Isaac Van Wart

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Isaac Van Wart, sometimes spelled Van Wert, (1760-May 23, 1828) was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War who was one of three men who captured the spy John André, the others being David Williams and John Paulding.

He was born in the town of Greenburgh, New York and was a farmer in Westchester County, New York.

André was on a mission carrying secret papers from Benedict Arnold when he was stopped by an armed patrol consisting of John Paulding, David Williams, and Van Wart. Believing them to be Tories, André told them he was a British officer who must not be detained, when, to his surprise, they said they were Americans, and that he was their prisoner. He then told them that he was an American officer, and showed them his passport. But the suspicions of his captors were now aroused, and they searched him and found Arnold's papers in his stocking. André offered them his horse, watch, and 100 guineas, if they would let him go, but they were not to be bribed.

Gen. Washington sought out the three men who, "leaning only on their virtue and an honest sense of their duty," could not be tempted by gold. On his recommendation the United States Congress gave each of the captors a pension of $200 a year and a silver medal, known as the Fidelity Medallion. Van Wart was also honored by an 1853 monument erected at the place of the capture. Van Wert County, Ohio is named for him and the other captors are also honored with Ohio counties.

He is buried in the Revolutionary War Cemetery of the Dutch Reformed Church in Elmsford, New York.

[edit] Problems with the Official Version of Events

That the three men captured Major André (at least in the official version) is in itself somewhat unbelievable. Paulding, Van Wart, and Williams were all Dutch, speaking English poorly, and with a heavy accent and would be unlikely sympathizers to the British crown. Despite this, André carried papers from General Arnold showing him to be a Continental officer named John Anderson, but he was wearing a round hat, blue surtout, crimson coat with pantaloons and vest of nanking. The three were supposedly on patrol, but Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio has the three playing cards in the bushes beside the road on September 23, 1780, when they heard the galloping of a horse. Andre claimed to be going down to Dobbs Ferry to get information. That two patrols on the same side were going in opposite directions may have provoked questioning. Though the three found the plans to West Point when they removed his boots, it is somewhat unclear what reason they had to remove his boots in the first place. André had been riding a large brown horse with USA branded on his shoulder. Would such a horse be useful as a bribe? You couldn't sell it and you couldn't use it without being branded as a horse thief. The standard version has Andre offering 100 crowns for his freedom, but Henry Howe has him upping the ante to 1000 crowns, and then to 10,000 crowns.

An article in the July 2, 1971 Paulding (Ohio) Observer reports a folk history which has young Paulding, Van Wart and Williams (Williams just having had his 23rd birthday, was the oldest of the three) being unhappy with their military life. They deserted, drank up their funds, and decided to waylay a traveler to replenish their assets - who just happened to be Major Andre. One of the three - presumably Paulding - decided to steal not just Andre's cash but his boots as well. (At his trial, Andre said they aimed to rob him.) Once the plans to West Point were discovered, the three decided that capturing a spy was not only more reputable than being drunken thieving deserters, but surely more profitable as well. The three delivered him to the nearest military station, Newcastle, twelve miles distant. Of the three, only Paulding could read, and even the officers to whom they presented Andre did not suspect Arnold, instead sending Arnold a letter informing him that they had captured someone with plans to the fort.