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lined with gold, which he sent to Mr. Demarest in recognition of his services. Andre's sisters also sent him a silver cup, suitably inscribed.
After the exhumation the grave was refilled, and once more the field where the historic drama had been enacted that October day was left lonely and uncared for, save for the placing of the inscribed boulder, noted on page 80, until 1879.
Ninety-nine years after Andre's death Dean Stanley visited the United States,
and was the guest of Cyrus W. Field, at Irvington. At his suggestion Mr. Field
erected a monument to mark the spot of execution.1 Its erection, or inscription,
gave offence to some Socialists, one of whom, Hendrix 2 by name, blew it up with
dynamite. A second met the same fate. The inscription on it reads:
Here died, October 2, 1780,
Major John Andre of the British. Army,
who, entering the American lines
on a secret mission to Benedict Arnold
for the surrender of West Point,
was taken prisoner, tried and condemned as a spy.
His death, though according to the stern code of war, moved even his enemies to pity;
and both armies mourned the fate
of one so young and so brave.
In 1821 his remains were removed to
Westminster Abbey.
A hundred years after the execution
this stone was placed above the spot where he lay, by a citizen of the United States against which he fought, not to perpetuate the record of strife, but in token of those better feelings
which have since united two nations,
one in race, in language and in religion,
in the hope that the friendly understanding
will never be broken.
Arthur Penrhyn Stanly,
Dean of Westminster.
He was more unfortunate than criminal.
George Washington.
Sunt lachrymae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt.
AENEID, Book I., line 462.
8 Now owned by Rev. John Demarest's daughter, Mrs. James I. Blauvelt, Peterson, N. J. It is also stated by Mr. Buchanan that "Andre's watch" was "recovered" and sent to his sisters. It is not stated from whom it was "recovered." The history of the watches is decidedly obscure.
1 Representatives of the New York and Rockland Counties Historical societies, and many other guests, were present at the unveiling of the monument. In 1878 there were living three men who had witnessed the exhumation of Andre's remains—David D. Brower, John J. Griffiths and John H. Outwater. Through their testimony, Mr. Henry Whittemore, Secretary of the Rockland County Society, had identified the spot where the execution took place, and the monument was placed there.
3 Be met a violent death in Brooklyn in 1884.
