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Westphalia (PEACE OF the name given)

PEACE OF, the name given to the peace concluded in 1648 at Münster and Osnabrück, by which an end was put to the Thirty Years' War. By this peace the sovereignty of the members of the empire was acknowledged. The concessions that had been made to the Protestants since the religious peace in 1555 were confirmed. The elector-palatine had the palatinate of the Rhine and the electorate restored to him; Alsace was ceded to France; Sweden received western Pomerania, Bremen, Verden, WEST VIRGINIA Point was fortified to control the river, and a heavy chain was stretched across the river to Constitution Island to prevent British warships from ascending the river. In 1777 the place was captured and destroyed by the British, but new fortifications were built at a cost of $3,- 000,000. Benedict Arnold was given command of the place Aug. 5, 1780, but escaped on the 25th, after the apprehension of Maj. John André, and the discovery of their plot. There are several important monuments in West Point, including the statue of General Sedgwick, the monument of Kosciusko, that of Major Dade, etc. See UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY.