Browsing: Papers of John Adams, Volume 10

6. John Trumbull and John Steele Tyler visited JA at Paris in June and then, despite the two men's service in the Continental Army and Trumbull's status as son of the governor of Connecticut, went on to London in July, Trumbull to study painting under Benjamin West. They informed the ministry of their arrival and plans to reside in London, apparently expecting no interference in their affairs, but the Morning Post of 17 Aug. noted their arrival and declared that “if such persons are suffered to be at liberty in England another conflagration may soon happen.” The loyalists did not forget and with the arrival of news of the arrest and execution of Maj. John André as a spy a new opportunity presented itself, for as the Morning Post of 24 Nov. pointed out in its lengthy account of Trumbull's arrest, Trumbull and André had held identical ranks in their respective armies. But the original warrant for high treason was issued for Tyler, although orders were given to secure the person and possessions of Trumbull. Tyler was warned of his impending arrest by Winslow Warren and escaped, leaving John Trumbull to face the charges. Trumbull was arrested early on the morning of 20 Nov., with the first report appearing in the Morning Post of 21 Nov., but see also the issues of 22, 23, and 24 Nov., as well as the London Courant of the 22d. Trumbull remained in custody until June 1781, when he was released on bail and set off for America. For Trumbull's account of his journey to London, imprisonment, and eventual release, see The Autobiography of Colonel John Trumbull, ed. Theodore Sizer, New Haven, 1953, p. 60–72.