Blood of Tyrants: George Washington & the Forging of the Presidency by Logan Beirne

Author:Logan Beirne [Beirne, Logan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: American Revolution, Founding Fathers, George Washington, 18th Century
ISBN: 1594036403
Amazon: B00AUZS12E
Publisher: Encounter Books
Published: 2013-04-23T04:00:00+00:00

But despite André’s intelligence, charm, and heart of gold, Honora’s affections proved fleeting. She fell out of love with him just as quickly as she had fallen into it. She came to feel that he was a frivolous dreamer who “did not possess the reasoning mind that she required.”20 Nevertheless, she followed the era’s rules of high romance and kept up the pretense: she “agreed to be in love with him.”21 To the love-struck André’s delight, the beautiful Honora soon accepted his marriage proposal. However, her powerful family intervened to quell the teenage romance’s rapid progression.

They demanded that André accumulate significant wealth before marrying their daughter. So he returned home and made an effort to “win Honora by making his fortune in the family business.” He was ultimately unsuccessful at amassing enough money to please Honora’s famously wealthy parents, and they broke off the engagement. “His love affair shattered,” André “revived an older ambition. Fame, honor, glory called him to the profession of arms.”22 Finding it too painful to remain in Britain, André would run.

He joined the British Army in March 1771, hoping to “dissipate the memory of his sorrows in the turmoil and dangers of war.”23 After training in Germany, he was transferred to Canada by the time the Revolution erupted in 1775. He fought bravely against the Americans and was even held captive for a short time. Writing of his imprisonment, he said, “[I] was stripped of everything except [my] picture of Honora, which I concealed in my mouth. Preserving that, I yet think myself fortunate.”24

After his release from American custody in a prisoner exchange, André spent nine months enjoying Philadelphia during Howe’s occupation. He lived in Benjamin Franklin’s abandoned home and quickly became a favorite of the city’s high society. As such, he spent much time with the family of Edward Shippen IV, whose lively young daughter Peggy caught his attention. He invited her to a military masquerade ball and even sketched a portrait of her—just as he had done as he was falling for Honora. But any budding romance was promptly cut short by the winds of war. When France entered the war and the British withdrew from Philadelphia in order to defend more vital locations, André departed with them. The American forces rolled in to retake the city, and Benedict Arnold replaced André as Peggy’s suitor.

The overachieving André continued to impress his British superiors with his intellect and writing ability. In recognition, he was appointed adjunct general on Clinton’s staff in New York City, where he won “friendship and even fondness” from his “solitary, resentful, and stubborn” superior.25 Clinton respected the charming, young André’s discretion and placed him in charge of the army’s secret intelligence activities. It was in this role that André eventually came into contact with his old friend’s new husband, Arnold.

Having successfully lobbied Washington for command of the West Point garrison, Arnold took over the post in July 1780 and proceeded to prepare his “treason of the blackest dye.”26 Eager to gain

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