Major John André: Behind Bars in the Bar

The trip out here to Colorado was really good.  A snafu at the car rental place meant we lost about 3 hours of sleep Tuesday night, but gained a brand-new 2010 Caravan Town and Country for our trouble.  The dash lighting is ugly, though the interior lighting is super-cool.  It was pretty comfortable, but didn’t have enough torque to pull a baseball bag of ping-pong balls up the hills.

Just like last year, it was raining when we drove into Estes Park.  But like I’ve said, it matters little what the weather is like…the Rockies are simply awesome.  The cabin is great (again), Wendye and Shelley continue to be great hosts, and the Big Thompson River still sings in the evening.

But something historical…and I’ll keep it really brief, because as much as I love to drive, it’s a tiring job.

Major John André’s day had started badly.  André was a spy in the British Army…in fact, he was the head of the British spy network.  He had been negotiating with Benedict Arnold.

Arnold had taken command of West Point in August of 1780, and had promptly began planning to turn it over the British.  André met him at his home on the evening of September 21st and received plans for the fort.  On the 22nd, André dressed as a civilian and began making his way back to the British lines.

As dawn broke on September 23, 1780, he was stopped by three Americans, who discovered the West Point documents in his socks and placed him under arrest.  It wouldn’t take long to figure out that the plans had come from Arnold, who would have to try to “get out of town” in a hurry.

Major John André was first held at Sands Mill.  He was then taken to Continental Army headquarters in Tappan, New York.  After questioning, he was placed in a makeshift prison.  His cell?…Yoast Mabie’s Tavern, from where the Orangetown Resolutions had originated six years prior.

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Richmond, Virginia: Up in Smoke

I imagine that referring to Richmond as a fire hazard might be a bit of a stretch, but it certainly has been true in the past.  One of those times, near the end of the Civil War, was discussed by my good friend Michael a while back.

But there was another time that Richmond burned, so let’s visit that for Today’s History Lesson.  In 1780, the British Army gained a new Brigadier General.  Benedict Arnold.  Having been thwarted in his attempt to turn over West Point’s fort to the British, Arnold abandoned the Colonists and the Continental Army for a General’s commission with the Redcoats.

In late December, Arnold arrived at the capital of Virginia with about 1,500 men, having been sent south to disrupt the colonial supply lines.  Richmond had been largely abandoned by its defenders, leaving it essentially an open city, free for the British taking.  The British General then sent word to Virginia’s governor, one Thomas Jefferson (whose government had also left the city), stating that he would spare the city if he was given the tobacco supplies.

Jefferson refused to comply and, on January 5, 1781, Benedict Arnold and his troops ransacked Richmond, burning or destroying much of the city.

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