The Mischianza

On Monday, May 18 1778, a lavish farewell party was thrown in Philadelphia for the commander-in-chief of the British Army, Sir William Howe. Loved by many of the officers and his men, it was suggested that a party should be thrown in his honor before he sailed back to Britain. The funding came from amongst the officers but much of the planning was done by Captain (before he becomes Major) John André, who took it upon himself to organize the events of the day, paint scenery, and prepare the costumes to be worn by those attending. He called the event, “The Mischianza,” meaning a mixture of activities that would be participated in throughout the day.

The day began with a procession of boats carrying the men and women of Philadelphia down the Delaware River. Music was played by minstrels in boats beside them. Once carried down the river, they disembarked and paraded to an open field prepared for a spectacular show of jousting, reminiscent of an 18th century version of a Renaissance Faire today. There were two teams of seven knights: The Knights of the Blended Rose and the Knights of the Burning Mountain. Each knight had been given the favor of a lady at the event and had created a personal crest and motto to be placed on their shields. Captain André rode out with the Knights of the Blended Rose, bearing a crest depicting two fighting cocks and the motto, “No Rival.” Though each knight had their own crest and motto, there was also an overall crest and motto for each team of knights. The symbol of the Knights of the Blended Rose depicted two intertwined roses with the motto, “We droop when separated.” The symbol of the Burning Mountain depicted a mountain surrounded by flames and the motto, “I burn forever.”

The Knights of the Blended Rose stated that their women were more beautiful than any other women in the world and issued a challenge to those who might think otherwise, at which point the Knights of the Burning Mountain appeared and challenged their vanity three times. At this challenge the jousting commenced, consisting of multiple rounds. First, the knights on horseback bore lances, and then fired at each other with pistols, then sword play, and finally hand to hand combat. This continued until the ladies interjected, begging the men to stop, being satisfied with their proofs of love.

The party then proceeded to a home with a lavish ball room. Here the company would dance and witness a display of fireworks planned by the British Army’s chief engineer, Captain Montresor. At midnight, another hall was opened for a feast of 1,200 dishes. At length, the herald of the Knights of the Blended Rose proclaimed a toast to the king’s health, the queen, the royal family, the army, the navy, their commanders, the knights and their ladies, and the ladies in general. The dancing then continued until 4am. The Mischianza was certainly a party to remember, and one that America may not have seen the like of before or ever again.

 Walnut Grove, property of Joseph Wharton and site of the Mischianza in Philadelphia.

Captain (before he becomes Major) John André acted as "Social Director" of the Mischianza and its various events.

Who is ready for the Mischianza? The ticket shown above is your ticket to the most lavish farewell party to ever be seen in America. A shield with a view of the sea with the setting sun, and at the top the general's crest. Around the shield a vignette, and various military trophies along the ground. So take your ticket and come to our farewell party for Sir William Howe. 

Release as a Prisoner of War

On December 2, 1776, John André wrote a letter to Caleb Cope from Reading, Pennsylvania, explaining that he believed he was on his way to be exchanged after his first tour as a prisoner of war. André had met and befriended Cope’s son during his captivity as a prisoner of war in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and had taken on the youth as a student in an attempt to help improve John Caleb improve his talent in sketch drawings. By December 2, 1776, André had already been a prisoner of war for a year and one month following the fall of Fort St Jean (Fort St. John’s) in the Canada campaign of November 3, 1775. Before being captured along with the rest of the British soldiers in Fort St. Jean in 1775, André had not had a chance to see much action which meant that by December 1776, most of his military career had been spent on tours of observation and as a prisoner of war. It is clear in his letters to Cope during his captivity, and regarding the lessons of Caleb Cope’s son, that André had already grown tired of the service, and wished to go home. He continuously asked Caleb Cope in his numerous to allow him to take his son John under his care so he might have a pretense to return to England honorably, but by December of 1776 André now displayed a genuine hope to return to British lines to continue serving the mother country and a sincere hope that someday he and his young student would meet again.

André’s hopes about being exchanged were finally realized during the general exchange of prisoners of war that had originally been captured at Fort St. Jean as the close of 1776 drew near, and by the end of December, André was a free man once again. Only a small force that had once been the 7th regiment of foot was left after the exchange and it was moved from Pennsylvania to a new station in New York. New recruits and clothes were sent from England to the regiment so that by the end of the month, the 7th had full ranks. André would not remain in New York long, however, for by Mid-January he obtained his Captaincy in the 26th regiment of foot.

