Chapter XXXII: "From Cain to Catiline, the world hath known (1)

Her traitors--vaunted votaries of crime--

Caligula and Nero sat alone

Upon the pinnacle of vice sublime;

But they were moved by hate, or wish to climb

The rugged steeps of Fame, in letters bold

To write their names upon the scroll of Time;

Therefore their crimes some virtue did enfold--

But Arnold! thine had none--'twas all for sordid gold!"

Estelle Anna Lewis.

HE localities more immediately associated with the brief career of Andre during his hapless connection with Arnold, now commands our attention, for toward Haverstraw I next journeyed. It was three o'clock in the afternoon when I crossed the ferry at Verplanck's Point in a small row- boat This was the old King's Ferry of the Revolution, where the good Washington so often crossed, and where battalion after battalion of troops, royal, French, and American, at various times spanned the Hudson with their long lines of flat-boats, for it was the main crossing-place of armies moving between the Eastern and Middle States. It was here, too, that a portion of the forces of Burgoyne crossed the Hudson when on their march from Massachusetts to Virginia.

The landing-place on the Stony Point side, in former times, was in the cove at the opening of the marsh, on the north of the promontory; now the western terminus of the ferry is a little above, at the cottage of Mr Tenyck, the jolly old ferryman, who has plied the oar there, almost without intermission, ever since 1784. He was sitting upon his door- stone when his son moored the boat at its rock-fastening; and, as we ascended the bank, the old man held up a bottle of whisky, and proffered a draught as a pledge of welcome to the "millionth man" that had crossed his ferry. Preferring milk to whisky, I sat down under the rich-leaved branches of a maple, and regaled myself with that healthful beverage. While the veteran and two of his neighbors were enjoying the aqua vitæ.

I sketched the old King's Ferry sign-board, with its device, which was nailed to a sapling near, and then, accompanied by the old man and his companions, started for a ramble over the rough site of the fort on Stony Point. Upon its ancient mounds I sat and listened for an hour to the adventurous tales of the octogenarian, until the long shadows of the mountains warned me that the day was fast waning, when I hastened to make the drawings upon pages 744 and 746. At sunset, accompanied by one of the men as bearer of my light baggage, I started on foot for the neighborhood of Haverstraw. The road passes through a truly romantic region, made so by nature, history, and tradition. I stopped often to view the beautiful river prospect on the southeast, while the outlines of the distant shores were imperceptibly fading as the twilight came on. At dusk we passed an acre of ground, lying by the roadside on the right, which was given

"God's Acre."--Benson's Tavern.--Interview with a Builder of Stony Point Fort.--View from Smith's House

752many years ago for a neighborhood burial-place. Its numerous white slabs proclaimed an already populous city of the dead, and ere long another generous hand should donate an acre near for the same purpose.

"I like that ancient Saxon phrase which calls

The burial-ground God's Acre! It is just.

It consecrates each grave within its walls,

And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust.

God's Acre! Yes, that blessed name imparts

Comfort to those who in the grave have sown

The seed that they had garner'd in their hearts,

Their bread of life, alas! no more their own."

Longfellow.

It was quite dark when we reached the tavern of Mr. Benson, near Sampsonville, about three miles below Stony Point. Haverstraw was two miles distant, and, wearied with the rambles of the day, I halted at Benson's until morning. After an early breakfast I proceeded to the foot of Torn Mountain, a little northwest of Haverstraw, to visit a man named Allison, who was eighty-eight years old. I had been informed of his vigor of body and mind, and was much disappointed on finding him in bed, feeble and sinking from the effects of a fall. Our conversation was brief, but his short communications were interesting. He was a young man of eighteen when the fort at Stony Point was built, and assisted in carrying material for its construction from the main. In company with many others in the neighborhood not allowed to join in Wayne's expedition, he hung upon the rear of the little army on that eventful night; and when the shout of victory arose from the fort, his voice was among the loudest in the echo that was sent back by the yeomanry gathered upon the neighboring hills. He gave me a minute account of the movements of the Americans before crossing the morass, and told me of a black walnut-tree still standing by the roadside between Haverstraw and Stony Point, under which the negro, Pompey, took charge, as pilot, of Wayne's assaulting force. I had intended, on leaving Mr. Allison, to go down near the river bank, where Arnold and Andre met; but the hour was approaching at which I had promised myself to return to Verplanck's Point, so I postponed my visit to this interesting spot until a subsequent date.

On my return toward Stony Point, I tarried at and sketched Smith's House, delineated on page 720. It is in the present possession of William C. Houseman, whose good taste has adorned the grounds around it with fine shrubbery. It is located upon the brow of an eminence, known, for obvious reasons, as Treason Hill, and commands an extensive view of the Hudson and the country beyond.1 From the window in the second story, where, tradition avers, Andre looked with anxious eyes for the appearance of the Vulture, I made the drawing printed on the opposite page. Between the foreground and the river is seen the broad alluvial flat in the rear of Haverstraw, and on the brink of the water is the village. The headland on the left is Teller's Point, and the highest ground on the extreme right is Torn Mountain, extending down to the verge of Haverstraw Bay, where it is called

* The Marquis de Chastellux, in his Travels in North America (i., 98, 99), says, "My thoughts were occupied with Arnold and his treason when my road brought me to Smith's farm-house, where he had his interview with André, and formed his horrid plot.... Smith, who was more than suspected, but not convicted of being a party in the plot, is still in prison, * where the law protects him against justice. But his home seems to have experienced the only chastisement of which it was susceptible; it is punished by solitude; and is, in fact, so deserted, that there is not a single person to take care of it, although it is the mansion of a large farm."

* Joshua Hett Smith, implicated in Arnold's treason, was a brother of the Tory chief justice, William Smith, and a man of considerable influence. The part which he had acted with Arnold made him strongly suspected of known participation in his guilt. He was arrested at Fishkill, in Dutchess county, and was taken to the Robinson House a few hours previous to the arrival of André. There Smith was tried by a military court and acquitted. He was soon afterward arrested by the civil authority of the state, and committed to the jail at Goshen, Orange county, whence he escaped, and made his way through the country, in the disguise of a woman, to New York. He went to England with the British army at the close of the war, and in 1808 published a book in London, entitled An Authentic Narrative of the Causes which led to the Death of Major Andre; a work of very little reliable authority, and filled with abuse of Washington and other American officers. Smith died in New York in 1818.

Ancient black Walnut-tree.--Tarrytown.--Cow-boys and Skinners.--Neutral Ground.--Place where André was Captured.

753the Hook Mountain. The vessel in the river denotes the place where the Vulture lay at anchor.

Half a mile above the Smith House, on the right of the road to Stony Point, is the huge black walnut-tree mentioned by Mr. Allison.

I procured a branch from it, large and straight enough for a _maul- stick,_ and then plodded on in the warm sun, to the ferry. The old waterman, though nearly eighty years of age, rowed his boat across with a vigorous hand, and at one o'clock I left Verplanck's for Tarrytown, a village on the eastern bank of the Hudson, twenty-seven miles above New York, and memorable as the place where Major Andre was captured.

The village of Tarrytown lies scattered over the river front of the Greenburgh Hills, ana presents a handsome appearance from the water. It is upon the site of an Indian village called Alipconck, which, in the Delaware language, signifies the _Place of Elms_. The Dutch, who settled there about 1680, called the place Tarwe Town, or "wheat town," probably from the abundant culture of that grain in the vicinity. * The salubrity of its climate, and the commanding river view in front, has always made it a desirable place of residence. During the Revolution it was the theater of many stormy scenes, consisting chiefly of skirmishes between the lawless bands of marauders known by the distinctive appellation of _Cow-boys and Skinners_. ** These infested the Neutral Grounds in West Chester, and made it a political and social hell for the dwellers. Many left it, and allowed their lands to become a waste, rather than remain in the midst of perpetual torments.

The place where Andre was captured is upon the turnpike on the northeast verge of the village, three quarters of a mile from the river, and near the academy of Mr. Newman. A few yards south of the academy, a small stream crosses the road and runs through a deep ravine riverward. The marshy and thickly-wooded glen into which it poured was known as Wiley's Swamp. A little south of this stream, on the west side of the road, is a dwarf cedar, near which (indicated, in the picture, by the spot where the figure sits) are the remains of a tree, said to be that of the stately white-wood under whose shadow the captors of Andre caused him to strip, and then made the momentous discovery of the papers in his

* Bolton. Irving, in his Legend of Sleepy Hollow, says, "This name was given, we are told, in former days, by the good housewives of the adjacent country, from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the village tavern on market days."

** The party called Cow-boys were mostly Refugees belonging to the British side, and engaged in plundering the people near the lines of their cattle and driving them to New York. Their vocation suggested their name. The Skinners generally professed attachment to the American cause, and lived chiefly within the patriot lines; but they were of easy virtue, and were really more detested by the Americans than their avowed enemies, the Cow-boys. They were treacherous, rapacious, and often brutal. One day they would be engaged in broils and skirmishes with the Cow-boys; the next day they would be in league with them in plundering their own friends as well as enemies. Oftentimes a sham skirmish would take place between them near the British lines; the Skinners were always victorious, and then they would go boldly into the interior with their booty, pretending it had been captured from the enemy while attempting to smuggle it across the lines. The proceeds of sales were divided between the parties. See Sparks's Life of Arnold, 218-21 inclusive.

*** The Neutral Ground, thirty miles in extent along the Hudson, and embracing nearly all West Chester county, was a populous and highly cultivated region, lying between the American and British lines. Being within neither, it was called the Neutral Ground. The inhabitants suffered dreadfully during the war, for they were sure to be plundered and abused by one party or the other. If they took the oath of fidelity to the American cause, the Cow-boys were sure to plunder them; if they did not, the Skinners would call them Tories, seize their property, and have it confiscated by the state.

Journey of André and Smith to Crompond.--Vigilance of Captain Boyd.-- Andrè's Uneasiness.

September 22. 1780.754stocking. * By a spring in the grove, just over the fence on the left, the young men were card-playing when their victim approached. We will not anticipate the history in the description, but here resume the narrative of events connected with Andrè's capture and trial, from the time we left him and Smith to pursue their journey from Verplanck's Point toward the Neutral Ground.

