ing faith in their care for his welfare, by gradually depriving him of support in sickness, want, and old age, when discharged, either too old to learn new means of subsistence, or too infirm for common labour. But perhaps government take the same view of desertion as their friends at the head of affairs in Belgium, where we find one of their public journals announcing, with congratulation, that "during the last month desertion has materially decreased; indeed, not more than 160 soldiers have absented themselves from the brigade during the last month, and the greater part of these have merely gone into the interior for the purpose of seeing their friends and families, which, it seems, they were not aware was a breach of military regulation." The sequel goes on gravely to state, that orders have been sent to the mayors of the frontier towns to remonstrate with any deserters who may desire to pass through their districts; which, it is expected, will entirely prevent desertion to foreign territory.

What a truly primitive view of Belgian naïveté, and the Arcadian character of these amiable and domestic soldiers! and in what a paternal and interesting light do the mayors, (or Don Keys of the Low Countries,) appear! A great Belgian booby, with his blouse over his uniform, enters a frontier village, making no secret of his deliberate intention of desertion; but first resolves on a substantial meal at the public-house. Scarcely has he begun cramming, stuffing, and drinking, when in comes the mayor, calls him a "brave Belge," kisses him on both sides of his great, unmeaning face, remonstrates on his quitting a service of glory and a land of liberty, treats him to another gallon of sour beer, and packs him back to his regiment. So much for Belgian discipline and Belgian government. But this way of being treated like a naughty child would be far more offensive to a stout English soldier than a much more rigorous but manly system. As the "braves Belges" are, however, become the mere slaves of the French, it may be quite as well they should remain as bad soldiers as they have been for these many years past.

War, civil war, as usual, has now broken out in Spain; and probably, in a very short time, we shall have workhouse detachments, and "fine athletic young men," enlisting as merrily for the Spanish contest as they have done for the Portuguese. Lord Grey will naturally repeat, as he did before, that he knows nothing about it, except through the newspapers; and all will do very well till the parishes discover they have a good many cripples to maintain, and the police that they have some very difficult characters to deal with in London. That the evil may there stop, we sincerely hope; but it is a hope unlikely to be realized, unless ministers awake in time to a sense of their improvidence. Great and serious danger must otherwise be anticipated; and it will probably be too late when

"Piget incepti

excussaque pectore Juno est,

Sed non idcirco flammæ atque incendia vires
Indomitas posuêre: udo sub robore vivit
Stupa vomens tardum fumem."

W.

NARRATIVE OF THE EXHUMATION OF THE REMAINS OF

MAJOR ANDRÉ.

BY J. BUCHANAN, ESQ., H. M. CONSUL, NEW YORK.

British Consulate, New York, August, 1833.

MR. EDITOR,-In compliance with the urgent suggestion of several officers of high rank in the army, I send you a brief narrative of the facts connected with the removal of the remains of the unfortunate Major André, from the place of his suffering at Tappan, in this State, to the Abbey, there to rest, surrounded by the ashes of the illustrious men who died in the performance of duty in the service of their country. If any one circumstance more than another leads me to accede to the numerous suggestions for years pressed upon me, it is the consideration, that this measure strikingly illustrates the high and chivalrous character of one who was peculiarly the soldier's friendthe ever-to-be-lamented Duke of York. For my own part, I question if the military annals of any country furnish such an instance of tender solicitude to heal the distress, which must arise in every British bosom, when reading in our history the fate of André; and pardon my saying I am not aware of any reward ever bestowed more calculated to cherish amongst the officers of our army the ambition of well-earned fame,—of a fearless devotion in the performance of perilous duty. It has been justly presumed, indeed known to many, that I had preserved the documents relating to the interesting event; not anticipating, however, that I should have been so often and earnestly solicited to publish them, nor, indeed, meaning that they should go forth to the world. Two circumstances have at all times prevented my sanctioning their publication the respect due to the feelings of the surviving relatives of the sufferer, and the prominent place necessarily occupied by myself in the transaction. These considerations are even now so little abated, that I still feel reluctant to incur the responsibility of making the narrative public. However, I yield to better judgment; and as I have no pretension as a writer, I pray that my style may be pardoned. The facts are stated with perfect fidelity, and much is omitted, which, though interesting, I deem proper to leave out.

The state of New York, by a resolution passed in the legislature during the session of 1818, directed,-that the remains of General Montgomery, who fell at Quebec, should be removed from that fortress, where they had been buried with military honours, and deposited in New York.

