Colonel John Jameson — 1751-1810

Colonel John Jameson — 1751-1810. . Born in 1751, John Jameson was a resident of Culpeper, Virginia, and belonged to the distinguished Jameson Virginian family. During the Spring of 1775 under an old Oak tree in Culpeper, Virginia, he volunteered with other men from Culpeper, Orange, and Fauquier counties and formed the Culpeper Minute Men in the fight against English rule. He later became a Captain and company commander in the Culpeper Minute Men battalion. Their Minute Men flag is known by students the world over, and portrays the coiled snake and phrases "Liberty or Death" along with "Don't Tread on Me"., Jameson was a leading force among the famous Culpeper Minute Men. These were the first soldiers raised in Virginia. Together, he and the Minute Men fought in the Battle of Great Bridge, the first Revolutionary War battle on Virginia soil, where the Minute Men defeated British troops, temporarily ending British control of Virginia. In June of 1776, Jameson took command as Captain of a Virginia regiment of dragoons, and eventually was promoted to Major of the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons. He fought at the Battle of Brandywine, and at Valley Forge with General George Washington, and was promoted to Colonel in August of 1779., In 1780, General Washington placed key commanders in strategic areas around West Point, New York. The Fort at Tarrytown was crucial to controlling the Hudson Valley and all of New England during the War. Colonel John Jameson was placed in Tarrytown under the supervision of General Benedict Arnold., A gentleman calling himself John Anderson was apprehended and brought before Colonel Jameson, and documents were found on him revealing information about the defenses of West Point and movements of the American army. Since the papers were found in an odd place - "under the feet of his stockings" - Jameson became alarmed, and arrested Anderson., Colonel Jameson alerted General Arnold of the capture, though Jameson had suspicions of Arnold as well. Anderson had been carrying a pass signed by the general, who was noted to be "very desirous of the Papers and everything being sent with him". Because of the serious nature of the papers and his distrust of Arnold, Jameson also wrote to General George Washington, enclosing the papers taken from Anderson. Upon examination of the papers, General Washington called for Anderson, who confessed that he was British Major John André, envoy to British Commander in Chief Sir Henry Clinton., The investigation revealed that Benedict Arnold, as commandant of West Point, had agreed in 1780 to surrender the fort to the enemy in return for a royal commission in the British army and a sum of money. Upon André's capture, Arnold fled to the enemy, conducted raids against his countrymen in Virginia and Connecticut, and eventually sailed to England in 1781. He eventually died in London in 1801 following years of British scorn, receiving less than one-third the money he had sought. André was hanged as a spy on October 2, 1780., Colonel John Jameson's intuition was instrumental in thwarting Benedict Arnold's treacherous plot to surrender West Point to the British. His acts of courage and patriotism indeed wrote our American history. He died on November 20, 1810, and is buried at the Masonic Cemetery in Culpeper.