Equity of Andre's Sentence. Efforts to Save him. Embassy of Colonel Ogden. Washington Vilified yet 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 Andrè 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 Andrè, the decision of the Board of inquiry, and the letter written by Andrè 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 Andrè for Arnold. Every thing occurred as was an Mawn Anden 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 Andrè, 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 Andrè, 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." Andrè uttered no sentiment like this. Miss Seward, his early friend, on reading this account, wrote thus in her "Monody on Major Andrè:" "Oh Washington! I thought thee great and good, 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 2 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 appro Proposition to Exchange Andrè for Arnold declined. A Deputation from the British General. ticipated. The commandant received Ogden courteously, sent the packet across the river, asked him to stay all night, and in the course of the evening Andrè became the subject of conversation. Ogden, in reply to the commandant's question, "Is there no way to spare Andrè's life?" assured him that, if Sir Henry Clinton would give up Arnold, Andrè 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 Andrè. 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 Andrè, 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 Andrè 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 bation 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 state 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. 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. 2 "If, after this just and candid representation of Major Andrè'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 knew that in no part of the transaction had Andrè been under such protection. Ссс I. Result of the Efforts to Save Andre. His Letter to Washington asking to be Shot. Willis's Paraphrase. a 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." 1780. 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 Andrè back with him, or at least bear to his general an assurance of his ultimate safety. At an early hour the next mornOctober 2, ing 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 Andrè 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 Andrè 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 sollier will surely induce your excellency, and a military tribunal, to adapt the mode of my death to the feelngs 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, 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, Let but this prayer be heard 'I can give up my mother's look- I can think of love-yet brook "JOHN ANDRE." I can give up the young fame "Thine is the power to give, Joy for the hour I live, 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. execution, but, in consequence of the protracted conference at Dobbs's Ferry, it was postponed until the next day. Andrè had procured his military suit, and in calmness counted October 1, 1780. 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, 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 Andrè 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 Andrè is no more among the living. 1 have just witnessed his exit. It was a tragical scene of the deepest interest. . . . . . The 1 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. Jabez L. Tomlinson, of Stratford, and of Mr. Nathan Beers [see page 431, this volume, for a notice of Mr. Beers], of this city, to request your acceptance of the accompanying miniature of Major JOHN ANDRE. 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 ANDRE himself. Mr. Tomlinson was present when the sketch was made, and says it was 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. Ben jamin 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 principal 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 PLACE OF EXECUTION.2 6 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 excellency1 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 Andrè 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 su perior 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 Scammel 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 Andrè, having avoided a personal interview with him from the beginning. 2 The place of Andrè'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 "ANDRE 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. |