The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution

by Alex Storozynski

On September 25, with several guests eating breakfast at his quarters in the Robinson house, Arnold was reading the dispatches of the day when he came across a report that had been accidentally sent to him instead of Washington. It revealed that a spy going by the name of John Anderson [André], dressed in civilian clothes, had been searched at a checkpoint. He was arrested with clandestine documents in his boot, along with a pass from Arnold.86 Stunned by the realization that the plan had fallen apart, and that he was about to be caught, Arnold quietly limped upstairs to his bedroom to speak with his wife. Within minutes Col. Franks knocked on the door to announce that Washington’s servant had ridden up. Arnold knew that the commander in chief would not be far behind. The traitor hobbled down the stairs, jumped on his horse, and raced down to the river, where he found a whaleboat with eight British soldiers who rowed him to the Vulture to make his escape.