The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-12-06
ONCE SHELTERED ANDRE
AN historic HOUSE OF REF0Lt-
TYONARY MEMORIES.
In the village IL 5 Little C""'
tn 1867, Now Fast pee"'-
ing

PEEKSVILLE, ~ l.. DC rnad In u
fork i'm the old Albany poS9. ahont
hamlet known as Cori;i'sle etsrGs ar,
sncian, bonse 70 which is attached MS
torfc interest IL is only a Few TouS llon
the Van Cortlandt mansion. ~.
This building is known 10 al! as the
Mailman House. II is frame structure,
and VS. one occupied as a tavern. where
soiourners along the old post road Could
stop and find refreshment, ana give theul-
selves and their horses needed rest; II
was erected long before the Revolution
During the night of September p. 1850.
while "A wild storm of wind and ram was
sweeping through the highland passes,
Major Andre, surrounded by a strong
guard. was being taken to West POINT
from South Salem, where he had been
confined after his capture by Pauldlng,
Williams, and Van Nart. All night the
party galloped on. until in early morning
IL arrived for shelter at the old inn.
In this house the present inmates snow
the room where MAJOR Andre was placed
by his custodians. The room at that
time contained bar. Andre was offered
some refreshments, put refused IT, ii,o,.d
He was evidently very mucn asltated,
walked back and forth and was observed
10 shed tears
The house was built OF good, solid ma
terials, and Is still sound IN ever! re-
spect, standing alone at the Juncture OF
the roads.
Cortlandtvile is a settlement contain
ing about one hundred and nifty inhabi-
tants, mostly farmers, sometimes IL Is
called Van CortlandtWlle, and was, with
out doubt named after the old Van Cort-
Iandt family, which used 70 own all thi5
region. This was. in fact the original
PeeksYille, but the beauty and facilities
for traffic and transportation afforded BY
the Hudson River attracted the later set
Tiers and grownS-up young folks, ana SO
the present Peekskill finally t0urished
and grew on the hills overlooking one
Of the most charming vistas of the noble
Hudson, which has been compared BY
Irving 10 that Of the Lake OF como;
Within the precincts Of COrtldndtVlhe
are located the cld ana historic Ep!s.V-
pal church and burying ErOunl the Corl-
landt cemetery, the house formerly occu-
pied by the Van Cortlandts, a school,
and Methodist Episcopal church. The
rest is made up OF farm houses OF
more or less pratentious appearance.
Hard by tn" house, on the summit OF
knoll, stands the little Episcopal church
Of st. Peters, a barn-lille structure OF
wood, erected in 1861, and now, IN spite
of repairs, fast going TO decay. me cen
tenary celebration of the building OF
this church was celebrated August 9, 1851.
From n little pamphlet published on tne
occasion. containing extracts from the
parish register IL appears that the Kew
olution makes a gap in the records OF
the church. the last yestry meeting pri-
| or t. that event being held September
H. no. and the mex, on April 3, ll@.
The large Bible belonging to the church
bears an inscription on a fy-leaf. stat
ing that II was a gift Of Susannah Phi
| llpsc. wife Of Beverly Robinson, who gave
the land on which the house stands.
In the western part OF the churchyard
stands the monument marking the grave
Of John Pauldug, one of the captors OF
| Major Andre. 1t was erected by Francis
Il E.Ir. mo. of
| luton passed by the Common Council OF
| the city of New York, December 4, 1876.
! The design of the monument Is simple,
| consisting Of a plain. marble cone, rest
| height OF thirteen feet. The base is seven
! feet square, and it Is. surrounded by an
| iron railing four feet nigh.
on the side Of the monument is a fac
| smiie Of the medal voted by Congress 10
each Of the captors Of Andre The south
ern side contains the following inscrp-
| ton.
Here Repose the remains Of
JOHN PAULDiNG.
who died on the 18th day 90 February,
1878, I'm the GQth year Of his agr.
| on the morning Of the ed OF september.
! lIS0. Accompanied by two young Farm
crs Of the County OF Westminster.
| Cwhose names Will one day be recorded
| on their own deserved monuments,
| He Intercepted the British Spy, Andre.
| POOR HIMSELF,
| He disdained 10 acquire wealth by the
sacrifice Of HIS COUN4Ri.
| Rejecting the temptation Of great re
wards He conveyed his prisoner TO the
| American Camp;
| By this act Of noble seif-denial
| The treason of Arnold was detected,
! The designs Of the enemy bailci,
| West Point and the American Army saw
| ed: And these United States.
| Now by the grace Of God Free and indie
pendent, Rescued from most imminent
peril.
on the north side is the following in
! scription:
THE CORPORATION
of the city OF New York
Erected this Tomb
| As memorial sacred TO
PUBLIC GRATITUDE.
/ This monument with the eX-
! ception OF the placing of the cone
| on the pedestal, was completed
| November p. laG, and at ] o'clock in
| the afternoon of the same day the Off
| GERS Of the Corporation Of New York city
! arrived In Peeksldll by the Steamboat
| SaEdusky. 10 see it finished and hold eX-
| crcises appropriate 10 the occasion They
| were received In Peekskii by Commit
! tee Of Arrangements consisting of Gen.
! Pierre Van 'oTtlandt. Gen. Philip Van
! CortIandt. Daniel W Birdsal. ST John
| Constant. Ward Is. Howard benjamin
| Dyckmau. Dr Peter Goetchius James
! Vaudeville and Or. Samuel Strong. With
J a large cOncOurSe OF the people OF the
! town, they advanced in procession to
| the cemetery. An address was there
| made, by William Fauding, Mayor OF the
| city or New York, after which the as
| Sembly separated. Among those pres
! ent was Isaac Van WaIt. Paulding' S COM
| M nf az