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André Captors' Monument "Historic Site - Tarrytown"TarrytownWestchester County |
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André Captors' Monument "Historic Site - Tarrytown" | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Patriots Park, a 4-acre park, is located at North Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591 in Westchester County on the border of Sleepy Hollow. Click to enlarge photo of the plaque at base of the Captors' Monument at Patriots Park.  " The people of Westchester County have erected this monument as well to commemorate a great event as to testify their high estimation of that integrity and patriotism which, rejecting every temptation rescued the United States from most imminent peril by baffling the arts of a spy and the plots of a traitor, Dedicated October 7th 1853 " "This plaque was placed here under the auspices of the bicentennial celebration committee, to preserve for posterity the text, of the original inscription carved in stone. Unveiled September 6, 1980. "
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to enlarge photo of André Captors' Monument at Patriots Park.
About John André "John André (1750-1780) was the aide de camp of Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander-in-chief. André purchased a commission as second lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in 1771. In 1774 he joined a regiment in Quebec, where he pursued his first love of poetry and painting. In September and October 1775, American troops laid siege to his fort at St. Johns. He was captured, brought back to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and treated roughly. His days as a prisoner turned him against the American rebels. The Americans finally exchanged him in 1776, and he met up with British troops in New York City. Sir William Howe was especially interested in the information André had learned behind the American lines. André then purchased a position as captain and become General Charles Grey's aide. He became known for behaving ruthlessly and aggressively on the battlefield. In 1778 André joined the staff of Henry Clinton, General Howe's replacement. Clinton made him head of intelligence in April 1779. André successfully kept track of intelligence from American desserters and British prisoners who had escaped or were exchanged." Source: Spy Letters of the American Revolution Learn more about the Capture of Major John André British Spy and the patriotism of John Paulding, Isaac Van Wart, and David Williams.
"In the nave of Westminster Abbey there is a monument to Major John Andre, executed as a spy by the Americans in 1780. Designed by Robert Adam and carried out by Peter Mathias Van Gelder it was erected in 1782 at the expense of King George III. It shows a mourning figure of Britannia with a lion, seated on the top of a sarcophagus. On the front of this is a relief showing George Washington in a tent receiving a petition and Major André being led away to execution." Inscription Reads "SACRED to the MEMORY of MAJOR JOHN ANDRÉ, who raised by his Merit at an early period of Life to the rank of Adjutant General of the British Forces in America, and employed in an important but hazardous Enterprise fell a Sacrifice to his Zeal for his King and Country on the 2nd of October AD 1780 Aged 29, universally Beloved and esteemed by the Army in which he served and lamented even by his FOES. His gracious Sovereign KING GEORGE the Third has caused this Monument to be erected. "The Remains of Major JOHN ANDRÉ Were, on the 10th of August 1821, removed from Tappan, By JAMES BUCHANAN ESQr His Majesty's Consul at New York, Under instructions from His Royal Highness The DUKE of YORK, And, with the permission of the Dean and Chapter, Finally deposited in a Grave Contiguous to this Monument, On the 28th of November 1821". Historic Sites in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown Children's Attractions in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown
"The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback, without a head. It is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War, and who is ever and anon seen by the country folk hurrying along in the gloom of night, as if on the wings of the wind. His haunts are not confined to the valley, but extend at times to the adjacent roads, and especially to the vicinity of a church at no great distance. Indeed, certain of the most authentic historians of those parts, who have been careful in collecting and collating the floating facts concerning this spectre, allege that the body of the trooper having been buried in the churchyard, the ghost rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head, and that the rushing speed with which he sometimes passes along the Hollow, like a midnight blast, is owing to his being belated, and in a hurry to get back to the churchyard before daybreak." "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving
Location: Tarrytown
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