The Westover Plantation is a plantation located on the northern bank of the James River in the British colony of Virginia. It temporarily served as the headquarters of the British Army in the Southern Theater of the American Revolution.
History[]
Season 4[]
After taking Richmond, the British forces move to Westover where they set up camp. As they do, Colonel Simcoe notices Arnold’s soldiers dumping munitions powder into the river. General Arnold summons Abe to his quarters to ask for help selling goods that he’s looted in Virginia. Simcoe walks in and asks about the powder. He counsels Arnold against marching further south and expresses disapproval over Arnold’s looting. Arnold orders Abe to find suitable ports to funnel his profits through, and dismisses them both. As they walk away from Arnold’s office, Simcoe threatens to kill Abe on the battlefield.
Abe walks into John Champe’s tent and convinces Champe that they need to flee the camp before they’re forced to kill their own. Unbeknownst to them, Joseph Sturridge overhears their conversation. Later, Champe tells Abe they should escape amid the commotion of Cornwallis’s army’s arrival. He gives Abe a gun and proposes they seek refuge with the French, who have a ship nearby. Sturridge enters the tent and reveals he knows Abe and Champe are rebel spies. Abe restrains Champe from killing Sturridge, who explains all he wants is to leave with them to get away from the war.
That night, General Cornwallis meets with Simcoe and Arnold in the mansion. He informs them that he requested reinforcements from General Clinton and suggests they seize control of depots where rebels might try to resupply. Meanwhile in the camp, Abe, Champe and Sturridge sneak away. While jumping the camp fence, Sturridge stumbles and accidentally shoots himself, and the soldiers guarding camp overhear the gunshot. Abe tells Champe to run. As British soldiers descend on their location, Sturridge implores Abe to “catch him.” When the soldiers arrive, Abe tells them that he caught Sturridge trying to desert. A Ranger shoots Sturridge dead. Arnold doubles the guard so no more deserters can escape.
The next day, Cornwallis visits Arnold’s quarters and informs Arnold that Clinton refused to send more men and instead wants them to establish a naval post in Yorktown. Cicero visits Abe in his tent. Abe tells Cicero that he plans to kill Simcoe the following day and asks Cicero to tell his family that it was his choice.
Arnold summons Abe and asks for his sales contacts before he heads to Yorktown. In a flashback, Arnold warns Cornwallis that their forces in Yorktown will be geographically vulnerable to French fleets. He draws a map to illustrate their weakness, but Cornwallis refuses to defy Clinton’s orders. Back in the present, Arnold shows Abe the map that he drew for Cornwallis and complains that no one is heeding his advice, and that they only have enough powder and rations for a march, not a siege. Abe quietly steals the map. The Army then marches to Blandford.[1]
Trivia[]
- Westover Plantation is a real plantation in Virginia, and was actually used as a filming location. Much like in the show, the plantation served as Arnold's headquarters for part of his Virginia campaign. In fact, the home belonged to a relative of Arnold's wife, Peggy Shippen.