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John André

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: John André
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(born May 2, 1750, London, Eng. — died Oct. 2, 1780, Tappan, N.Y., U.S.) British army officer and spy. From 1774 he was the chief intelligence officer of the British commander Henry Clinton at New York. In 1779 André began corresponding with Gen. Benedict Arnold, who had become disillusioned with the American cause. In 1780 he obtained Arnold's agreement to surrender the West Point fort. André was captured while returning to New York, and incriminating papers were found in his boot; he was found guilty of espionage and hanged.

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US Military Dictionary: John André
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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.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: John André
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André, John (ändrā', ăn'drē), 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).

Dictionary: An·dré   (än'drā, ăn'drē) pronunciation
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, John 1751-1780.

British army officer hanged as a spy in the American Revolution for conspiring with Benedict Arnold.


 
 

 

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
US Military Dictionary. The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more