John Andre

John André , 1751-80, British spy in the American Revolution. He was captured (1775) by Gen. Richard Montgomery in the Quebec campaign but was exchanged and became adjutant general under Sir Henry Clinton. Major André negotiated with Benedict Arnold for the betrayal of West Point and was captured (Sept. 23, 1780), when returning to New York, by John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart, near Tarrytown, N.Y. He was tried, condemned, and hanged at Washington's headquarters at Tappan, despite protests from Clinton. Major André's charming personality and his talents in the arts had won him many American friends, who mourned him as a romantically tragic young man.

Bibliography: See studies by J. T. Flexner (1953) and J. H. Smith (1969).

André, John (1750–80) British officer, actor, playwright, and spy, born in London. He was an aide-de-camp to Gen. Sir Henry Clinton and in charge of correspondence between the commander in chief and British secret agents in America. When André was caught by American militiamen with Benedict Arnold's treasonous correspondence about the plan to surrender West Point to British, he was tried as spy by a military tribunal, found guilty, and hanged.