Decorative print of Tarry Town lithographed by Bichbois, which appeared in Jacques Milbert's rare Itineraire Pittoresque du Fleuve Hudson &c

Milbert travelled to the United States in 1815 and returned to France in 1823. During his stay he studied and recorded information about the topography, flora & fauna and social history of the US. He also made a series of sketches of the areas through which he traveled which culminated in the publication of his Itineraire Pittoresque du Fleuve Hudson et des parties laterales de L'Amerique du Nord.

Tarrytown is a village on the eastern shore of the Hudson River in the Tappen Zee area, 25 miles north of New York. The reference to Major Andre's capture during the American Revolution in Tarrytown refers to the events of September 23, 1780. On that day, three local militiamen, John Paulding, Isaac Van Wart, and David Williams, captured the British spy, Major John Andre, who was carrying papers describing the fortification of West Point, given to him by Benedict Arnold. The clandestine meeting near Haverstraw ended at dawn making it too risky for the Loyalists to row Andre back to the Vulture, which was to carry him back to British Headquarters in New York City. The next day the Americans fired upon the Vulture from Croton Point, forcing it to leave without Andre.

Benedict Arnold recommended that Andre travel by land on the eastside of the Hudson and was traveling south on horseback, eventually reaching the neutral territory of Tarrytown. John Paulding, who had recently escaped from a British prison in New York City was wearing a Hessian coat, and Andre approached the group thinking they were allies. He was stopped and questioned by the three militiamen who found the plans to West Point hidden in Andre's boot. Andre was brought to the authorities. He was tried and convicted as a spy because he had traveled in civilian clothes instead of British uniform, and hanged in Tappan, New York on October 2, 1780.