Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1817-04-22
From the Wilksibirs Cleaner.
CAPrORS OF ANDRE.

lailmadge, under an lsnpTehloh iha1 he
has been very i'll treated by feveral edi
tors Of public journals, and others, who
appear TO be very illibera! in their attacks
upon the character of worthy officer OF
the revolution.
That fuch men as Mr.. Binns fhould be |
the frif 10 bark on this occaGon is nor at
all furpriiug, finee he is certainly among
the frit rate Of our imported patriots
and although be did not Ger his foot in
America until about twenty years after
the tranfaction alluded TO, yet he has run
the race Of patriotism 70 much faGsr than
any of our native citizens. that he is no
doubt entitled to be confidered full
blooded patriot of 70
But we regret Gncerely, to fee the late
editor Of the Courier and the editors OF
the Federal Republican dip their pens III
gall to blot the we'll earned fame OF an
American officer. Ii is true that the
ftory of the capture of Andre, as it has
generally been told, is fine page of
American hiltory, and it is to be regretted
that il ihould not have been (irictly true.
Our object is not TO vindicote q her Col.
Ta!lmsdgc or Ifaac Van Ware, but to
afcertain the truth. We profefs to love
our country, and delight in her fame.
but We fhould regret to fee the American
character raifed on any other foundation
than that of truth and jyfice Let US then
take ihort view of what has recently
been difclofed on this fubject.
We are 6rff prefented with an affida.
Wit of Ifaac Van Warf, who is one of the
parties concerned, and in legal invelti-
CATION he could not be admitted as wit
nefs in his cafe.
Van Wart anures us that he had
fecretel hin felf by the fide Of the high
way for the purpofe of detecting perlons
coming from, or having unlawful inter
courfe with the enemy, being between
the armies, feryice not uncommon in
lhofe times" Here then is the fact fiat
ed to you by the man himfelf, iince, al
though man may not be witneis in
his own favor, he may certainly make
confeflion Of the facts with which he is
charged. Van Wart does not even pre-
tend thai he belonged either to the Amer
lean army OF the militia, fince he was not
ftationed there for any particular pur-
pofe; nor does il appear that he belong
ed to any particular company, for no fuch
thing is mentioned. Had he belonged to
any volunteer company, or TO any part of
the army, the record of that circumfance
would have been the bea tehimony to
hare offered on this location but no, he
does not attempt to make this appear.
He ffates in fublfance that he was of that
clafs of men, who with their guns, fla
toned themfekes " between the armies"
to !" detect any perIass' pafing back and
forth, 1t is indeed too true that this
was lervice not uncommon in thofe
DAYS" SO much for Van Warts own
confefion-n now for the certificate.
Seventeen men, from 90 to 70 years of
age, certify that during the revolution
airy war they were well acquainted with
Iiasc Van Wart, David Williams and
John Paulding, who arrefed Major An
DIRE, and that at no time during the rev.
dictionary war was any fufpicion ever
entertaiaed by their neighbours or &C.
quaintances, that they or either of them
" held any undue intercourse 7pilb The enc
my" This is the whole amount of the
certificate There were hundreds of
" Csw Boys" who held mo madue inter
course qvitb tie enemy" They only robbed
the enemy of what they could get, and at
other times pilfered from the Americans.
Pilfering was conGdered no robbery in
thofe days, and thofe who chofe to wal,
until the war was over, before they join