(André, John) | The trial of John André, Benedict Arnold's spymaster

(André, John)

Proceedings of a Board of General Officers, Held By Order of His Excellency Gen. Washington … Respecting Major John Andrè [sic], Adjutant General of the British Army, September 29, 1780. Philadelphia: Printed by Francis Bailey, 1780

8vo (188 x 112 mm). Engraved portraits of André and Benedict Arnold (not originally issued with the pamphlet) bound in; lacks half-title and one internal and the terminal blanks, light browning, minor dampstaining at lower fore-edge corners. nineteenth-century half green morocco over green marbled boards, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, spine lettered gilt; extremities rubbed.

The first, official proceedings of the trial, printed by order of Congress. André had conspired with Benedict Arnold, then commandant of West Point, to obtain crucial documents about the fort. British control of West Point and of the Hudson River would have most certainly driven a wedge between American forces in the North and the South and led to their ultimate defeat. Under cover of darkness and the assumed name of "John Anderson," André clandestinely met with Arnold on the night of 20 September 1780. By the time Arnold had given André vital intelligence about the fort (including the estimate of the force at West Point, return of ordnance, and condition of the works), daylight had broken. and it was no longer safe for André to return to the British sloop Vulture anchored farther down river. It was decided that André would stay at the home of Arnold's go-between, Joshua Hett Smith, on the west side of the river and return to British lines overland. In direct violation of General Henry Clinton's orders, he changed out of uniform and concealed the incriminating documents in his stocking. André had incontrovertibly transformed himself into a spy.

André "was more unfortunate than criminal" wrote Washington to Comte de Rochambeau on 10 October (Fitzpatrick 20:151). Furnished with a pass from Arnold, André successfully crossed American works at Stony and Verplanck's Points but on the morning of the 23rd, he was captured by three rogue militia men near Tarrytown. He was delivered to Mabie's Tavern in Tappan, New York, on 28 September. The following day he was interrogated by the Board of General Officers which included Nathaniel Greene, Henry Knox, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the Baron von Steuben. Found guilty, he was hanged on 2 October as a common spy, despite his request for a military firing squad.

In addition to the trial proceedings, the book includes letters from George Washington, Henry Clinton, André, and Arnold. The proceedings were published in several cities including New York, Norwich, Hartford, Exeter, and Providence, but the Philadelphia edition is the official version. Scarce. 

PROVENANCE

Charles F. Bushnell (pencil signature on flyleaf)

REFERENCE

Celebration of My Country 85; Adams 80-6a; Church 1165; ESTC W28964; Evans 17043; Hildeburn 4048; Howes A241; Revolutionary Hundred 65; Sabin 1454