St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-11-12
THE ANDRE MONUMENT.
story OF the SHAFT and Explosion.

Story OF the SHAFT and Explosion.
1t was just twenty five minutes after
10 o'clock on Tuesday night, Nov. 3D.,
when the explosion occurred that up
set the Andre monument on Andre
Hill, in Tappan, and shattered the
base into thousand pieces. 1t was
the third and most successful of the
attempts to destroy the monument.
The report of the explosion was ter
rife. The earth for miles around
trembled as though an earthquake had
shaken it. Huge pieces of granite
were scattered all over the field, and
the rusty circular iron railing which
encloses the monument was broken
here and there where the pieces OF
granite had been dashed through it.
There was not person within a IA
dius of three miles of the place but
knew that the explosion meant the
destruction, or the attempted destruc-
ton, of the monument. Explosions
and the monument have somehow be-
come inseparably connected in the
minds of the people. None of the men
who arrived on the scene were surpris-
ed, therefore, to see the obnoxious
shaft toppled over, the base missing,
and large portion of the brick fOun-
datiOn replaced by a big hole several
feet in diameter and about Is inches
deep. The monument had been lifted
off its foundation and tOppled over in
n southwesterly direction. The double
foundation that had been shattered ut
the last attempt at destruction had
been removed a month ago, and sim
gle base foot thick had been put I'M
der the monument in its place. The
work was finished only a few days ago.
This new base was forced by the eX-
plosiOn from underneath the mOnu-
ment, and was distributed about the
village in fragments.
The monument was erected on the
spot where Andre was hanged. 1t is
on the top of hill in an uncultivated
field of ii acres owned by Cyrus w.
Field. The field is unprotected by
fences, and the only buildings near it
are Simons' house and barn. The
place has been much frequented by
strangers, and well-wOrn wagon
road runs up from the public highway
to the monument.
The monument was a shaft of gray
granite standing on a base of the same
stone. The four faces of the stone are
rectangular, and are polished to with
in II inches of the edges. From the
ground to the apex the height is seven
feet, and the stone was nearly four
feet thick. 1t weighed about four
tons. The western side of the stone
bears this inscription -
Here died, Oct. 2, 1870, Major John
Andre of the British army, who enter
ed the American lines on Il secret mis-
sion to Benedict Arnold, was taken
prisoner, tried, and condemned rs a
spy. His death, though according to
the stern code of the law, moved even
his enemies to pity, and both armies
mOurned the fate of one so young and
so brave. In 1921 his remains were re-
moved to Westminster Abbey. A hun
dred years after his execution this
stone was placed above the spot where
he lay by citizens of the states against
which he fought, not to perpetuate the
record of strife, but in token of these
better feelings which have since unit
ed two nations, one in race, in Ian
guage and in religion, with the earnest
hope that this friendly union will new
er be broken.
ARTHU X IENRH1N SIANLE1,
Dean of Westminster.
On the north side of the stone were
these words of Westinghouse =
He was more unfortunate than Grim
inal an accomplished man and gal
liant soldier.
Mr.. Field was not prepared to say
whether or not he would rebuild the
monument. He visited it last week
Thursday in company with Canon Far
rar, DIR. Satterlee of Calvary church,
and the Rev. Mr.. Smith of St. Thomas
church. Canon Farrar spoke of the
prOpriety of placing an inscription on
the side of the monument which was
legendless, and Mr.. Field said if the
Canon would write one he would have
it made companion to Dean Stanley's
contribution. Canon Farrar accord
ingly wrote the following
Brave, gifted, young, he did and
dared all at his cOuntry's bidding, and
died for her sake a shameful death.
Yet England buried him in Westmin-
ster Abbey, Washington mOurned for
his hard fate, and a generous son of
America, which hOnOrs her own Nathan
Hale, raises this monument on the spot
where his gibbet stood and his body
lay. FREDERICK w. FARRAR,
ArchdeacOn of Westminster.
While Mr.. Field was at Tappan on
Thursday the clergyman and several
other Tappanians asked him to resume
his intention, abandoned on the first
blowing up of the monument, of erect
ing building for the ROcllland county
historical society in the neighbOrhood
of the scene of Andres execution. They
declared that the crank who had at
tempted to destroy the monument was
dead, and that there was no danger of
any one repeating his act of wanda
lism. The same Tappanians went to
Mr.. Fields office yesterday to assure
him of the regret that their prophecy
had been so soon falsified.
About every person questioned had
IA different theory, but II great many
people did not try to disguise the fact
that the monument would never be al
lowed to remain whole in Tappan,
purely from motives of sentiment. On
the other hand, many of the villagers
are proud of the affair as work OF art
and a village attraction. Expressions
of regret, of qualification, and of don't
care a cent either way were about
equal.
NOT FOUND.