Portland Gazette, And Maine Advertiser

From the Wilkesbarre Gleaner.

CAPTORS OF ANDRE.

We have again taken up our pen on the subject of the disclosure made by Col. Tallmadge, under so impression that he has been very ill treated by several editors of public journals, and others, who appear to be very illiberal in their attacks upon the character of a worthy officer of the revolution. That such men as Mr. Binns should be the first to bark on this occasion is not at all surprising, since he is certainly among the first rate of our imported patriots: and although he did not set his foot in America until about twenty years after the transaction alluded to, yet he has run the race of patriotism so much faster than any of our native citizens, that he is no doubt entitled to be considered a full blooded patriot of '76. But we regret sincerely, to see the late editor of the Courier and the editors of the Federal Republican dip their pens in gall to blot the well earned fame of an American officer. It is true that the story of the capture of Andre, as it has generally been told, is a fine page of American history, and it is to be regretted that it should not have been strictly true. Our object is not to vindicate either Col. Tallmadge or Isaac Van Wart, but to ascertain the truth. We profess to love our country, and delight in her fame. but we should regret to see the American character raised on any other foundation than that of truth and justice. Let us then take a short view of what has recently been disclosed on this subject. We are first presented with an affidavit of Isaac Van Wart, who is one of the parties concerned, and in a legal investigation he could not be admitted as a witness in his case. Van Wart assures us that he had secreted himself by the "side of the high way for the purpose of detecting persons coming from, or having unlawful intercourse with the enemy, being between the armies, a service not uncommon in those times." Here then is the fact stated to you by the man himself, since, although a man may not be a witness in his own favor, he may certainly make a confession of the facts with which he is charged. Van Wart does not even pretend that he belonged either to the American army or the militia, since he was not stationed there for any particular purpose; nor does it appear that he belonged to any particular company, for no such thing is mentioned. Had he belonged to any volunteer company, or to any part of the army, the record of that circumstance would have been the best testimony to have offered on this occasion ; but no, he does not attempt to make this appear. He states in substance that he was of that class of men, who with their guns, stationed themselves "between the armies" to "detect any persons" passing back and forth. It is indeed too true that this was "a service not uncommon in those days." So much for Van Wart's own confession—now for the certificate. Seventeen men, from 60 to 70 years of age, certify that "during the revolutionary war they were well acquainted with Isaac Van Wart, David Williams and John Paulding, who arrested Major Andre, and that at no time during the revolutionary war was any suspicion ever entertained by their neighbours or acquaintances, that they or either of them "held any undue intercourse with the enemy." This is the whole amount of the certificate. There were hundreds of "Cow Boys" who held "no undue intercourse with the enemy." They only robbed the enemy of what they could get, and at other times pilfered from the Americans. Pilfering was considered no robbery in those days, and those who chose to wait until the war was over, before they joined either party, made the best they could of bad times, and lay "between the two armies" to detect any persons. As long ago as we can recollect to have heard the story of Major Andre's captivity, (and we confess that we know nothing of it but what we have heard) we remember the declaration of officers on that station, that the men who took him were "Cow Boys," and that they carried him to headquarters was considered the best market, we now believe that nineteen in twenty of the officers then there, who are now living, will say that such was the general opinion at that time.—That such was the opinion of Andre himself, and also of two American officers, who certainly had an excellent opportunity of knowing the public opinion, there can be no doubt ; but superior to all this, we have what I consider Mr. Van Wart's own confession of the facts. There has certainly nothing appeared which shows that Col. Tallmadge wished to injure these men; he might have made this declaration years ago, yet he was willing they should enjoy the reputation which they possessed; but when they petitioned Congress for an additional pension, ( I ask pardon of Mr Getz) when John Paulding petitioned Congress for more money, implying that they had not been sufficiently paid for the service. then was a time when it became the duty of Col. Tallmadge, as a member of Congress, to declare the facts, that the members might better decide how to act. These men received the thanks of congress, and a medal, besides a yearly pension of two hundred dollars during life, for simply performing what was the duty of every honest American to perform, and which never cost them so much as a scratch on the finger ; and now, after a lapse of thirty-six years, when they find the members of Congress helping themselves to a little more money, these men want a little more too. Hundreds of widows and orphan children, whose husbands and fathers have fallen on the field of battle, now suffer in poverty and obscurity, while these men, who were in the prime of life, and who have never shed a drop of blood in defence of a country which has done so much for them ask for a little more money. In this request the "Cow boy" is sufficiently apparent. It has been said that these men could have accepted the bribe, and let Andre go. They could so, but they must have been consummate villains to have done it ; and they probably expected to get more from the Americans for him than what Andre offered for himself. Feeling, however, that the sum is a little deficient, they want a small addition ; and, as it is worth more than two hundred dollars a year to be honest, they must have a small bonus besides. The character and services of Col. Tallmadge certainly demand the confidence of his fellow citizens. He served his country faithfully through the bloody war of the revolution, and received the thanks of the Commander in Chief, and of Congress, for his gallant conduct in the destruction of the British stores on Long Island, which will live with gratitude in the bosoms of the American people, when the names of Gardenier, Allen & Co, and the humble Editor of the Gleaner, shall be remembered no more.