Benedict Arnold: Revolutionary War Patriot Commits Treason

Born in 1741 Norwich Connecticut, when the Revolutionary War broke out, Benedict Arnold joined forces with Vermont frontiersman Ethan Allen, capturing the British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York on May 10th, 1775, followed a year later by an ill-fated trek from Maine to Quebec, with the objective of rallying Canadians to the Patriot cause.

With enlistments for many of his men set to expire on New Year’s Day, Arnold launched an assault on British forces during the Battle of Quebec, which ended in the first major defeat for the Americans, not to mention a grave injury to one of Arnold’s legs.

Arnold’s Contributions and Resentment

Back on his feet by late 1776, Arnold predicted that the British fleet would sail a strike force down Lake Champlain, and after he supervised the construction of American warships, on October 11th of that same year, he surprised British General Guy Carleton’s fleet at Valcour Bay, and although he failed to defeat Carleton’s armada, the delay forced the British to retreat to their winter quarters in Canada.

Despite his contributions to the Patriot cause, Arnold felt resentful when five junior officers were promoted above him, resigning his commission in 1777 despite urgent appeals by General George Washington to reconsider his decision.

He returned to service in the fall of 1777, where Arnold broke through the British line at the Battle of Bemis Heights, in defiance of orders handed down from General Horatio Gates—a disobedience that contributed greatly to an American victory.

British General John Burgoyne would surrender his forces at Saratoga ten days later, which in turn convinced France to enter the war on the side of the Americans.

Resentment Boils Over to Treason

Suffering a second serious injury to the same leg during the Battle of Bemis Heights, Arnold accepted a post as military governor of Philadelphia in 1778, where his continued resentment over what he saw as ungrateful indifference to his contributions, slowly shifted his loyalties toward Britain.

In 1779, after his appointment as commander of the American fort at West Point, papers were found on captured British Major John André, detailing an agreement by Arnold to surrender the fort to British forces in return for money and a command in the British army. While Arnold fled successfully to the British side, John André was hanged as a spy in October of 1780. Arnold would become the most reviled name in America after his treason, prompting Ben Franklin to write that:

“Judas sold only one man, [while Arnold sold] three millions.”

Ben Franklin

After America’s victory against the British, Arnold lived in England despite British ambivalence to his presence, passing away from gout and other ailments on June 14th, 1801, making Benedict Arnold, one of the most infamous traitors in American history.