The Life of John André: The Redcoat Who Turned Benedict Arnold

John André headed the British Army's Secret Service in North America during the Revolutionary War's final and decisive phase. In 1780, he orchestrated the defection of General Benedict Arnold, who had been appointed commander of West Point. Arnold agreed to surrender this strategically important fort on the Hudson River to the British, which would have disrupted communication between New England and the southern colonies. The plan also included kidnapping General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. The British believed these actions could end the rebellion. Negotiations between Arnold and André were lengthy and dangerous. Arnold's wife, Peggy, served as intermediary. Arnold insisted on a face-to-face meeting with André, which took place on September 21, 1780, in no-man's-land. Sir Henry Clinton, commander of British forces in North America, permitted the meeting but imposed three conditions: André must not enter American lines, must remain in uniform, and must carry no incriminating papers. This would protect André from being treated as a spy if captured. However, André was captured forty-eight hours later inside American lines, dressed in civilian clothes, with maps of West Point hidden in his boots. The Americans treated him as a spy, a designation André himself confirmed. He was convicted by military tribunal and hanged, an outcome mourned in both America and England.