Part First
Relates to the early acquisition of West Point by the United States, and the military importance of the Post during the period of the American Revolution; embracing the rise and progress of the fortifications, and the purchase and arrangement of the Great Chain, designed to obstruct the navigation of the Hudson River, drawn from authentic documents, and illustrated by Maps and Engravings never before published.
The perfidious designs of Benedict Arnold, and his connection with Major John André, Adjutant-General of the British Army in America, are succinctly described, together with the "Proceedings of the Board of General Officers," in the case of Major André, in a fac-simile form as published at the time by the authority of the Continental Congress.
The grand feu de joie at West Point on the occasion of the birth of the Dauphin of France, in 1782, with all the changes in the Garrison prior to the beginning of the present century, and many of the Orders of Washington from this spot, are now for the first time given to the public.