John Paulding

John Paulding (October 16, 1758 – February 18, 1818) was a militiaman from the state of New York during the American Revolution. In 1780, he participated in the capture of Major John André.

While visiting his sweetheart and future wife, Sarah Teed, he was captured by Tories led by his future brother-in-law and imprisoned in the notorious "Sugar House " prison in New York City in 1780. Escaping the prison by jumping from a window, he went to the livery stable of a friend and obtained a German military Jäger or Hessian coat, green with red trim, which aided in his escape. As part of an armed patrol with fellow militiamen David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart, Paulding seized Major John André, who had left Benedict Arnold after discussing the defection and betrayal of Arnold. The site is now called Patriot's Park in Tarrytown, NY. Andre, seeing the Hessian coat Paulding was wearing, may have assumed him to be a member of the "cowboys," or pro-British marauders who raided the Neutral Ground for cattle and supplies. Searching him for valuables, they discovered documents of André's secret communication with Benedict Arnold. The militiamen, all local farmers of modest means, refused his considerable bribe and instead delivered him to the Continental Army. Arnold's plans to surrender West Point to the British were revealed and foiled, and André was hanged as a spy. With George Washington's personal recommendation, the United States Congress awarded Paulding, Williams, 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.

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