The key to America's survival lay in 1780 in the hands of a Lt. Col. of the American Army, then under the command of General George Washington. Born in 1751 in Culpeper, Virginia John Jameson, the son of a prominent Gentleman and Captain in the Militia, went on to William and Mary College graduating sometime shortly before 1774. In that year he signed the resolution to defend his rights against the might of Great Britain. In Fairfax, VA. under an old Oak tree during the spring of 1775, he volunteered along with other men from the Virginian counties of Culpeper, Orange, and Farquier into the Culpeper Minutemen; their flag symbolized the snake and read "Liberty or Death" on one side, and "Don't Tread on Me", on the other. Organized at the request of Virginia Governor Patrick Henry it was led by Major John Marshall sr., father of Third U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Marshall. Their first engagement came when Lord Dumore, then Gov. of VA, seized the gunpowder at Williamsburg, the seat of the British government in Virginia. In their forest-green buck- skins, buckstail caps, scalping knives, and tomahawks, their frightening vision scared the citizens  more so than the British troops that awaited them in Williamsburg. Fortunately, a battle was prevented when negotiations between Dunmore and the colonists were satisfactorily reached. Later in December of that year, the Minutemen found themselves among 900 Virginian and Carolinian troops who defeated Lord Dunmore at Great Ridge, Va. Burning Norfolk on New Year's day in 1776, a bloody fight ensued and Lord Dunmore fled to Chesapeake Bay where he was later sent packing with his ships to the West Indies.

    On June 13, 1776, John Jameson was commissioned a Captain of the Third Troop of Horse. Three days later he took command of a regiment of Dragoons (an applied term meaning generally cavalry.) In the early spring of 1777 he was promoted to Major and served with the First Continental Dragoons. His first engagement appears to have occurred on September 11, 1777 at the Battle of Brandywine. Washington's orderly retreat subsequently created the hard winter at Valley Forge when General Howe and Ferguson destroyed the supplies placed there. Twenty some miles west of and a little north of Philadelphia where the Schuylkill River is joined by the Valley Creek the land rises up 250 feet cresting then flattening out into a plateau for two miles. An old forge marked its location. Here Washington and his men rested for the duration of that hard winter. 

    It was also here that several things coalesced that marked turning points in careers and in the military situation. General Nathaniel Greene succeeded Thomas Mifflin as Quartermaster General and managed to scour the countryside for food and supplies; General Von Steuben came highly recommended by Ben Franklin and who, during the height of the rigid weather, formed the drill, taught the raggedly-dressed men the techniques of military bearing and maneuver which to this day continues the long tradition; Martha Washington rode in and soon a small salon grew while the likes of Anthony Wayne could be seen with Baron De Kalb, Alexander Hamilton, John Sullivan, and Casimir Pulaski. To offset the genial relationships that were forming, Washington brought Benedict Arnold into camp with aide Charles Lee who made it known that he thought Washington was unfit for command and that the American Army could never defeat the British. Their gloomy attitudes aside some of these pivotal soldiers would later come together under far stormier circumstances. 

    While resting here Major Jameson was wounded in a skirmish nearby on January 21 of 1778. Throughout that year and the next he remained with Washington, engaged at the Battle of Monmouth, NJ in June of 1778, then having been  promoted to Lt. Colonel in August of 1779. While the battle in NJ was no clear victory or defeat for either side, it represented the last major battle in the north. With West Point guarding the way into North America, Washington assigned many of his men to defense holding positions which they commanded. Arnold was sent to West Point in 1780. Jameson was sent to Tarrytown under Arnold's command, and shortly afterward was made commander at North Castle of a garrison constructed there. Greene, still Quartermaster of the Continental Army remained in that post through 1780. Wayne, ordered by Washington to Stony Point, NY fought the British held defenses there on July 15, 1779, remaining in the north through 1780.

    The United States Military Academy is located at West Point, NY on the west bank of the Hudson River in Orange County, about 50 miles north of New York City. Established in 1802 by an act of Congress the Academy limits to 2,496 the number of enrolled students allowed. Primarily a military school, educational courses are generally military and scientific with a dash of liberal arts, and normal armed forces basic training. 

    While Howe continued to send smaller advances down the Hudson from Canada, the Battle of Monmouth in 1778 had ended any major consideration of taking the north away from Washington. West Point had become the General's major defensive strong hold for the north and the war went south into Virginia and the Carolinas. Other means of wresting control from the colonists were vigorously being pursued by Sir Henry Clinton who took over command as Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in 1778 from General William Howe. The  one door Clinton opened for control could have had dire consequences had it not been for some quick thinking Continentals and one very undecided Lt. Colonel.

    Shortly after the 2nd Battle of Freeman's Farm, Major General Benedict Arnold in June of 1778 was placed in command of Philadelphia. Born in 1741 in Norwich, Connecticut he ran away from home and fought in the French and Indian War, and later installed as Captain for the Connecticut Militia. At the time of the American Revolution, Arnold was already an experienced soldier having been with Ethan Allen at the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, and later the planner of the failed attempt at the capture of Quebec. Proving himself quite capable, the fiery man was promoted to Brigadier General in 1776, and in the following year helped bring about Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga, New York. He married twice, was a lavish host, and tended to be in debt much of the time. He befriended a number of Tories who managed to hang around after Clinton's defeat at Monmouth, and brushed off the numerous attempts by Congress to maintain a financial journal of his military activities some of which were called into question. In 1779 he was charged with using his position for personal profit but the court martial cleared him of most of the findings and a personal reprimand was given by General Washington. Yet new discoveries of his use of military monies appeared and Arnold found himself once again engulf in controversy. 

