Major John André served as the liaison between Arnold and Clinton

It is a fact that Major John André served as the liaison between Arnold and Clinton. During the American Revolutionary War, John André was a major in the British Army and the commander of the British Secret Service in America. The Continental Army executed him as a spy for supporting Benedict Arnold's attempted surrender of the fort at West Point, New York, to the British.

Arnold was in close communication with British Major John André, an up-and-coming officer who developed a name in Philadelphia while dealing with the British high command. André had also made friends with several of the city's young women, including Peggy Shippen. While he may have courted her momentarily, it never amounted to anything other than presenting André with a direct link to Benedict Arnold. When he became the chief of the British spy operation in New York, Peggy Shippen stayed in touch with him. Arnold's plans to swap sides were assisted by her; he began secret negotiations with her buddy André, and she carried their signals to each other.

André met with General Clinton, who delegated broad authority to him to pursue Arnold's offer. This initial letter initiated a conversation about the types of help and intelligence that Arnold might supply, as well as instructions for future communication. Letters were to be sent through Peggy Arnold's women's circle, but only Peggy would be aware that some letters had instructions to be passed on to André, written in both code and invisible ink, with Stansbury acting as the courier.