John André

His mother and three sisters received pension and in 1781 as a mark of honour to André, his brother William was made a baronet.

His remains that were interred under the gallows were brought to England under the direction of the Duke of York in 1821 and interred in Hero's Corner at Westminster Abbey beside remains of kings and poets. A marble monument is erected above his grave that portrays Britannia lamenting the death of André beside a British lion.

A monument was erected at Tappan at the site of his execution on October 2, 1879.

He was born on May 2, 1750 in London, England, to Antoine André and Marie Louise Girardot, a rich Huguenot couple. His father was a merchant.

He attended the ‘St Paul's School’, the ‘Westminster School’ and thereafter studied in Geneva.

He was enlisted in the British Army at twenty years of age and in 1774 he served as a lieutenant at the ‘7th Royal Fusiliers’ regiment while in Canada.

In November 1775 he was apprehended by General Richard Montgomery from ‘Fort Saint-Jean’ and was interned at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As he was not permitted to leave the town, he complacently rambled around the town while staying in the house of Caleb Cope. He was later released in December 1776 in a prisoner exchange.

On January 18, 1777, he became a captain and was promoted as a major in 1778.

In 1779 the British Army appointed him the Adjutant general holding the rank of major under General Sir Henry Clinton. General Clinton was cognizant of America’s position at West Point and was aware that capturing West Point would liberate Hudson River from colonial power and the army of Washington will be forced to New Jersey.

André became chief of British secret intelligence in April 1779 in New York City and by next year he initiated a negotiation with embittered American General Benedict Arnold through secret correspondence.

General Benedict Arnold became the commandant of the fort at West Point in August 1780. John André through his correspondence, which was often aided by Peggy Shippen - a Loyalist and wife of Arnold, persuaded Arnold to surrender the fort for £20,000. The deal would allow the British to separate out New England from the dissident colonies.

On September 20, 1780 André boarded ‘Vulture’, the sloop-of-war of Britain to meet Arnold. Next night he was received by Joshua Hett Smith who sailed to the ‘Vulture’ on the ‘Hudson River’ in a small boat to bring André to shore as instructed by Arnold.

On September 21, 1780, André and Arnold had a night long discussion in the forests below Stony Point and agreed to take forward the plan. Thereafter they headed towards the house of Thomas Smith in West Haverstraw, New York that was occupied by his brother Joshua Hett Smith.