It was after dark when Andre and Smith left Verplanck's Point. They took the road toward White Plains, and met with no interruption until hailed by a sentinel near Crompond, a little village eight miles from Verplanck's Point. ** He belonged to a party under Captain Boyd. That vigilant officer made many and searching inquiries of the travelers, and would not be satisfied that all was right until he procured a light and examined the pass from Arnold, which they assured him they possessed. During the investigation Andre was uneasy, but the pass being in explicit terms, and known to be genuine, Captain Boyd was readily persuaded that all was correct. The captain apologized for the strictness of his scrutiny, and manifested much concern for their safety on account of the prevalence of Cow-boys, in the neighborhood. He advised them to remain till morning; but Smith assured him that their business was urgent, and it was necessary for them to proceed immediately toward White Plains. The captain magnified the dangers to which they were exposed, and Smith, taking counsel of his fears, was disposed to tarry. Andre was differently inclined, and it was a long time before he could be persuaded to turn back and take lodging at the cottage of Andreas Miller. The travelers slept in the same bed, and, according to Smith's account, it was a weary and restless night for Andre. He was up at dawn, and at an early hour they were again in the saddle. As they approached Pine's Bridge, and Andre was assured that they were beyond patrolling parties, his taciturnity and gloom were exchanged for garrulity and cheerfulness, and he conversed in an almost playful manner upon poetry, the arts, literature, and common topics. Near Pine's Bridge *** they parted company, after partaking of a frugal breakfast with Mrs. Sarah Underhill, whose grandson, I believe, still owns the house. Smith proceeded to Fishkill by the way of the

* "This tree towered like a giant," says Irving, in his Sketch Book, "above all the other trees of the neighborhood, and formed a kind of landmark. Its limbs were gnarled and fantastic, large enough to form trunks for ordinary trees, twisting down almost to the earth, and rising again into the air." The trunk was twenty-six feet in circumference, and forty-one feet in length. It was struck by lightning on the same day that intelligence of Arnold's death arrived at Tarrytown, a coincidence which many thought remarkable.

** Here, at the parsonage, the Yorktown Committee of Public Safety met; and members of the Provincial Congress assembled there to grant commissions to officers. Colonel Robertson, who commanded a regiment of Loyalists, was ordered to destroy that post; and, piloted thither by a Tory named Caleb Morgan, he burned the parsonage in the autumn of 1776.

*** This bridge, situated in the southeast corner of Yorktown, spanned the Croton River. At this place the great dam connected with the Croton aqueduct is situated, and the present bridge crosses the lake above it, a little eastward of the Revolutionary structure. Here the Americans generally kept a strong guard, as it was the chief point of communication between the lines.

Volunteer Expedition against the Cow-boys.--Arrest of Major André.-- Discovery of Papers in his Stockings.

755Robinson House, where he pleased Arnold by communicating the particulars of the journey and the place where he left Andre. It is not at all probable that Smith, at this time, was acquainted with the real name and mission of Andre, for he knee him only as Mr. Anderson.

André, being told that the Cow-boys, were more numerous on the Tarrytown road, took that direction, contrary to the advice of Smith and others, for these marauders were his friends, and from them he had nothing to fear.

On the morning when Andre crossed Pine's Bridge, a little band of seven volunteers went out near Tarrytown to prevent cattle being driven to New York, and to arrest any suspicious characters who might travel that way. John Verks (who was living in the town of Mount Pleasant in 1848) proposed the expedition the day before, and first enlisted John Paulding, John Dean, * James Romer, and Abraham Williams. They were at North Salem, and Paulding procured a permit from the officer commanding there, at the same time persuading his friend, Isaac Van Wart, to accompany them. On their way toward Tarrytown they were joined by David Williams. They slept in a hay barrack at Pleasantville that night, and the next morning early they arrived near Tarrytown. Four of the party agreed to watch the road from a hill above, while Paulding, Van Wart, and David Williams were to lie concealed in the bushes by the stream near the post-road. Such was the position of the parties when Andre approached. The circumstances of the capture are minutely narrated in the testimony of Paulding and Williams, given at the trial of Smith, eleven days afterward. The testimony was written down by the judge- advocate on that occasion, from whose manuscript Mr. Sparks copied it, as follows: ** "Myself, Isaac Van Wart, and David Williams were lying by the side of the road about half a mile above Tarrytown, and about fifteen miles above Kingsbridge, on Saturday morning, between nine and ten o'clock, the 23d of September. We had lain there about an hour and a half, as near as I can recollect, and saw several persons we were acquainted with, whom we let pass. Presently, one of the young men who were with me said, 'There comes a gentleman-like looking man, who appears to be well dressed, and has boots on, and whom you had better step out and stop, if you don't know him.' On that I got up, and presented my firelock at the breast of the person, and told him to stand, and then I asked him which way he was going. 'Gentlemen,' said he, 'I hope you belong to our party.' I asked him what party. He said, 'The Lower Party.' Upon that I told him I did. *** Then he said, 'I am a British officer, out in the country on particular business, and I hope you will not detain me a minute,' and, to show that he was a British officer, he pulled out his watch. Upon which I told him to dismount. He then said, 'My God! I must do any thing to get along,' and seemed to make a kind of laugh of it, and pulled out General Arnold's pass, which was to John Anderson, to pass all guards to White Plains and below. Upon that he dismounted. Said he, 'Gentlemen, you had best let me go, or you will bring yourselves into trouble, for your stopping me will detain the general's business;' and said he was going to Dobbs's Ferry to meet a person there and get intelligence for General Arnold. Upon that I told him I hoped he would not be offended; that we did not mean to take any thing from him; and I told

* While strolling among the ancient graves in the Sleepy Hollow church- yard, a little north of Tarrytown, at the time of my visit there, I was joined by an elderly gentleman, a son of Mr. Dean. He pointed out a brown freestone at the head of his father's grave, on which is the following inscription: "In memory of John Dean. He was born September 15th. A.D. 1755, and died April 4th, A.D. 1817, aged 61 years, 6 months, and 20 days.

