Proceedings of the Board of General Officers Respecting Major Andre, September 29, 1780
This pamphlet contains the proceedings from Major John André's trial for treason following his capture near Tarrytown, N.Y. André was a British Officer, spymaster, and Adjutant General of the British Army at the time of his capture and execution. He had traveled into territory controlled by the American Army to meet with American General Benedict Arnold and finalize General Arnold's plans to betray the Americans. André was hung as a spy following this trial. Due to André's rank, the military tribunal that tried him was composed of American Generals and presided over by Major General Nathanael Greene. Others on the Board who were part of the proceedings include General Arthur St. Clair, General Robert Howe, General Marquis de Lafayette, General Baron Von Steuben; General James Clinton; General Lord Stirling (William Alexander); General Henry Knox; General John Glover; General Edward Hand; General Samuel H. Parsons; General John Patterson; General Jedediah Huntington; General John Stark; and Judge-Advocate-General John Laurence. The American Army was particularly concerned with handling André's trial in a fair and honorable way, and this publication of the trial's evidence and proceedings was part of that effort. Concluding these proceedings, Major André was sentenced to hang as a spy, rather than to be executed by firing squad, as a soldier. This particular copy of the pamphlet was owned by Reverend Samuel Buell, a resident of East Hampton, who passed it on to his grandson John Lyon Gardiner, Proprietor of Gardiner's Island. John Lyon Gardiner made the marginalia on the front cover and cover page, which indicate the Gardiner family's connection to Major André, and the possibility that his mother may have had some sense that a plot to betray an American fort existed at the time of Major André's visit to East Hampton. This particular copy was printed in New London, CT as a reprint of the original copy printed in Philadelphia, PA. Included in the text are letters from Major André, General Washington, General Sir Henry Clinton, and Major André's captors. A transcript of John Lyon Gardiner's note on the back of the front cover is included at the end of the scans.
