We were
not aware of this, until some weeks subsequently he summoned his staff
to his presence, and stated the fact.
"'You will remember, gentlemen, that Captain Asgill, who was a
prisoner, and sentenced, by lot, to die, in retaliation for the
coldblooded murder of Captain Hale, by the orders of a British officer.
You, and many of the officers of the army, interceded to save his life.
His execution was, in consequence, respited. The heart-rending appeal
of his mother and sisters, communicated to me in letters from those
high-bred and accomplished women, determined me to lenity in his case,
and he was pardoned. Immediately upon the heels of this pardon comes an
intrigue to seduce from his duty and allegiance a major-general,
distinguished for services and capacity; and Major Andre is the
instrument to carry out this intrigue--to communicate their plans to
the traitor, and to consummate the arrangement. These plans were to
seize, treacherously, the person of the general commanding the American
forces, and carry him a prisoner to the enemy's headquarters. Lenity to
this man would have been a high crime against Congress, the army, and
the country, which could not have been justified.
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