Benedict Arnold: The Greatest Traitor In American History
The Greatest Traitor In American History
Benedict Arnold was a brave and cunning American general who became known as the greatest traitor in American history. Born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich CT, Arnold quickly developed an unsavory and violent personality, which lasted until the day he died on June 14, 1801. He started out his life in debt, but became a successful sea merchant and smuggler who served in the French and Indian War. By age 25, he was the leader of a rebel group, the Sons of Liberty, in New Haven, Connecticut, and later he went on to fight in the revolutionary war, and was appointed by General George Washington to be the military governor of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, after becoming Commander of the American installation at West Point, he used his position to attempt to betray the American forces by turning over West Point, and its 3000 American troops, to the British for a large sum of money. This act of treason is why his name is synonymous with the word “traitor.” …show more content…
Benedict Arnold’s early life was made up of several unfortunate events, and his life was made up of accomplishments curbed by impulsive decisions.
He was one out of two survivors from nine children, with an alcoholic father and a weak-willed mother, who did little to ease his aggressive nature. When his father died, the family was left in debt, forcing his mother to take him out of school, which he attended from ages 11-13. When he was a sea merchant captain and smuggler, he fought two duels. After the American Revolution, He started a business in 1785, but a fire wiped it out in 1788, and insurers refused to pay. By 1794 he was a privateer in the West Indies. Arnold was captured by the French for being a spy during the French Revolution, but he escaped and then helped British planters stop a slave uprising. After England had no further use for him or his military experience, he died from illness in
1801.
Benedict Arnold is most known for the events of 1779-1780 when he betrayed American forces for his own gain. As an American general, Arnold was instrumental in defeating the British in the Battle of Saratoga. After this accomplishment, General George Washington made Arnold Military governor of Philadelphia. Arnold lived a comfortable lifestyle as governor, and married a tory, Peggy Shippen. In February 1779, he was charged with corruption and abuse of power, and instead of facing a court martial, he resigned as governor. He then used his connections in New York to obtain a sedentary command at West Point. As commander of West Point, Arnold first contacted British in 1779 when he informed British General Henry Clinton that he wished to serve the Crown, and that he had lost faith in the Americans when they allied themselves with France. He made an agreement with the British for 30,000 pounds total: 10,000 for his defection and 20,000 for West Point and it’s 3,000 rebel troops. However, the plot failed. The British contact Arnold was supposed to meet, John Andre, was caught and hung by the Americans, and West point remained under American control. Arnold fled downriver, leaving his wife behind. Although he was hoping to be welcomed by the British Army with open arms, British officers wouldn’t even speak to him:== “Peggy Arnold soon joined her husband in New York, where British officers shunned him as a traitor” . He was promoted to brigadier-general and got a pension, but not all of his money. He was given some troops to command and did a decent job, burning ships and villages, up until the British surrender in Yorktown 1781. Arnold sailed to England at year's end
Had Arnold’s plot succeeded, the British would have crippled the American presence in New York, and that would have meant possible British victory in the war. Arnold’s betrayal was a blow to American morale, and American leaders demonized Arnold "Washington knew that they had to destroy this guy top, bottom, and sideways," said Martin, author of Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered. One of the army’s most capable generals was willing to surrender thousands of his own troops and a military outpost for a bribe. He was most certainly an asset to the British forces, being a brigadier general. For the remainder of his career he mostly burned villages and ships and raided supply depots, being a general pain in the neck for the Americans. Arnold’s lasting effect on today’s society doesn’t go very far beyond perhaps having a few books written about him and his name being synonymous with the word “traitor”.
The most important thing to remember about Benedict Arnold would be his motives for switching sides. This wasn’t an impulsive split second decision he was notorious for making. This was result many of his previous mistakes, especially the disaster that was his term as the military governor of Philadelphia. He was thought to have felt that his talents were wasted, and that he wasn’t appreciated in the Continental Army. This, combined with the money he’d be getting from the British, was enough for him to turn his back on a cause he didn’t really believe in anymore.
