Irving School - Sketch Book Yearbook (Tarrytown, NY)

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UW1NG.-5l?ET9H-500K Here the dusky Indians guided their frail canoes and gazed with wonder on the Dutch ships as they sailed passed the lofty Palisades, here the Dutch established their cumbersome patroon system and the old houses built by these western nobles still stand in the midst of busy town or on paved highways, here the Redcoats and the Continentals skirmished in the fateful days of the Revolution. Later Washington Irving dwelt among the scenes which he had peopled with characters as real to us today as any who actually lived. Today this is a land of prosperity and of peace with pleasant golf clubs, lordly estates, and thriving towns, one hundred and fifty years ago it was the center of danger, suspicion and fear. It was the dreaded debatable ground when risks were great and life was precarious. To the south the British- under Clinton enjoyed Tory hospitality in New York, their outposts stretching far into Westchester County. To the north the American forces blocked the river thus thwarting the cherished plan of the British of cutting off the New England colonies from those farther south. The key to the American position was the strong fortifications at West Point. Between these two lines, that is within the debatable ground, scouting parties rode along dusky roads on moonless nights, lurked in shady hollows when the sun was high, or galloped at full speed when con- cealment was useless. Spies risked their lives for love of country or of gold and a sense of uncertainty and fear hung over the land. It is in such a period and place that men rise to their greatest height of self-sacri- fice or sink to the lowest depths of degradation. In scanning the an- nals of Tarrytown we find that the climax of one of the most dramatic episodes of this vivid period took place on the very grounds of Irving School. It was by the little brook that skirts the athletic field that Major Andre bearing those papers which to him meant death, to the new nation, life, was captured. No incident in the whole Revolutionary war has so appealed to the romantic and the thoughtful alike. A soldier in disguise riding through the countryside at night, an unseen danger threatening a great fort and a young nation, spies, treason and death on the gallows all thrill the for- mer. To the latter there is the study of the character and the motives which led the two men most directly concerned in the tragedy-the lovable Andre and the despicable Arnold. He would trace too the various forms of chance and tricks of fate which led these two men into the tragic events which proved so fatal to them both. At first thought it seems that fate spared the guilty and punished the innocent. However, Andre was a soldier, as such he performed his duty and paid the penalty as did many another brave man. There is no dis- grace attached to his name, and today his youth, courage, and misfortune arouse the sympathy of all. He was loath to understand a commission so foreign to his frank nature but Clinton, the British commander in New York, was unwilling to entrust so delicate and so vital a matter to any but one in whom he had the utmost confidence. Andre was his adjutant and one of his warmest personal friends. In the recently published diary i n ctt ABQ A' I as Q .rfw .5 la- ' T Y ,, L vl Page twelve QSM

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IRVING SKETCH BOOK 7'- i WM, 4' y W, . MAJOR ANDRE Historical Sketch Perhaps no part of all America is more intimately associated with the pageant of American History than is Westchester County, New York. Na- ture and man have combined in giving to it a picturesque and romantic interest. To natural beauty and historic association Washington Irving has added that literary flavor so seldom found in a young country. These three the natural, the historic, and the literary together with a wholesome prosperity so often lacking in romantic spots, make of Tarrytown an ideal home for one who would know the noblest and best influence of American 1 e. . it ,Fefe-,L nf Ff a, - it 51. f Page eleven

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. Ilwlme sS15ET9H H9014 ...eg if sh BENEDICT ARNOLD of Clinton, the British general records that he specifically ordered Andre not to change his uniform or under any circumstances to carry papers. Andre, unfortunately for him, did both and thereby making of himself a spy within the meaning of martial law. As he was returning from a final interview with Arnold at West Point he was stopped and questioned by three young patriots. One of them wore a Hessian coat and Andre, thinking him his countryman, frankly stated that he was a British officer. To his dismay he then discovered that they were Americans and that he was under arrest . No offers of money or entreaties could move them and they proceded to search the young officer. Letters from Arnold were found in his stocking and these sealed his fate. He was turned over to the military authorities, tried and condemned to be hung as a spy. Clinton made every effort to save his friend or at least to have his sentence changed to death by shooting, but in vain. On October second the un- fortunate soldier was hung at Tappan, N. Y. He was twenty-nine years of age at the time. ffff ii 1 I ici, , . . - , ca .'3.:se.f lf 1 , A 'nil , M at -t , 1 if i Q A ' , Q l K ' . 5 7 km ifffihl ,. 5 ' Page thzlteen