"A tender father, a friend sincere, A tender husband slumbers here; Then let us hope his soul is given A blest and sure reward in heaven." By his side is the grave of his father, Who was buried eighty years ago.

** See Sparks's Life and Treason of Arnold, Am. Biog., iii., 223-226.

*** "Paulding had effected his escape," says Bolton (i., 224), "only three days previously, from the New York Sugar House, in the dress of a German Yager. General Van Cortlandt says that Paulding wore this dress on the day of the capture, which tended to deceive Andre, and led him to exclaim, 'Thank God! I am once more among friends.'"

Deposition of David Williams.--Strange Conduct of Colonel Jameson.--His Letter to General Arnold.

756him there were many bad people on the road, and I did not know but perhaps he might be one."

When further questioned, Paulding replied, that he asked the person his name, who told him it was John Anderson; and that, when Anderson produced General Arnold's pass, he should have let him go, if he had not before called himself a British officer. Paulding also said, that when the person pulled out his watch, he understood it as a signal that he was a British officer, and not that he meant to offer it to him as a present.

All these particulars were substantially confirmed by David Williams, whose testimony-in regard to the searching of Andre, being more minute than Paulding's, is here inserted.

"We took him into the bushes," said Williams, "and ordered him to pull off his clothes, which he did; but, on searching him narrowly, we could not find any sort of writings. We told him to pull off his boots, which he seemed to be indifferent about; but we got one boot off, and searched in that boot, and could find nothing. But we found there were some papers in the bottom of his stocking next to his foot; on which we made him pull his stocking off, and found three papers wrapped up. Mr. Paulding looked at the contents, and said he was a spy. We then made him pull off his other boot, and there we found three more papers at the bottom of his foot within his stocking.

"Upon this we made him dress himself, and I asked him what he would give us to let him go. He said he would give us any sum of money. I asked him whether he would give us his horse, saddle, bridle, watch, and one hundred guineas. He said 'Yes,' and told us he would direct them to any place, even if it was that very spot, so that we could get them. I asked him whether he would not give us more. He said he would give us any quantity of dry goods, or any sum of money, and bring it to any place that we might pitch upon, so that we might get it. Mr. Paulding answered, 'No, if you would give us ten thousand guineas, you should not stir one step.' I then asked the person who had called himself John Anderson if he would not get away if it lay in his power. He answered, 'Yes, I would.' I told him I did not intend he should. While taking him along, we asked him a few questions, and we stopped under a shade. He begged us not to ask him questions, and said when he came to any commander he would reveal all.

"He was dressed in a blue over-coat, and a tight body-coat, that was of a kind of claret color, though a rather deeper red than claret. The button-holes were laced with gold tinsel, and the buttons drawn over with the same kind of lace. He had on a round hat, and nankeen waistcoat and breeches, with a flannel waistcoat and drawers, boots, and thread stockings."

Andre was conducted to North Castle, the nearest military post, and there, with all the papers found upon his person, he was delivered up to Lieutenant-colonel Jameson, the officer in command. With an obtuseness of perception most extraordinary and unaccountable, Jameson resolved to send the prisoner immediately to Arnold! He knew a portion of the papers to be in the undisguised handwriting of General Arnold, and it is most extraordinary that the circumstances under which they were found should not have awakened a suspicion of the fidelity of that officer. Washington afterward said, in allusion to Jameson's conduct, that, either on account of his "egregious folly or bewildered conception, he seemed lost in astonishment, and not to know what he was doing." There can be no doubt of the purity of his intentions, but who can respect his judgment? He penned a letter to Arnold, saying that he sent a certain Mr. Anderson forward under the charge of Lieutenant Allen and a guard, who had been taken while on his way to New York. "He had a passport," said Jameson, "signed in your name, and a parcel of papers, taken from under Colonel Jameson's Head-quarters.

* This is a view of the out-buildings of Mr. Sands, at North Castle, situated a few yards from his residence. The lowest building, on the left, is the dwelling, now attached to the barn of Mr. Sands, which, Jameson used as his head-quarters. In that building André was kept guarded until sent to West Point.

Better Judgment of Colonel Tallmadge.--Major André at Sheldon's Head- quarters.--Andrè's Letter to Washington.

757Major Benjamin Tallmadge, next in command to Jameson, was on duty below White Plains on that day, and did not return until evening. When informed of the September 23, 1780 circumstances, he was filled with astonishment at the folly of Jameson, and boldly expressed his suspicions of Arnold's fidelity. He offered to take upon himself the entire responsibility of proceeding on that ground, if Jameson would allow it. The latter refused to sanction any action that should imply a distrust of Arnold. Tallmadge then earnestly besought him to have the prisoner brought back. To this he reluctantly consented, but insisted that his letter to Arnold should be forwarded, and that the general should be informed why the prisoner was not sent on. This was the letter which Arnold received in time to allow him to make his escape to the Vulture.

