3-055-424 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Capture of Major Andre, 1845. Major John Andre was a British spy hanged during the American Revolution for assisting Benedict Arnold’s failed plot to surrender the fort at West Point, New York, to the British Army. This painting depicts the moment on September 23, 1780, when Andre was detained by armed militiamen near Tarrytown, New York, who discovered incriminating papers in his boot, revealing Arnold’s scheme to hand the fort over to the British in exchange for £20,300 and a brigadier’s commission.