Who was Andre? Is the question that might be whizzing through your head right this very minute! Well Major John Andre was a British spy who gave Benedict Arnold 10,000 pounds sterling for the plans of the fort at West Point.

Now your next question is probably who is Arnold? Benedict Arnold is an American. He gave the West Point plans to Andre. Joshua Hett Smith gave Andre and Arnold his house so they could meet and discuss that Arnold would replace one link, which lay across the Hudson River with rope.

Major John Andre was caught with the plans in his boots. He was put on trial with Joshua Hett Smith and found guilty. Arnold was not put on trial because he was never caught. The trial took place at the Dutch Church in Tappan. Andre was held prisoner at the Old ’76 house until he was hung as a spy. Arnold was never caught and was never found by the Americans.

If this didn’t happen then we might not have a chance to win the Revolutionary War. If Andre was not captured then he wouldn’t have been hung. The British could have taken over the fort at West Point and won the Revolutionary War. The fort at West Point located on the Hudson River is so important to Americans because it stops British ships from coming up the river. That is the story of Andre’s Trial.

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