    In anger he began corresponding in secret with Sir Henry Clinton through Major John André exploring possible alternatives that would relieve him of his debt and possibly provide him a better position with the British army. Things did not work out to Arnold's benefit. He became sullen, angry, and withdrew his offers to Clinton. André, attempting to find out who this unnamed American officer was, baited the hook with gold, and found out, but by then the door had closed again.

    August of 1780 came and Washington appointed General Arnold to take command of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. His appointment was no surprise, for Arnold had finagled his way into the position with the plan to turn over the military stronghold into British hands! The dickering and haggling of Arnold’s negotiated "settlement" nearly collapsed the proceedings, but insistently, Arnold managed, not necessarily a small fortune, but at least a comfortable living if he did turn over the plans of West Point to Clinton. The terms finally cemented,  Arnold  summoned John André.

    Morale was at a low ebb in North America. Lack of food and supplies hindered the Continental Army in maintaining their  defense of the North American  region. A mutiny had broken out during the hard winter of 79-80 in Morristown, New Jersey where conditions were conceivably worst than at Valley Forge the year before.  A blow to America's defense like the loss of West Point would have major consequences throughout the nation. It was one reason why Washington had asked previous Commander General MacDougall to secure a linked chain starting from West Point to Constitution Island some 1500 feet distance to stem any attempt by the British to sail up or down the Hudson.

    At the time Major Benjamin Tallmadge, Washington's Chief of Intelligence, was on patrol in the Westchester-Fairfield county area keeping a tight rein on the territory while General Washington traveled through on his way to a conference in Hartford, Connecticut. Tallmadge was concerned about reports he had been receiving from General Arnold who was demanding information on all agents working under Tallmadge. While the Major was under no obligation to provide this data he was curiously struck by one specific message asking that if he came in contact with one John Anderson(André) that he be sent with haste to West Point. This struck the Intelligence chief as odd since anyone from British Manhattan, New York would instantly come under suspicion. For him to send an unknown stranger to Arnold carried even deeper misgivings and Tallmadge's mistrust of Arnold deepen. To Washington's chief intelligence officer's  astonishment when he returned to his lodgings he found Dragoon Lt. Col. John Jameson waiting for him with a report of having picked up John Anderson in the area. His report incorporated the following activities in relation to the capture and subsequent findings of this unknown Tory.

    Samuel Wood, born in Westminster, Massachusetts, and under the command of Benedict Arnold was, on the 22nd of September in 1780, on a reconnaissance with twelve other men led by their sergeant. Coming across a party of three "cow boys" (loyal Americans under no military authority who plundered loyalist properties) - John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wort - the soldiers had discovered that the men had arrested a loyal citizen calling himself John Anderson, who claimed to be a British officer. In their excitement they related they quickly searched the prisoner discovering inside the sock within his boot numerous official-like papers. Producing the papers the cow boys handed them to the sergeant who immediately took charge tying one of his stirrup straps to Anderson's  wrist and handing the other end to Wood who became Anderson's personal bodyguard. Addressing his men, the sergeant ordered their rifles into readiness, giving the order to kill if the prisoner should attempt to escape. The squad brought Anderson to North Castle and John Jameson who immediately locked the prisoner up, placing Reuben Shumway of Steuben co., NY in charge of overseeing the prisoner. 

    Jameson, the next day, sent Anderson under heavy guard to West Point. Tallmadge, when he learned of this, was appalled for two reasons:  one, that Anderson had a pass signed by Arnold, and two, the papers detailing the Military Academy appeared to be in Arnold's handwriting. Wanting to take direct action Tallmadge managed to have Jameson return Anderson back to North Castle before the squad had reached Arnold. Under Tallmadge's questioning it was finally revealed that the prisoner was John André a British spy for Sir Henry Clinton. Jameson immediately sent a dispatch to Washington which included the now exposed plans of West Point. 

    Meanwhile, General Arnold was having breakfast on that fateful morning when Jameson's messenger drew rein and informed him of the events concerning Anderson. Masking his shock, Arnold excused himself from his family that he had to take leave quickly,  rowed down the Hudson to the British H.M.S. ship, Vulture, and  escaped.

    Gen. Washington finally appeared. Ordering the Academy to be strengthened and the garrison increased, he then convened a court martial where André was convicted as a spy, and sentenced to be hung. Ten days after he was captured the British Major was put to the gallows. His head held high, he went to his death in a manner remembered for its bravery and courage.

    As André died, one more casualty of the war, Benedict Arnold cashed in on his infamy. Made a British Brigadier General he commanded a small force in Connecticut and Virginia. In 1801, Arnold died, an unhappy man distrusted by both continents.

    John Jameson remained in service a few more years. Met his first wife in New York, married, and settled in Culpeper where he was a member of the Alexandria Masons, and a founding member of  the Society of Cincinnati, an organization which purpose was to provide for the needs of the widows and orphans whose husbands died in the late war. After a long, tiring active life, Mr. Jameson died in 1810. 

Bibliography

1) Richard M. Ketchum, THE AMERICAN HERITAGE BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION, 1958; 2) Heverley, THE PIONEERS AND PATRIOTIC FAMILIES OF BRADFORD CO., PA, 1770-1825; 

3) Appleton, AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, 1948; 

4) Howe, VIRGINIA HISTORICAL COLLECTION, 1969; 

5) Henman, HISTORICAL REGISTER OF THE OFFICERS OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY, 1775-1783, 

6) Morris, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN HISTORY, 1953; 

7) Grolier, Inc., THE NEW BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE”, 1981; 

8) Funk & Wagnells Encyclopedia, 1978; 

9) U. S. Army, AMERICA MILITARY HISTORY, 1969; 

10) Annual Editions, READINGS IN AMERICAN HISTORY, 1973-74; 

11) Researched records for John Jameson from my own collection of material.