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Bayles, Nathaniel

John M. McDonald interview — 1848

From the Westchester County Historical Society catalog:
Nathaniel Baylies (1791-1873), whose surname is actually spelled Bayles, owned land at the site of the capture of British Major John André. Bayles informs John Macdonald that he will write a letter describing a visit that he made to the site of with Isaac Van Wart, one of the three captors of André. He notes that Van Wart was “not fond of talking on the subject” in his later years because of what fellow captor John Paulding “said when in his cups.”

Manuscript page facsimiles

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Transcription

- Hufeland Index Page 835 -

Nathaniel Baylies of Tarrytown: I will draw up in the form of a letter to you a detailed account of a visit I made in company with Van Wart to the spot of André’s capture and of all that passed upon the occasion, and transmit it addressed to you at Flushing, L.J. I own the land on the east side of the road at the place of apprehension Van Wart in the latter part of his life was not fond of talking on the subject, but on the contrary avoided it in consequence of what Paulding said when in his cups.

Transcription from Experiencing the Neutral Ground of the American Revolution: The McDonald Interviews. Courtesy of the Westchester County Historical Society. No Copyright – United States. View the original manuscript at WCHS →