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Secondary sourcePainting1876

The Capture of André at Tarrytown

Currier & Ives · 1876

An 1876 hand-colored lithograph showing John Paulding, David Williams and Isaac Van Wart capturing British officer John André, who carried papers from Arnold's plot.

Depicts the capture that exposed Arnold's secret plan to surrender West Point to the British.

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Color lithograph titled 'The Capture of Andre'. Three men in 18th-century dress surround a seated man who is pulling off a boot; a fourth man in a dark blue coat and tricorn hat stands at right beside a gray horse. Trees and a hillside are behind them, and a rifle leans against a tree at left. Printed caption text runs along the bottom.
Currier & Ives, The Capture of André at Tarrytown by Paulding, Williams and Van Wart, 1876. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this source

What it is

This is a hand-colored lithograph printed by Currier & Ives in 1876, nearly a century after the event it shows. It depicts the capture of British officer John André at Tarrytown, New York, by three militiamen: John Paulding, David Williams and Isaac Van Wart. It is held today by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Why it matters

André was carrying documents revealing Benedict Arnold's secret plan to surrender the fort at West Point to the British. His capture exposed the plot and forced Arnold to flee to the British side. This print, made long after the Revolutionary War, shows how later generations remembered the moment the betrayal was uncovered, turning the three captors into patriotic heroes.

Look closer

  • Why might an artist in 1876 choose to depict this scene, nearly 100 years after it happened?
  • What details in the picture emphasize the heroism of the three men?
  • What does the print leave out about Arnold himself, who is not shown here?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Benedict Arnold on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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