"'All I request of you, gentlemen, is that you will bear witness to the world that I die like a brave man.' The signal was given; the wagon rolled swiftly away…and the sudden shock as he was jerked from the coffin-lid on which he stood, produced immediate death." The monumental inscription in Westminster Abbey says "he fell a sacrifice to his zeal for his king and country…" John André is best remembered for being hanged as a spy for his role as Benedict Arnold's co-conspirator in the attempt to take West Point during the American Revolution. Only twenty-nine years old at the time of his execution, his life had been a colorful and active one. This work contains much history of the American Revolution in addition to the important people and events in Andre's life. It includes his early life in London, early army career, joining Sir Henry Clinton in the Hudson Campaign, in Philadelphia, his social relations in the city, his friends Simcoe, Tarleton and Cathcart, the extravagant ball known as The Mischianza, Battle of Monmouth, service as Aide to Clinton, the commencement of Arnold's intrigue, Andre's capture and Arnold's escape, many letters of correspondence, and various accounts of the execution. The ALA Guide to American History says: "This is the best biography of "the unfortunate André," written in the later spirit of regret which most Americans felt for his execution. The justice of the sentence is widely reviewed and various commentators quoted. The style of treatment is florid and the viewpoint extreme in André's favor. The appendix contains some information concerning the later life of Benedict Arnold."
Winthrop Sargent
(1871), 2008, 5.5" x 8.5", paper, index, 498 pp.
ISBN: 9780788421761
101-S2176
