Washington [262]
In June 1780 West Point took on added importance. Washington feared that Clinton might return from Charleston with a hundred vessels and aim a deadly blow at the fortress. His worries were only compounded in July when Admiral Mar-riot Arbuthnot appeared in New York Harbor with sixty or seventy more ships. Washington swore he would do everything in his power to shore up West Point and other defensive posts along the Hudson River. At about this time Arnold rode up to Washington on the bluff at Stony Point and asked if he had “thought of anything for him.” When Washington offered him a “post of honor,” commanding the “light troops,” Arnold blushed and grew flustered. “His countenance changed and he appeared to be quite fallen,” Washington remembered, “and instead of thanking me or expressing any pleasure at the appointment, never opened his mouth.”42 When Washington met Arnold at his headquarters, his limp was unaccountably accentuated. Arnold had already impressed upon Washington’s aide Tench Tilghman that he could no longer ride horses for long or undertake active commands and indicated his desire for the sedentary post at West Point. “It then appeared somewhat strange to me that a man of Arnold’s known activity and enterprise should be desirous of taking so inactive a part,” Washington later reflected. “I, however, thought no more of the matter.”43 Submitting to Arnold’s importunate wishes, Washington announced on August 3, 1780, that “Major General Arnold will take command of the garrison at West Point.”44
That September, not realizing that Arnold was in league with the enemy, Washington enjoined him to improve West Point’s defenses. Arnold pretended to embark on a whirl of improvements at the fortress, while continually weakening them. He made it seem as if hundreds of men were hard at work when mere dozens were enlisted. When Washington alerted Arnold that he would pass through the Hudson Valley on the way to Hartford—“I want to make my journey a secret,” Washington stressed—Arnold relayed this letter to his British accomplices, listing places Washington would spend the night.45 Had the letter not been delayed, Washington might well have been taken by the British.
While Washington was returning from Hartford, Major André, traveling under the pseudonym of John Anderson, slipped behind American lines to collect intelligence from Arnold, who handed him papers outlining West Point’s troop strength and artillery, along with the minutes of a September 6 war council sent to him by Washington. André tucked these tightly folded papers into his boot for safekeeping. Arnold also gave him a letter designed to smooth his way past sentries, which read: “Permit Mr. John Anderson to pass the guards to the White Plains, or below, if he choose. He being on public business by my direction.”46 While returning to the British man-of-war Vulture, anchored in the Hudson, André was detained in Westchester County on September 23 by three American militiamen, who stripped him and unearthed the explosive documents. In vain, he tried to bribe his way to freedom. That André was elegantly dressed in mufti, outfitted in a purple coat trimmed with gold lace and a beaver hat, became damning evidence in the trial against him. Unaware of the significance of the documents found on him, Lieutenant Colonel John Jameson conveyed them to Washington with the following note: “Inclos[e]d you’ll receive a parcel of papers taken from a certain John Anderson, who has a pass signed by General Arnold.