.
When Washington heard the board's report, he ordered that André be hanged on October 1. The execution was postponed a day, following General Sir Henry Clinton's request for a delay so that Washington might learn “a true state of facts.” However, the British general's efforts on behalf of his aide were futile, and Washington could not agree to André‘s request to be shot as a solider rather than hanged as a spy. On October 2 the original orders were carried out and he met his death on the gallows.
André, who had been liked and respected by his fellow soldiers, was mourned by the British army. A monument to the soldier who had plotted with Arnold to advance the cause of Great Britain was erected in Westminster Abbey, where his remains (transferred there in 1826) subsequently found their final resting place.