Jameson sent an express after Lieutenant Allen, with orders to conduct his prisoner back to head-quarters at North Castle. As soon as Tallmadge saw him, and observed his manner and gait while pacing the room, he was convinced that he was a military man; and, joining this belief with other circumstances, * his suspicions of Arnold's treachery were fully confirmed to his own mind. He partially imbued Jameson with the same opinions, and that officer agreed, with Tallmadge, that it was advisable to keep their prisoner in close custody until orders should be received from Arnold or Washington. Andre was accordingly removed, under an escort commanded by Major Tallmadge, to Colonel Sheldon's quarters at North Salem, as a more secure place. They arrived there at about eight in the morning. Andre was introduced to Mr. Bronson, who was attached to Sheldon's regiment, and that gentleman kindly offered to share his little room with the prisoner. Learning that the papers found on his person had been sent to General Washington, he wrote, in Bronson's room, a letter to the American chief, in which he frankly avowed his name and rank, and briefly related the circumstances connected with his present situation. This letter he handed to Major Tallmadge to read, who was greatly astonished to find that the prisoner in his custody was the adjutant general of the British army. The letter was sealed and sent to Washington. From that hour the prisoner's mind seemed relieved. **

* Eight or nine days previous to the capture, Major Tallmadge received a letter from Arnold of similar import to the one Colonel Sheldon received from him, in which he requested, if a man by the name of Anderson should come within the lines, to have him sent to head-quarters with two horsemen. This incident was strongly in favor of Tallmadge's suspicions.

** The following is a copy of the letter:

"Salem, September 24th, 1780.

"Sir,--What I have as yet said concerning myself was in the justifiable attempt to be extricated. I am too little accustomed to duplicity to have succeeded.

"I beg your excellency will be persuaded that no alteration in the temper of my mind, or apprehension for my safety, induces me to take the step of addressing you, but that it is to rescue myself from an imputation of having assumed a mean character for treacherous purposes or self-interest; a conduct incompatible with the principles that actuate me, as well as with my condition in life. It is to vindicate my fame that I speak, and not to solicit security. The person in your possession is Major John André, adjutant general to the British army.

"The influence of one commander in the army of his adversary is an advantage taken in war. A correspondence for this purpose I held, as confidential (in the present instance), with his excellency Sir Henry Clinton. To favor it, I agreed to meet, upon ground not within the posts of either army, a person who was to give me intelligence. I came up in the Vulture man-of-war for this effect, and was fetched by a boat from the ship to the beach. Being here, I was told that the approach of day would prevent my return, and that I must be concealed until the next night. I was in my regimentals, and had fairly risked my person.

"Against my stipulations, my intention, and without my knowledge beforehand, I was conducted within one of your posts. Your excellency may conceive my sensation on this occasion, and must imagine how much more must I have been affected by a refusal to reconduct me back the next night as I had been brought. Thus become a prisoner, I had to concert my escape. I quitted my uniform, and was passed another way in the night, without the American posts, to neutral ground, and informed I was beyond all armed parties, and left to press for New York. I was taken at Tarrytown by some volunteers. Thus, as I have had the honor to relate, was I betrayed (being adjutant general of the British army) into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise within your posts.

"Having avowed myself a British officer, I have nothing to reveal but what relates to myself, which is true on the honor of an officer and a gentleman. The request I have to make to your excellency, and I am conscious I address myself well, is, that in any rigor policy may dictate, a decency of conduct toward me may mark that, though unfortunate, I am branded with nothing dishonorable, as no motive could be mine but the service of my king, and as I was involuntarily an impostor. Another request is, that I may be permitted to write an open letter to Sir Henry Clinton, and another to a friend for clothes and linen.

"I take the liberty to mention the condition of some gentlemen at Charleston, who, being either on parole or under protection, were engaged in a conspiracy against us. Though their situation is not similar, they are objects who may be set in exchange for me, or are persons whom the treatment I receive might affect. It is no less, sir, in a confidence of the generosity of your mind, than on account of your superior station, that I have chosen to importune you with this letter.

"I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, your excellency's most obedient and most humble servant,

"John Andre, Adjutant General

André taken to West Point and thence to Tappan.--His Disclosures to Tallmadge.--His Case and Hale's compared

758Pursuant to an order from General Washington, Andre was conducted to West Point, September, 1780 where he remained until the morning of the 28th, when he was conveyed in a barge to Stony Point, and from thence conducted, under a strong escort, to Tap-pan, about two miles westward of the present Piermont, the Hudson Hiver terminus of the New York and Erie rail-road. Major Tallmadge, who commanded the escort, and rode by Andre's side all the way, has left, in a communication to Mr. Sparks, an interesting account of the events of that day's march. As he and Andre were about the same age, and held the same rank in the respective armies, they agreed on a cartel, by the terms of which each one was permitted to put any question to the other not involving a third person. In the course of conversation, thus made as unreserved as possible, Andre informed Tallmadge that he was to have taken a part in the attack on West Point, if Arnold's plan had succeeded, and that the only reward he asked was the military glory to be won by such service to his king. He had been promised, however, the rank and pay of a brigadier general if he had succeeded. In reply to Andre's earnest inquiries respecting the probable result of his capture, Tallmadge frankly reminded him of the character and fate of the unfortunate Captain Hale. "But you surely do not consider his case and mine alike?" said Andre. "Yes, precisely similar," replied Major Tallmadge, "and similar will be your fate." Andre became troubled in spirit, and from that time until the hour of his execution his most poignant sorrow arose from the reflection that he was branded with the odious name of a spy. *

As soon as Washington had completed all necessary arrangements for the security of West Point, he hastened to the army at Tappan. The next day after his ar-September 29 summoned a board of general officers, and directed them to examine into the case of Major André and report the result. He also directed them to give their opinion as to the light in which the prisoner ought to be regarded, and the punishment that should be inflicted. We shall visit Tappan presently, and then the events in the last scene of this drama shall be rehearsed; for the present, let us stroll about Tarrytown during the remainder of this pleasant afternoon.

