This paper is about Benedict Arnold. He was a great soldier for both the Colonists and the British.  He played an important part in the Revolutionary War, initially making it possible for the Colonists to win by fighting in the Battle of Saratoga and gaining the support of the French.  After a lack of recognition and respect by his other officers, Benedict decided he would change sides and fight for the British. He was a pivotal figure in the war; his fighting style and fearlessness made him a force to be reckoned with.

When Benedict was on the Colonial side, he was a brave warrior who won many battles and took many forts. He fought in the battle to take Fort Ticonderoga. They did this because they needed guns, ammo, gunpowder, and cannons. It was also lightly guarded, making it a pretty easy battle.  The British were outnumbered and surrendered on May 10, 1775. The cannons from Fort Ticonderoga were used in the Siege of Boston. Having these cannons enabled the colonial forces to make a better defense and defeat the British, taking more territory for the Colonists. While the Colonial Army was fighting in Boston, Benedict’s troops had taken the warship George and St. Johns, a British outpost.

 After victories in Ticonderoga and Boston, the Colonial Army was gaining ground.  They decided to move into Quebec next, because they wanted to get support from the Canadians.  Having Canadian support and troops would help them improve their chances of winning the war. Unfortunately, getting to Quebec wasn’t easy.  In September 1775, Benedict led 1,000 men through Maine. There was freezing rain and snow that slowed them down; because of this, the march took twice as long. After six hard weeks of moving through bad weather, Benedict and his troops finally arrived at Quebec.  

Benedict’s troops needed to cross the river, but the British had two warships that guarded the river, so getting across was tough. Benedict soon realized that he would need reinforcements, so he sent a request to General Richard Montgomery. Montgomery came from Fort Ticonderoga with about 1,700 militiamen, but after Montgomery’s attack on Montreal, combined forces totalled around 1,325 soldiers. They attacked on December 31st and fought during a blizzard. They fought until the spring of 1776 and were eventually defeated.  It was the first major loss of the Revolutionary War for the Colonial Army.

In October 1776, Benedict positioned warships on the Hudson River to stall the British advance on Lake Champlain. Benedict realized that a defeat was near, so he ordered the warships to escape.  Since it looked like all was lost, he set fire to the ships to stop the British from using them. After a victory in April 1777, George Washington promoted Benedict to Major General.

Benedict’s move through the ranks earned him a new assignment at Saratoga in the fall of 1777, commanding forces under General Horatio Gates.  The two men had very different styles of command. Gates was very cautious, did not take risks, and did not engage his men. Arnold, on the other hand, was very willing to take risks alongside his men and had a very dynamic form of leadership.  Differences in the men's personalities was a major source of conflict, causing them to clash on several occasions.

At Saratoga, Gates wanted to fight behind the fort’s walls, but Arnold thought the troops should attack the British directly.  On September 19, 1777, Benedict and 2,000 troops got into a battle. He sent letters to Gates for reinforcements, but Gates refused. This meant that Benedict and his troops had to return to the fort.  On October 7, 1777, another battle broke out at Saratoga. Gates told Benedict to stay in the tent, but he charged out on the front lines with his men. Because of Benedict’s leadership, they won the battle at Saratoga.  Winning the battle was the turning point of the war. It made the colonists believe they had a shot of winning against the British, and showed the French that the Colonial forces were worth backing with money and troops.

Gates was extremely jealous of Benedict, and began to sabotage him in various ways to minimize his contributions in the war.  He didn’t invite him to strategy meetings with the other officers and he started assigning Benedict’s troops to other commanding officers.  Gates sent reports to Congress taking credit for Benedict’s achievements in the war. Gates was awarded a medal for Benedict’s efforts. Benedict, on the other hand, was not acknowledged for his contributions or efforts.  Eventually, Benedict got tired of the poor treatment and disrespect and decided to fight for a cause that would give him more money and respect, as a spy for the British.

Benedict’s decision to help the British came from a combination of the treatment by Gates and public humiliation from George Washington.  In May 1779, Benedict met with British Major John Andr'e. Benedict said he would help the British cause, but that he required a lot of money to do so.  He had run out of money and needed more to keep his business. When Benedict was negotiating with Andr'e, George Washington found out Benedict was using his position in the military to get wagons from the government to use for his business.  Because he was misusing government property, George issued Benedict a public reprimand, which humiliated him. This was the final straw for Benedict, who was now firmly committed to joining the British.

In a secret meeting, Andr'e told Benedict that British General Henry Clinton would like to capture West Point and its 3,000 troops, so he would need information on it. The British would pay Benedict 20,000 pounds if he did this, which is about $5 million in today’s money.   Benedict agreed to the deal. To get information on West Point, Benedict asked George Washington to assign him to that post and let him command it. George, still thinking that Benedict was a good soldier and an asset to the Colonial Army, agreed.

Once Benedict arrived at West Point, he arranged a secret meeting with Andr'e. The meeting happened on September 22, 1780. Andr'e sailed near West Point aboard the British warship Vulture. Benedict gave Andr'e the layouts of West Point and General Washington's location. During the meeting, two of the American cannons fired upon the warship Vulture, so the ship fled. This made it hard for Andr'e to escape, since he would have to escape on foot. Benedict wrote some passes that would help Andr'e gain safe passage; unfortunately, Andr'e was stopped and searched by the Colonial troops.  They found the West Point papers and tracked the source of the information back to Benedict Arnold. Andr'e was hung for being caught with the papers.

George Washington was very shocked at the news of Benedict’s treason. George had trusted and stuck up for Benedict. Patriots showed their rage by burning figures of Benedict and destroying his father and brother’s graves. Congress ordered Benedict's name erased out of military records.

As part of the agreement with the British, Benedict entered the war as a Brigadier General.  He was only paid 6,000 pounds instead of 20,000 pounds since the information on West Point and George Washington was intercepted and could not be used by the British forces.  Benedict gave the British all of the information he had on the Colonial army, including their battle strategies and strongholds, but it wasn’t enough. In October 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to the Colonial side, which effectively ended the fighting on land.  The war ended shortly after, with the Americans gaining freedom from the British.

In the end, Benedict got some of the fame and recognition he wanted. He was a good warrior and fought every battle with a purpose. Benedict lived the rest of his life peacefully and without war.  Most of his business ventures failed when people found out who he was. No one wanted to lend money or do business with a traitor. Consequently, he and his wife ended up penniless by the end of their lives. It is sad that now that the fierce Benedict Arnold's name is now an insult. Even more sad for Benedict is that even his monuments don't have his name on them. Unfortunately, Benedict will always be remembered as America's first traitor.

References

Draper, A.  America’s First Traitor:  Benedict Arnold Betrays the Colonies.  New York:  PowerKids Press, 2001.

Gregson, S.  Let Freedom Ring:  Benedict Arnold.  Mankato:  Capstone Press, 2002.

Gunderson, J.  Benedict Arnold:  Battlefield Hero or Selfish Traitor?  North Mankato:  Capstone Press, 2014.

Sonneborn, L.  Benedict Arnold:  hero and traitor.  Philadelphia:  Chelsea House Publishers, 2006.