David Williams (soldier)

David Williams (October 21, 1754 – August 2, 1831) was a militiaman from the state of New York during the American Revolution. In 1780, he participated in the capture of Major John André.

Born in Tarrytown, New York, Williams had been a farmer, but in 1775 he joined the Continental Army. Serving under Gen. Richard Montgomery, he took part in several campaigns but was forced to leave active service in 1779 after his feet were badly frozen, leaving him partially disabled for life. Despite his condition, Williams continued to lend his support to the volunteer forces in his native area: overnight on September 22–23, 1780, he joined militiamen John Paulding and Isaac Van Wart as part of an armed patrol.

The three men seized British officer John André at a site in Tarrytown now called Patriot's Park. It was Williams who physically searched André and discovered, hidden inside his boots, the documents of his secret communication with Benedict Arnold. The militiamen, all local farmers of modest means, refused his considerable bribe and instead delivered him to army headquarters. Arnold's plans to surrender West Point to the British were revealed and foiled, and Williams was among the witnesses when André was hanged as a spy. With George Washington's personal recommendation, the United States Congress awarded Williams, Paulding and Van Wart the first military decoration of the United States, the silver medal known as the Fidelity Medallion. Each of the three also received federal pensions of $200 a year, and prestigious farms awarded by New York State.

The three militiamen were highly celebrated in their lifetimes: commemorations large and small abound in Westchester (see below), and can be found in many disparate parts of the early United States. Among other honors, each of the men had his name given to a county in the new state of Ohio (1803): Williams County is in the extreme northwest corner of the state.

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