After sketching a view of the spot where Andre was captured, I walked to the famous old Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow, standing by the side of the post-road, about a mile northward. I can not better describe its location than by quoting the language of Mr. Irving concerning it. "The sequestered situation of the church," he says, "seems always to have made it a favorite haunt of troubled spirits. It stands on a knoll, surrounded by locust-trees and lofty elms, from among which its decent white-washed walls shine modestly forth, like Christian purity beaming through the shades of retirement. A gentle Ancient Dutch Church.* slope descends to it from a silver sheet of water,

* See Sparks's Amer. Biog., iii., 255-259.

** This view is from the church-yard, looking southwest. The porch seen on the right fronts upon the highway, and is a modern addition, the ancient entrance being on the south side. This is believed to be the oldest church in existence in this state, having been erected, according to an inscription upon a stone tablet upon its front, by Vredryck Flypsen (Frederic Philips) and Catharine his wife, in 1699. It is built of brick and stone, the former having been imported from Holland for the express purpose. The old flag-shaped vane, with the initials of the founder cut out of it, yet turns upon its steeple, and in the little tower hangs the ancient bell, bearing this inscription: "If God be for us, who can be against us!" The pulpit and communion-table were imported from Holland; the latter alone has escaped the ruthless hand of modern improvement.

Bridge over Sleepy Hollow Creek.--Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman.--Castle Philipse.--Tarrytown Cemetery

759bordered by high trees, between which peeps may be caught of the blue hills of the Hudson.

To look upon its grass-grown yard, where the sunbeams seem to sleep so quietly, one would think that there, at least, the dead might rest in peace. On one side of the church extends a woody dell, along which laves a large brook among broken rocks and trunks of fallen trees.

Over a deep black part of the stream, not far from the church, was formerly thrown a wooden bridge. The road that led to it, and the bridge itself, were thickly shaded by overhanging trees, which cast a gloom about it, even in the daytime, but occasioned a fearful darkness at night." *

It was at this bridge, in the dark glen near the church, that poor Ichabod Crane had his terrible encounter with the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow. The road still "leads through a sandy hollow, shaded by trees for about a quarter of a mile," but "the bridge famous in goblin story" is no more. The present structure is a few yards westward of the site of the old one; and although not so shaded in cavernous gloom, is quite as romantic in its situation. From its planks there is a fine view of Castle Philipse, as the ancient manor house of Frederic Philipse was called, from the circumstance of its being originally fortified against the Indians. It is a spacious and substantial stone building, and near it is the old mill, whose wheel turned in the same place during the Revolution. The dam forms a pleasant little lake extending back almost to the bridge.

Upon the slopes and the brow of the hill eastward of the old church is the Tarrytown cemetery, extending down to the ancient burial-ground. It is susceptible of being made one of the most attractive burial-places in this country, for, aside from the beauties of nature there spread out, associations of the deepest interest give a charm to the spot. The Receiving Tomb, constructed of light stone, is near the top of the hill; and around it for many

* Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

** Ichabod, according to Irving, in the Legend, returning from a late evening tarry with Katrina Van Tassel, on his lean steed Gunpowder, was chased by a huge horseman, without a head, from the Andre tree to the bridge. "He saw the walls of the church dimly gleaming under the trees beyond. He recollected the place where Brom Bones's ghostly competitor had disappeared. 'If I can but reach that bridge,' thought Ichabod, 'I am safe.' Just then he heard the black steed panting and blowing close behind him; he even fancied that he felt his hot breath. Another convulsive kick in the ribs, and old Gunpowder sprang upon the bridge; he thundered over the resounding planks; he gained the opposite side; and now Ichabod cast a look behind, to see if his pursuer should vanish, according to rule, in a flash of fire and brimstone. Just then he saw the goblin rising in his stirrups, and in the very act of hurling his head at him. Ichabod endeavored to dodge the horrible missile, but too late; it encountered his cranium with a terrible crash; he was tumbled headlong into the dust, and Gunpowder, the black steed, and the goblin rider, passed like a whirlwind." A shattered pumpkin was found on the road the next day, but Ichabod had gone to parts unknown. Brom Bones, his rival, soon afterward led the pretty Katrina to the altar. The good country people always maintained that Ichabod was spirited away by the headless horseman, who was the ghost of a Hessian soldier, whose body, deprived of its caput by a cannon-ball, was sleeping in the church-yard near.

Greenburgh or the Nepera. Van Wart's Monument.--Sunny side, the Residence of Washington Irving

760rods, where the hand of improvement had not yet effaced them, might be seen vestiges of a small fortification, thrown up there during the war.

I passed the night at Tarrytown, and the next morning rode out to the beautiful Saw-mill Valley, to visit the burial-ground at Greenburgh, wherein repose the remains of Isaac Van Wart, one of the captors of Andre. The ground is attached to the Presbyterian church, and is near the lovely Nepera, or Saw-mill River. Over the remains of the patriot is a handsome marble monument, erected to his memory by the citizens of West Chester county, in 1829.