The excitement arising from that act, and the jealousy which had grown out of the late war between Great Britain and the United States, led, necessarily, to observations springing from such unkindly feelings; and I was hourly annoyed by contrasts drawn from the conduct of the state of New York, as to the remains of General Montgomery,-while those of the British soldier, who was sacrificed in the service of his country, in the flower of his youth, (by a doom, which, in the judgment of many, might have been commuted,) were abandoned and neglected. The grave of Major André was at the place of his execution, in an open field, with only a heap of stones to mark the spot, as the trees alone would not have pointed it out; and it was an additional reproach

that his body had not been even removed to the neighbouring buryingground, and a monument, however humble, erected over it.

Influenced by these observations, (and my own feelings, which participated largely in their truth,) I was induced, in the month of April, 1821, to address a letter, to his Royal Highness the Duke of York, then commander-in-chief, with a proposal to remove the remains of Major André to a place of public interment, or to place a suitable monument on the spot where they reposed. In due course I was honoured with a prompt communication, dated Horse Guards, May 16, 1821, from Sir Herbert Taylor, in which he was pleased to state-" That he was directed to convey to me his Royal Highness's sincere acknowledgments for the communication I had made, and to assure me how sensible his Royal Highness was of the liberal and patriotic feeling which had produced my proposal, that the bones of the brave and unfortunate Major André should be collected, and should receive that tribute of respect which is due to the remains and to the memory of a meritorious officer, who had suffered an ignominious death in the honourable discharge of his duty. His Royal Highness most readily directed that I should take such steps as I should consider most advisable for collecting Major Andre's bones, and for having them securely conveyed to Halifax, whence they could be brought to England in one of his Majesty's ships of war, with a view to their being deposited in Westminster Abbey, as his Royal Highness had communicated with the Dean of Westminster, in relation thereto; a copy of whose reply he was pleased to inclose for my information."

The note from the very Reverend the Dean to his Royal Highness was in the following words: -" There is something so pleasing in the proposal made by Mr. Buchanan, that I am persuaded there can be but one feeling as to the propriety of adopting it; I therefore send you, for the information of his Royal Highness, my immediate concurrence, and shall inform the Chapter I have done so."

Upon receipt of Sir Herbert Taylor's letter, I addressed a note to the late greatly-esteemed and justly-lamented De Witt Clinton, the then governor of the state of New York, praying his Excellency's permission to comply with the orders of his Royal Highness: in reply thereto, I was honoured with a note, of which the following is a copy :

"New York, 30th July, 1821. "SIR,-I have received a communication from you relative to the conveyance of the remains of Major André from this State to Great Britain, and I have the honour to state in reply, that our laws interpose no obstacle to this measure.

"I am, Sir, with great consideration,
"Your obedient servant,
"DE WITT CLINTON."

"To J. Buchanan, Esq.,
"His Britannic Majesty's Consul, New York."

In consequence of the publicity given to the intended exhumation, numbers of British subjects expressed a wish to attend on the occasion, in order to manifest their feelings of respect for the unfortunate, but highly-esteemed victim of war. Among the many communications, I should not be doing justice to the memory of the late excellent Captain Phillips, did I not on this occasion give an extract from his letter, as to his attending the exhumation.

"Highlands Grange, 28th July, 1821.

"I shall feel myself highly flattered and gratified in any co-operation you may deem expedient, in proving my respect for the memory of Major André, whose loss was most universally deplored by all, but more especially by those who had the honour of his acquaintance."

My next step was to proceed to Tappan, distant from this city twenty-four miles. Thither I went, accompanied by Mr. Moore, his Majesty's agent for packets. Upon reaching the village, which does not contain above fifty or sixty houses, the first we inquired at proved to be the very house in which the Major had been confined while a prisoner there, kept by one Dupuy, who was also post-master; who took us to view the room which had been used as his prison. Excited as we were, it would be difficult to describe our feelings on entering this little chamber; it was then used as a milk and store-room; otherwise unaltered from the period of his confinement; about twelve feet by eight, with one window looking into a garden, the view extending to the hill, and directly to the spot on which he suffered, as the landlord pointed out from the window, while in the room, the trees growing at the place where he was buried.

