Traitors and Spies, Patriots and Allies, British Boats and Hessian Ghosts!
The name “TarryTown”, a port village along the Hudson River at the “Tapan Sea” in Philipsburg Manor can be seen in the map. (Source: Library of Congress, and Map Division.)
Tarrytown and Westchester County played an important role in the Revolutionary War and in the victory that brought about the independence of the United States. The Revolutionary War put Tarrytown in the history books and on the map: The first recorded instance of the name “Tarrytown” appeared in a record from September 2, 1775, listing the appointment of militia officers for the Tarrytown Company, and the name soon began to appear on military maps of the period. As the northern approach to New York City and a critical source of food for both sides, Westchester County became a hotly contested no-man’s land for the eight-year period between the British invasion of New York in the summer of 1776 and their expulsion in November of 1783. Two key events in Tarrytown contributed to American victory in the war and secured the independence of the United States: the capture of British spy Major John André on September 23, 1780, and the Action at Tarrytown on July 15, 1781.
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The Capture of Major André, September 23, 1780
Major John Andre May 22, 1754 - October 2, 1780
One of the most famous and dramatic events of the entire Revolutionary War occurred in Tarrytown. On September 23, 1780, three American militiamen native to the Tarrytown area—John Paulding, Isaac Van Wart, and David Williams—captured British spy Major John André. Their actions exposed Benedict Arnold’s treason, prevented the West Point fortress from falling into British hands, and secured the essential patriot supply lines and military positions in the Hudson Highlands that would help to ensure American victory in the war.
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Read articles from current and all previous issues of The Neighborhood Buzz: Rivertowns, plus receive a printed copy of the magazine every 3 months.
© Erik Weiselberg, 2021. An essay by the author on Washington Irving and the memory of the Revolutionary War in the region will appear in the forthcoming Rip Van Winkle’s Republic, edited by Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg, which will be published by Louisiana State University Press.
Erik Weiselberg, Ph.D., is Principal Historian, Revolutionary Westchester 250; Village Historian, Irvington, New York; and Outstanding Teacher of American History, New York State Daughters of the American Revolution, 2020.