John Jameson ( colonel ) John Jameson ( 1751 – 20 November 1810 ) was an American soldier , most notable for his service during the American Revolutionary War . He was of Scottish descent and was a resident of Culpeper , Virginia and belonged to the distinguished Jameson Virginian family . Early life . John Jameson was a graduate of The College of William and Mary , Williamsburg , Virginia , the second oldest college in the country . American Revolution . In Culpeper , Virginia ( what was then called Fairfax , Virginia ) under an old Oak tree during the spring of 1775 , he volunteered with other men from Culpeper , Orange and Fauquier counties forming the Culpeper Minutemen . He was a Captain and company commander in the Culpeper Minutemen battalion . Making use of popular symbols and phrases of the period , the battalion ' s flag featured an obverse field containing an emblem of a snake ( a symbol of the colonies ) and the American Revolutionary mottoes " Liberty or Death " and " Don ' t Tread on Me . " Jameson and John Marshall were a leading spirit amongst the famous Culpeper minute - men . These were the first soldiers raised in Virginia . Together , he and the Minutemen fought in the Battle of Great Bridge , the first Revolutionary War battle on Virginia soil , where the minutemen defeated British troops under John Murray , 4th Earl of Dunmore , temporarily ending British control of Virginia . Jameson was elected June 13 , 1776 , by the Virginia Convention , captain of the Third Troop of Horse . He had six competitors for the position , and received forty - eight vote , while his competitors received respectively 17 , 15 , 9 , 4 , 3 , 2 votes . One of his competitors was Henry Lee . Jameson took command June 16 , 1776 as captain in a Virginia regiment of dragoons ; promoted March 31 , 1777 , major 1st Continental Light Dragoons , and transferred April 7 , 1777 , to 3rd Continental Light Dragoons . He fought at the Battle of Brandywine . While staying with George Washington at Valley Forge , Major Jameson was wounded in a skirmish nearby on January 21 , 1778 . Throughout that year and the next he remained at Washington ' s side , engaged at the Battle of Monmouth , New Jersey in June , and promoted to Colonel in August 1779 . As a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War he was instrumental in exposing the treason of Benedict Arnold . In 1780 , General George Washington placed key commanders in strategic areas around West Point , New York , and Colonel Jameson was placed in Tarrytown , New York under the supervision of General Benedict Arnold . A man calling himself " John Anderson " was intercepted by militamen and found to be in possession of documents that included information regarding the defenses of West Point and the movements of the American army . Since the papers were found in an odd place , " under the feet of his stockings " , Colonel Jameson became alarmed , arrested Anderson , and alerted General Arnold , since he did not yet suspect Arnold . Anderson was carrying a pass signed by the General , and Arnold was noted to be " very desirous of the Papers and everything being sent with him . " Jameson followed orders and had sent Anderson and the papers but was dissuaded by Major Benjamin Tallmadge , head of Continental Army Intelligence , who had just arrived at the headquarters . Because of the serious nature of the papers Jameson wrote to General Washington , enclosing the papers taken from Anderson . However he still insisted on notifying Arnold who promptly fled . Upon examining the papers , Washington called for Anderson , who then confessed that he was British major John André , envoy to the British commander in chief , Sir Henry Clinton . The investigation further revealed that Benedict Arnold , as commandant of West Point , agreed in 1780 to surrender the fort to the enemy in return for a royal commission in the British army and a large sum of money . Because of Jameson ' s intuition , Arnold ' s plot was foiled , but on balance , his misjudgment also allowed Arnold to escape . In any case , the attempt to pass control of West Point to the British was thwarted . Jameson was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati , in Virginia , and was present at their meeting held December 13 , 1802 , in Richmond , Virginia , when it was voted to appropriate some of their funds , to the amount of $ 25 , 000 , to found Washington College in Maryland . He was described as being 6 feet tall , blue - eyed and fair - complexion with black hair . After the war he was awarded over of land some of which was located in Green Co . , Ohio . He owned many thousands acres of land throughout Virginia , Ohio , and Kentucky . Jameson was a member at the Freemasonry chapter in Alexandria , Virginia . He is buried at the Culpeper Masonic Cemetery in Culpeper , Virginia . Colonel John Jameson ’ s uncle was Lieutenant Governor David Jameson ( governor ) of Yorktown , Virginia who served from 1780 - 81 under the Governorship of Thomas Nelson , Jr . , signor of the United States Declaration of Independence and served as Governor briefly in August 1781 when Nelson took ill . He was elected as a State Senator in 1783 . He also served in the Senate during the War in 1776 - 1777 , serving on Patrick Henry ' s Privy Council .