Its completion was celebrated by a large concourse of people assembled there on the 11th of June of that year.

General Aaron Ward, of Sing Sing, was the orator on the occasion. Mr. Van Wart was an efficient officer of that church for many years, and acted as chorister up to the time of his death. On returning to Tarrytown, I rode down to Sunny side, the residence of Washington Irving, situated upon the river bank, about two miles below. It is reached from the post-road by a winding carriage-way, that cleaves rich cultivated fields and pleasant woodlands. Desirous of passing an hour at Dobbs's Ferry, and of crossing the Hudson at Tappan in season to visit places of note there, I enjoyed the friendly greeting of the gifted proprietor but a few moments, and then pursued my journey. I subsequently visited Sunny-side, and made the sketch given on the opposite page. It was in leafy June, and a lovelier day never smiled upon the Hudson and its green banks. Close by Mr. Irving's residence, a prospective village * had recently burst into existence, almost as suddenly as the leaves had unfolded from the buds in the adjacent groves; and a rail-way station, with its bustle and noise, was upon the river margin, within bird-call of the once secluded Wolfert's Roost. I strolled along the iron way to a stile, over which I clambered, and, ascending the bank by a shaded pathway, was soon seated in the elegant little parlor at _Sunnyside_, where the kindest courtesy makes the stranger-visitor feel that he is indeed upon the sunny side of humanity, and in the warmest glow of that generous feeling which illumines every pen-stroke of Geoffrey Crayon. Beautified and enriched by the hand of nature, hallowed by the voice of traditionary history speaking out from the old walls and umbrageous trees, and consecrated by the presence of true genius, Sunnyside has a charm for the American mind as bewitching and

* Dearman; afterward altered to Irvington.

** The following are the inscriptions upon this monument: North side.-- "Here repose the mortal remains of Isaac Van Wart, an elder in the Greenburgh church, who died on the 23d of May, 1828, in the 69th year of his age. Having lived the life, he died the death, of the Christian." South side.--"The citizens of the county of West Chester erected this tomb in testimony of the high sense they entertained for the virtuous and patriotic conduct of their fellow-citizen, as a memorial sacred to public gratitude." East side.--"Vincit, Amor Patriae. Nearly half a century before this monument was built, the con script fathers of America had, in the Senate chamber, voted that Isaac Van Wart was a faithful patriot, one in whom the love of country was invincible, and this tomb bears testimony that the record is true." West side.-- "Fidelity. On the 23d of September, 1780, Isaac Van Wart, accompanied by John Paulding and David Williams, all farmers of the county of West Chester, intercepted Major Andre, on his return from the American lines in the character of a spy, and, notwithstanding the large bribes offered them for his release, nobly disdained to sacrifice their country for gold, secured and carried him to the commanding officer of the district, whereby the dangerous and traitorous conspiracy of Arnold was brought to light, the insidious designs of the enemy baffled, the American army saved, and our beloved country free."

View of Sunnyside, the ancient "Wolfert's Roost"--Jacob Van Tassel

761classic as were the groves where Orpheus piped and Sappho sang to the Acadians of old. As I sat beneath a spreading cedar sketching the unique villa, and scolded without stint by a querulous matronly cat-bird on one side and a vixen jenny-wren on the other, and observed the "lord of the manor" leading a little fair-haired grand-nephew to the river brink in search of daisies and butter-cups, I could not repress the thoughts so beautifully expressed in his own little story of _The Wife_: "I can wish you no better lot than to have a wife and children. If you are prosperous, they are to share your prosperity; if otherwise, they are to comfort you.... Though all abroad is darkness and humiliation, yet there is still a little world of love at home [for the husband] of which he is the monarch." *

The residence of Mr. Irving is upon the site of the famous "Wolfert's Roost" of the olden time. It w'as built by Wolfert Beker, an ancient burgher of the town, and afterward came into the possession of Jacob Van Tassel, one of the "race of hard-headed, hard-handed, stout-hearted Dutchmen, descended of the primitive Netherlanders." Van Tassel was the owner when the Revolution broke out, and was a stanch Whig. His house was in the midst of the debatable region called the Neutral Ground, and in the broad waters of the Tappan Sea ** in front, British vessels were almost constantly anchored. The Republican propensities of Van Tassel were well known, and as the Roost was a place of general ren-

* Sketch Book.

** Tappaan Zee, or Tappan Sea, was the name given by the Dutch to the expansion of the Hudson at this place.

"The Roost" a Castle.--Its Garrison.--Attack upon, and Defense of "the Roost."--Dobbs's Ferry.

762dezvous for the American water-guards * and land-scouts, he was made liable to attacks from the enemy. He pierced his old mansion with musketry loop-holes, and took other measures for defense. His garrison, _per se_, consisted of his stout-hearted wife and a redoubtable sister, Nochie Van Wurmer, a match, as he said, for the "stoutest man in the country."

