On this day in Sister Rain history, I may lose some followers. I hope you won’t go, but if the boot were on the other foot, who is to say I would not also head for zee hills?
In the previously published “I Spy Setauket, Long Island,” “Fraunces Tavern,” and “I Spy Ben’s Grave,” I share the true story of General George Washington’s Spy Ring, which was primarily made up of childhood friends from Setauket, Long Island, New York. I also recount visiting the places in this tale as old as our country.
The final noose end for me to experience has to do with Major John Andre, a British officer. In the AMC series, “TURN: Washington’s Spies,” Major Andre is portrayed as a very likable man, performing his duty to his country in the most gentlemanly manner possible. By all accounts, this depiction of him is correct, it is not a fictionalized caricature. Major Andre was in charge of British intelligence operations, which led him to communications with then Continental Army officer Benedict Arnold. Major Andre traveled to meet Arnold, who was in command of West Point, New York fortifications, to plan a British takeover of the forts. When their scheming was complete, Andre set out on horseback to return to British lines via land (he had arrived on a boat on the Hudson River), requiring that he remove his uniform and put on civilian clothes. He carried with him papers written by Arnold detailing how to take West Point; they were hidden in Andre’s stocking. Arnold gave him a passport under an alias in case Andre came across Patriots.
On the second day of his journey, three Americans stopped Andre. They took him prisoner, searched him, and found the plans for West Point. Major Benjamin Tallmadge (if you have read my other stories cited above, like me, you know Ben, you love Ben), head of Continental Army intelligence, arrived and had the papers found on Andre sent immediately to General Washington. The commander of the Connecticut border post, Lieutenant-Colonel John Jameson, fearful of retribution by Benedict Arnold if Arnold was found not guilty of treason, sent Arnold a letter informing him of Andre’s capture. Upon receipt of the news, Arnold escaped by boarding a barge on the Hudson. This is the time and place in history when Arnold became synonymous with the word “traitor”.
Andre was transferred to the Continental Army headquarters in Tappan, New York. Washington convened a board of senior officers to investigate the matter; they found Andre guilty of being behind American lines “under a feigned name and in a disguised habit”, ordereing that, in their opinion, he should “suffer death”. British officer General Henry Clinton did all that he could to save Andre, in his written negotiations Washington demanded that in exchange for Andre, Clinton must give the Americans Arnold, who was now under British protection in New York. Clinton personally detested Arnold, but declined to hand him over to the Americans.
From the time of his arrest, Andre endeared himself to the Americans, including Alexander Hamilton. As his date of his execution approached, Andre appealed to Washington to be executed by firing squad as a soldier, rather than hanged, as was customary for spies. Washington refused his request.
The day before his hanging, Andre drew this likeness of himself with pen and ink.
Andre was hanged by the Continental Army as a spy in Tappan on October 2, 1780. According to witnesses, he removed two white handkerchiefs from his pocket, bandaging his own eyes with perfect firmness. He placed the noose around his own neck and tightened it. The executioner informed him that he had an opportunity to speak, if he desired it; he raised the handkerchief from his eyes, and said, “I pray you to bear me witness that I meet my fate like a brave man.” And then he was gone. Dressed in his royal regimentals and boots, his body was placed in an ordinary coffin, then interred at the foot of the gallows. A religious poem was found in his pocket after his execution, written two days beforehand.
Two hundred forty four years later, I stood at this location. lt is marked with a monument in the middle of a now residential cul-de-sac. As my husband read the plaques to me, a teenage boy shot hoops in his driveway, a mere 15’ from the site of a significant event in the Revolutionary War. I was at first annoyed by the repeated hard rubbery smack of the ball against the macadam. I had waited a number of years for this moment, I did not appreciate the unwelcome disruption. It was a beautiful blue sky day, bright sun, the perfect temperature. Lovely homes with well-kept lawns mirrored each other across the street aptly named “Andre Hill.” Heliuma-filled balloons lazily danced above the mailbox they were tied to at the end of another neighboring driveway. Then, a realization: this is EXACTLY what the Continental Army was fighting for. There could not be a more American tableau. This is what Major John Andre lost his life for. By all I have read about the man, I think he would agree.
Postscript:
In 1821, Major John Andre’s remains were removed to England and placed in the nave of Westminster Abbey under a marble monument.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter #ushistory #turnwashingtonsspies #setauketnewyork #culperring #trispytours #frauncestavern #tappannewyork #johnandre #ispyjohnandre