Benedict Arnold was a brave and cunning American general who became known as the greatest traitor in American history. Born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich CT, Arnold quickly developed an unsavory and violent personality, which lasted until the day he died on June 14, 1801. He started out his life in debt, but became a successful sea merchant and smuggler who served in the French and Indian War. By age 25, he was the leader of a rebel group, the Sons of Liberty, in New Haven, Connecticut, and later he went on to fight in the revolutionary war, and was appointed by General George Washington to be the military governor of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, after becoming Commander of the American installation at West Point, he used his position to attempt to betray the American forces by turning over West Point, and its 3000 American troops, to the British for a large sum of money. This act of treason is why his name is synonymous with the word “traitor.” …show more content…
Benedict Arnold’s early life was made up of several unfortunate events, and his life was made up of accomplishments curbed by impulsive decisions.
He was one out of two survivors from nine children, with an alcoholic father and a weak-willed mother, who did little to ease his aggressive nature. When his father died, the family was left in debt, forcing his mother to take him out of school, which he attended from ages 11-13. When he was a sea merchant captain and smuggler, he fought two duels. After the American Revolution, He started a business in 1785, but a fire wiped it out in 1788, and insurers refused to pay. By 1794 he was a privateer in the West Indies. Arnold was captured by the French for being a spy during the French Revolution, but he escaped and then helped British planters stop a slave uprising. After England had no further use for him or his military experience, he died from illness in
1801.
Benedict Arnold is most known for the events of 1779-1780 when he betrayed American forces for his own gain. As an American general, Arnold was instrumental in defeating the British in the Battle of Saratoga. After this accomplishment, General George Washington made Arnold Military governor of Philadelphia. Arnold lived a comfortable lifestyle as governor, and married a tory, Peggy Shippen. In February 1779, he was charged with corruption and abuse of power, and instead of facing a court martial, he resigned as governor. He then used his connections in New York to obtain a sedentary command at West Point. As commander of West Point, Arnold first contacted British in 1779 when he informed British General Henry Clinton that he wished to serve the Crown, and that he had lost faith in the Americans when they allied themselves with France. He made an agreement with the British for 30,000 pounds total: 10,000 for his defection and 20,000 for West Point and it’s 3,000 rebel troops. However, the plot failed. The British contact Arnold was supposed to meet, John Andre, was caught and hung by the Americans, and West point remained under American control. Arnold fled downriver, leaving his wife behind. Although he was hoping to be welcomed by the British Army with open arms, British officers wouldn’t even speak to him:== “Peggy Arnold soon joined her husband in New York, where British officers shunned him as a traitor” . He was promoted to brigadier-general and got a pension, but not all of his money. He was given some troops to command and did a decent job, burning ships and villages, up until the British surrender in Yorktown 1781. Arnold sailed to England at year's end
Had Arnold’s plot succeeded, the British would have crippled the American presence in New York, and that would have meant possible British victory in the war. Arnold’s betrayal was a blow to American morale, and American leaders demonized Arnold "Washington knew that they had to destroy this guy top, bottom, and sideways," said Martin, author of Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered. One of the army’s most capable generals was willing to surrender thousands of his own troops and a military outpost for a bribe. He was most certainly an asset to the British forces, being a brigadier general. For the remainder of his career he mostly burned villages and ships and raided supply depots, being a general pain in the neck for the Americans. Arnold’s lasting effect on today’s society doesn’t go very far beyond perhaps having a few books written about him and his name being synonymous with the word “traitor”.
The most important thing to remember about Benedict Arnold would be his motives for switching sides. This wasn’t an impulsive split second decision he was notorious for making. This was result many of his previous mistakes, especially the disaster that was his term as the military governor of Philadelphia. He was thought to have felt that his talents were wasted, and that he wasn’t appreciated in the Continental Army. This, combined with the money he’d be getting from the British, was enough for him to turn his back on a cause he didn’t really believe in anymore.