The Death of General Montgomery by John Trumbull, Canada 1775 expedition

Siege of St. Jean/St. John's in 1775

Major André's Repatriation in Westminster Abbey

On this day in history, November 28, 1821, Major André was buried in the Hero’s Corner of Westminster Abbey with a funeral service, 41 years after his execution in 1780. The Funeral Service was conducted by Dean John Ireland. André originally had been buried at the foot of the gallows where he was executed in Tappan, NY, on October 2, 1780. In August of 1821, at the request of the Duke of York, André’s body was exhumed and brought back to England for reburial. He was reburied in front of a monument that had already been erected in Westminster Abbey in his honor in 1782, only two years after his death. The monument was erected with funds from King George III in honor of the fallen soldier for the king’s cause in the American Revolution. The design of the monument was created by Robert Adam with statuary depicting a mourning goddess, Britannia. As Major André was executed at noon on October 2, 1780, a petition to Washington from the British Army regarding André’s safety had also arrived at Dobbs Ferry on its way to Washington at the same time. His monument in Westminster Abbey depicts this scene with a picture of Washington receiving a letter at the hour of André’s death. The monument’s original inscription from when it was first erected in 1782 stated:

"SACRED to the MEMORY of MAJOR JOHN ANDRÉ, who raised by his Merit at an early period of Life to the rank of Adjutant General of the British Forces in America, and employed in an important but hazardous Enterprise fell a Sacrifice to his Zeal for his King and Country on the 2nd of October AD 1780 Aged 29, universally Beloved and esteemed by the Army in which he served and lamented even by his FOES. His gracious Sovereign KING GEORGE the Third has caused this Monument to be erected.”

The rest of the inscription that can be found on his monument today was actually added after his reburial in 1821 reading:

“The Remains of Major JOHN ANDRÉ Were, on the 10th of August 1821, removed from Tappan, By JAMES BUCHANAN ESQr His Majesty's Consul at New York, Under instructions from His Royal Highness The DUKE of YORK, And, with the permission of the Dean and Chapter, Finally deposited in a Grave Contiguous to this Monument, On the 28th of November 1821".

When André’s body first arrived in England, before his reburial, it had been discovered that the Americans had treated André’s exhumation good-heartily, even decorating his coffin with garlands of flowers as it was being transported to the ship that would bring him home. It also was discovered that a couple locks of his hair had remained untouched within the coffin, and those locks of hair were given to his sisters Mary Hannah, Ann Marguerite, and Louisa Catherine. The coffin in which André was transported back home to England is still preserved today in the Abbey’s Triforium and is off limits to the general public.

For further information visit:
Westminster Abbey Website

Major André's memorial in Westminster Abbey depicting a goddess as a mourning Britannia and an engraving telling the story of how the British Army's petition to Washington for André's life came at the same moment that he was lead to his execution.

Major André's memorial in Westminster Abbey depicting a goddess as a mourning Britannia and an engraving telling the story of how the British Army's petition to Washington for André's life came at the same moment that he was lead to his execution.

A close up picture of the engraving depicting the scene in which the British Army's petition to Washington for Major André's life comes at the moment of his execution.

The Siege of Fort St. John's and Major André's First Experiences in Warfare as a Young Lieutenant

In mid October 1775,   Fort Chambly along the Richelieu River was surrendered to the American Army.  Chambly had been under the command of Major Stopford and 100 of his men in the British Military.  For the most part, however, Chambly was being used by the British as a place to keep their stores for their main fort (St. John’s or Fort Saint-Jean), and as a safe haven for the women and children who had followed their husband soldiers to the area.  The passage between St. John’s and Chambly had been cut off well before the fall of the fort which had made passage to St. John’s for retreat impossible.  After the fall of Chambly, the Americans now turned their attention to St. John’s itself, devoid of the possibility of refreshing its stores or gaining help from Chambly.

As Fort St. John's was considered the major fort protecting Canada from an American passage to Montreal, and was vital in the defense of Quebec, it was believed that a full on attack of Canada could best be determined with the fall or victory of the British soldiers in Fort St. John's. Many attempts to capture St. John’s had already been conducted, but now the Americans truly threw themselves into the attempt.  On October 29, 1775, The Americans erected a battery while under fire of the fort.  Sir Guy Carleton, in charge of British troops in Canada, had tried to bring relief to St. John’s but was intercepted and obliged to retreat to Montreal.  Within only a couple days after the battery was erected on the 29th, St. John’s, where a young Lieutenant André now began to experience his first stirrings of warfare, would fall.

 It is interesting to note that the fall of St. John's was due to the fall of Chambly, in that it was a Major James Livingston who led the attack.  In this case Major Livingston became not just the indirect cause of the fall of St. John's, but also the indirect cause of Lieutenant André being taken as a prisoner of war from that fall.  In 1780, Livingston, who in the mean time would become a Colonel, would again be the indirect cause of André’s capture when he would order his men at Verplanck’s Point to fire upon André’s ship The Vulture, waiting in the Hudson River, while André finalized plans with Benedict Arnold for his defecting at West Point.  By so doing, Colonel Livingston forced The Vulture down river and André to be stranded.  Little did André also know that the officer now pointing artillery pieces at the fort in which he fought, was Officer Lamb who would be the one personally responsible for firing the artillery that sent The Vulture down river in André’s ill fated plan to capture West Point with the defection of Arnold.

Picture 1: Map of the forts along the Richelieu River including Fort St. John's (Saint-Jean) and Fort Chambly (Chambli).

Picture 2: Fort St. John's circa 1750s

Picture 3: Fort St. John's circa 1775, the time of the American invasion and siege.

Picture 4: Fort Chambly circa 1840