His ordnance was a goose gun "of unparalleled longitude," capable of doing great execution. He was in league with many ardent Whigs in his vicinity, who had sworn eternal hostility to the Cow-boys and Skinners who infested the region, and the Roost was their head-quarters. Van Tassel frequently joined his companions in distant expeditions. On one of these occasions, while far away from his castle, an armed vessel came to anchor off the Roost. The garrison consisted of only Jacob's spouse, his sister Nochie, a blooming daughter, and a brawny negro woman. A boatfull of armed men put off from the vessel toward the Roost. The garrison flew to arms. The goose gun, unfortunately, was with its owner. Broomsticks, shovels, and other missiles were seized, and a vigorous defense was made; but, alas it was all in vain. The house was sacked, plundered, and burned; and as the marauders were about departing, they seized the pretty "Laney Van Tassel, the beauty of the Roost," and endeavored to bear her to the boat. Mother, aunt, and Dinah flew to the rescue, and a fierce struggle ensued all the way to the water's edge. A voice from the frigate ordered the spoilers to leave the prize behind, "and the heroine of the Roost escaped with a mere rumpling of the feathers." ** Soon after this event Van Tassel fell into the hands of the enemy, was sent to New York, and there remained a prisoner until near the close of the war. *** His house was rebuilt upon the ruins of the Roost and that phoenix, modified and enlarged, is the present mansion at Sunnyside.

From Mr. Irving's I rode down to Dobbs's Ferry, two or three miles below. This is a small village, lying pleasantly upon the river slope, and along a ravine of the Greenburgh

Hills, at the mouth of the Wysquaqua Creek. It derives its name from the ancient family of Dobbs, who owned the property here, and first established a ferry. It is a place memorable 1698 in the annals of the Revolution, not for sanguinary battles, but for the relative importance of its location in the movements of armies. Upon the high bank immediately above the rail-way station at the lower landing are remains of the first fort erected there. It was built at the beginning of 1776, and in October of that year Colonel Sargent strongly garrisoned it, by order of General Heath. (v) Several other strong redoubts were thrown

* The water-guards were resolute men, well armed with muskets, and skillful with the oar, who, in small vessels technically called whale- boats (sharp, canoe-shaped boats), lurked in the coves and behind the headlands of the river, to obtain information of the approach or position of vessels of the enemy. With muffled oars, they often reconnoitered the British ships at night, and sometimes cut off boats that ventured from them toward the shore.

** Knickerbocker Magazine.

*** There were a number of the Van Tassels living in the vicinity of the Greenburgh church. In November, 1777, a party of Chasseurs, under Captain Emerick, went up from Kingsbridge, surprised the Van Tassels, burned their houses, stripped the women and children of their clothing, and carried off Peter and Cornelius Van Tassel prisoners. In retaliation for the outrage, the patriots fitted out an expedition at Tarry-town under the command of Abraham Martlingh, which proceeded down the river in boats, passed the water-guards of the enemy in safety, landed a little below Spuyten Devil Creek, set fire to General Oliver de Lancey's house, and returned without losing a man. General De Lancey was a most active and bitter Loyalist. He will come under our observation in a conspicuous manner hereafter. See page 624, vol. ii.

**** The garrison consisted of five hundred infantry, forty light horse, a company of artillery, with two twelve-pounders under Captain Horton, and Captain Crafts with a howitzer.

* (v) This view is from the bank immediately above the rail-way station, looking northwest. In the foreground is seen the wagon-road, passing by, on an arch of masonry, over the rail-way. On the left is the wharf. Toward the right, in the distance, is seen the long pier and village of Piermont; and at the extreme right, in the distance, is the mountain near the foot of which Andrè and Arnold first met. Piermont is the port of Tappan, the place where Andre was executed. The sketch here presented was made when I visited Dobbs's Ferry in the autumn of 1849, after the rail-way was finished.

Old Fort at Dobbs's Ferry.--The Livingston Mansion.--Rendezvous of the British.--The Palisades.--Tappan.

763up in the vicinity, remains of which are still visible. One, a little southwest of the residence of Mr. Stephen Archer (the ancient mansion of Van Brugh Livingston), appears to have been equally strong with the one just mentioned.

A few rods north of this mansion, in a locust grove, on the west of the post-road, are very prominent re mains of a strong redoubt. They extended through the adjoining garden, but there the mounds have been leveled and the fossé filled up. These forts commanded the ferry to Paramus (now Sneeden's) landing on the Jersey shore, and also the passage of the river. They often greatly annoyed the British shipping while passing and repassing.

In this vicinity the British portion of the enemy rendezvoused after the battle of White Plains, (a) before marching against Fort Washington; (b) and at Hastings, one mile below, a British force of six thousand men, under Cornwallis, embarked in boats, and, crossing over to Paramus, marched to the attack of Fort Lee, and then commenced the pursuit of Washington and his broken army through the Jerseys. Here, in January, 1777, the division of the American army under Lincoln was encamped for a brief space. Here was the spot selected by Arnold for his first conference with Andre in 1780; and here, on the night of the 3d of August, 1781, while the American army lay in the neighborhood, and the chief's head-quarters were at the Livingston mansion, a skirmish ensued between some guard-boats of the enemy and the little garrison of the fort on the river bank.

a October 28, 1776.

b November 16.

November 18.

After viewing the remains of the old forts, and passing a pleasant half hour with Mr Archer (a member of the society of Friends) upon the shaded porch of the Livingston Mansion, I crossed the Hudson in a small boat to Sneeden's, and proceeded on foot to Tappan, a distance of about two miles, where I arrived in time to sketch the head-quarters of Washington, printed on page 196, and to visit the place of Andre's execution.