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The Sock that Changed History
The Sock that Changed History
Read about the Capture of Major Andre by Isaac Van Wart, John Paulding, and David Williams. Click on the image of the capture to read about the historic American Revolution event.
Fun Fact
Fun Fact
The spelling difference between Isaac Van Wart and the places named after him (like Van Wert County and the city of Van Wert in Ohio) wasn't an intentional name change—it was actually just a historical typo! When the Ohio Legislature created the county in 1820, they intended to honor Isaac Van Wart, an American militiaman famous for helping capture the British spy Major John André during the Revolutionary War. However, due to a clerical error, his name was officially recorded as "Van Wert."
Historians generally point to a couple of reasons for how this mistake happened:
Illegible Handwriting: Some sources suggest his name was misread from older Congressional records or military documents due to poor handwriting.
Drafting Error: The clerks or legislators who prepared the specific act of legislation for the Ohio General Assembly simply misspelled it when writing the bill.
Because the typo was officially passed into law to establish the county, the "Van Wert" spelling became the legal name and has endured ever since, even carrying over to the city of Van Wert when it was later established.
Fun Fact
Fun Fact
Did you know the background of the Story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, By Washington Irving was the site of the capture of Major John Andre by Isaac Van Wart, John Paulding and David Williams.
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