John Andre Executed

• Author: Allen Pusey
• Pages: 72-72

John Andre was a polyglot

charmer, a handsome bachelor

who by the time he was executed

was only 30. A major in the Brit-

ish army, he was held in esteem

as an ofcer and a gentleman, though

he would be sentenced to death—with

great regret—as a British spy.

The London-born son of a European

merchant, Andre was a chivalrous pres-

ence on and off the battleeld. When he

was held for 13 months as a prisoner

of war in Pennsylvania, he stayed with

a local family. Having promised not to

escape, he wandered freely about the

town of Lancaster, chatting up local

folk in their native German.

When Andre returned to the British

as part of a prisoner exchange, it was

just in time for a key raid that led to

the British occupation of Philadelphia,

where he took up residence in a house

seized from Benjamin Franklin. By

1778, he was in New York with the

rank of major and chief of staff to Sir

Henry Clinton, commander in chief of

British forces.

In 1779, Andre was appointed

head of intelligence, a position deemed

perfect for his background and interper-

sonal skills. And barely a month later,

a Philadelphia Loyalist came to him of-

fering a startling proposition: Maj. Gen.

Benedict Arnold would switch sides in

exchange for a large sum of money.

Four years in, the American rebellion

seemed endless. Ebbing morale left both

sides in search of something decisive,

and bribery and subornation of trea-

son, even if unglamorous, were deemed

useful and honorable tools.

To Andre, Arnold seemed perfectly

suited for such treachery. On one hand,

he had distinguished himself in combat:

at Ticonderoga, Quebec and Ridge-

eld. He had emerged from two battles

at Saratoga as a bona de hero with

the respect and trust of Gen. George

Washington. But though his sacrices

were certain—he was widowed early

in the war, then hobbled by wounds to

the same leg in three different battles—

there was an undertow of corruption

and entitlement.

In Philadelphia, Arnold was court-

martialed for proteering. Though

Washington protected him, he was

despised in the Continental Congress.

Moreover, some warned of his exten-

sive fraternization with British sympa-

thizers, including his marriage

to the daughter of a

Philadelphia Loyalist.

Andre signaled

interest, and in

more than a

year of cod-

ed letters,

counteroffers

and intelli-

gence leaks

that followed,

he cautioned

Arnold to wait

until his defection

would have the great-

est impact. That mo-

ment came in August 1780,

when he was named commander of

West Point, a strategic army garrison of

3,000 troops overlooking the Hud-

son River. Arnold agreed to surrender

West Point and its soldiers for 20,000

pounds (as much as $4.4 million today)

and military rank.

The two met to nalize their deal

on Sept. 21 in a wooded area down-

river from West Point. There Arnold

delivered a sheaf of six papers detailing

troop strengths, garrison vulnerabilities

and the location of munitions, as well

as a letter of passage for Andre’s return

identifying him as “John Anderson.”

But as he met with Arnold, the

British sloop Vulture, which ferried him,

was shelled by rebel forces and had

to move their rendezvous point miles

downstream. Forced to travel as “An-

derson” across American lines, he was

stopped and searched by a trio of men

in British garb. When Andre identied

himself as a British ofcer, they identi-

ed themselves as Americans. He was

arrested, and Washington was notied.

Set to meet with Washington when

he heard of the arrest, Arnold scur-

ried instead to the Vulture, still sitting

downriver awaiting Andre.

Washington ordered Andre held at

Tappan and on Sept. 29 convened a

board of ofcers to examine

the young British ofcer

as a spy. Andre freely

admitted his purpose

but reasoned that

the shelling of the

Vulture made

him a virtual

prisoner, render-

ing his presence

in plainclothes a

legally allowable

escape.

The board was

moved by Andre’s

forthright demeanor,

but it reluctantly sen-

tenced him to death. Re-

marked one panelist: “Would to God

the wretch who drew him to death

could have suffered in his place.”

On Oct. 2, 1780, Andre was hanged.

Witnesses said he placed the noose

around his own neck and fastened his

own blindfold. The Marquis de Lafay-

ette, who served on the board that had

condemned him, reportedly wept at the

sight.

John Andre Executed

Precedents by

ALLEN PUSEY

Oct. 2, 1780

Illustration of John Andre by duncan1890/Getty Images

72

ABA JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2019