Having inquired for the owner of the field, I waited on the Rev. Mr. Demarat, a baptist minister residing in Tappan, to whom I explained the object of my visit, who generously expressed his satisfaction at the honour, "which at length," to use his words, "was intended the memory of Major André," and assured me, that every facility should be afforded by him. Whereupon we all proceeded to examine the grave, attended by many of the inhabitants, who by this time had become acquainted with the cause of our visit; and it was truly gratifying to us, as it was honourable to them, that all were loud in the expressions of their gratification on this occasion.

We proceeded up a narrow lane or broken road, with trees at each side, which obscured the place where he suffered, until we came to the opening into the field, which at once led to an elevated spot on the hill. On reaching the mount, we found it commanded a view of the surrounding country for miles. General Washington's head-quarters, and the house in which he resided, was distant about a mile and a half or two miles, but fully in view. The army lay encamped, chiefly also in view of the place, and must necessarily have witnessed the catastrophe. The field, as well as I could judge, contained from eight to ten acres, and was cultivated; but around the grave the plough had not approached nearer than three or four yards, that space being covered with loose stones thrown upon and around the grave, which was only indicated by two cedar trees about ten feet high. A small peach tree had also been planted at the head of the grave, by the kindly feeling of a lady in the neighbourhood.

Doubts were expressed by many who attended, that the body had been secretly carried to England, and not a few believed we should not find the remains; but their surmises were set aside by the more general testimony of the community. Having then found the grave, and obtained leave of the proprietor of the field to remove the remains, I made arrangements to do so on the Tuesday following. Having consulted Mr. Eggleso, a cabinet-maker and upholsterer, who had formerly done the work of Dublin Castle, as to the most suitable mode of U.S. JOURN. No. 60, Nov. 1833.

X

removal, in a manner becoming the illustrious Prince under whose orders I was acting, he recommended a sarcophagus, which I accordingly ordered to be made, and to be covered with crimson velvet, &c.; aware that thereby I was acting in accordance with the intention of his Royal Highness, in honouring the remains of a soldier who had been buried divested of all honourable appendages. Thus furnished, I proceeded upon the 10th of August, 1821, accompanied by Señor Houghton, the Spanish consul, and attended by Mr. Eggleso, with the sarcophagus, in order to raise the body, previous to removal from Tappan to his Majesty's packet. This mode of proceeding I was led to adopt, as I had been informed that some person had gone from New York, with the view to purchase or rent the field from the worthy clergyman, under the impression I would pay a large sum in order to fulfil his Royal Highness's intention; but, to the honour of this worthy, yet poor pastor, he rejected their offers, and stated he would not, on any account, recede from the promise he had made. Arriving at Tappan by ten o'clock, A.M., though I was not expected until the following Tuesday, as I had fixed, yet a number of persons soon assembled, some of whom betrayed symptoms of displeasure at the proceeding, arising from the observations of some of the public journals, which asserted "that any honour paid Major Andre's remains was casting an imputation on General Washington, and the officers who tried him."

As these characters were of the lowest cast, and their observations were condemned by every respectable person in the village, I yet deemed it prudent, while the worthy pastor was preparing his men to open the grave, to resort to a mode of argument, the only one I had time or inclination to bestow upon them, in which I was sure to find the landlord a powerful auxiliary. I therefore stated to these noisy patriots, that I wished to follow a custom not unfrequent in Ireland, from whence I came, namely, of taking some spirits before proceeding to a grave. The landlord approved the Irish practice, and accordingly supplied abundance of liquor, so that in a short time, General Washington, Major André, and the object of my visit, were forgotten by them, and I was left at perfect liberty, with the respectable inhabitants of the place, to proceed to the exhumation, leaving the landlord to supply the guests, a duty which he faithfully performed, to my entire satisfaction.

At twelve o'clock, quite an unexpected crowd assembled at the grave,- -as our proceeding up the hill was seen by the inhabitants all around. The day was unusually fine; a number of ladies, and many aged matrons who witnessed his fall,-who had seen his person,-who had mingled tears with his sufferings,-attended, and were loud in their praises of the Prince, for thus at length honouring one who still lived in their recollection with unsubdued sympathy. The labourers proceeded with diligence, yet caution. Surmises about the body having been removed were revived, and it would be difficult to imagine any event which could convey a degree of more intense excitement.

As soon as the stones were cleared away, and the grave was found, not a tongue moved amongst the multitude,-breathless anxiety was depicted in every countenance. When, at length, one of the men cried out he had touched the coffin, so great was the enthusiasm at this moment, that I found it necessary to call in the aid of several of the ladies to form an enlarged circle, so that all could see the operation;