page_title: Champe Rocks
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Champe Rocks / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Historical Marker on route 55 - Champe Rocks. Text: "CHAMPE ROCKS. Near Champe Rocks is the home and grave of Sergeant John Champe who was sent by General Washington and Major Lee to kidnap Benedict Arnold the traitor from within the British lines. The daring plot almost succeeded."
context_page_description: Champe Rocks are a pair of large crags in Pendleton County in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, USA. Easily visible from West Virginia Route 28, they are situated within the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area. They are — along with the nearby and more celebrated Seneca Rocks — the most imposing examples in eastern West Virginia of several formations of the white/gray Tuscarora quartzite and are a popular challenge for rock climbers.
  Champe Knobs, from which the Rocks emerge, are a northern extension of the River Knobs, which contain other similar "razorback" ridges or "fins" such as Judy Rocks at Judy Gap, and Nelson Rocks at Nelson Gap. Champe Rocks are 2,257 feet above sea level.
context_section_description: Champe Rocks are named for Sergeant Major John Champe (1752–1798), a Revolutionary War soldier who became a double agent in an attempt to capture the American traitor General Benedict Arnold.  Commanded by Major Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee and handpicked by George Washington for the mission, Champe "defected" to the British side and came very close to succeeding, but at the last moment, Arnold changed plans and the whole endeavor had to be called off. Champe, who was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, settled near the Rocks after the War.
caption: Champe Rocks marker.
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