Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold (1741 – 1801) is America’s most notorious turncoat, whose name became an epithet, synonymous with treason. He had played a leading role early in the American War of Independence from Britain, and had probably been the rebelling patriots’ most capable general and combat commander, before resentments over slights, coupled with financial distress, led him to switch sides.
Before his treason, Arnold had fought valiantly for the revolutionaries. Early in the conflict, he even played a leading role in capturing Fort Ticonderoga. He then led an expedition through difficult terrain in an attempt to capture Quebec, and although the expedition ultimately failed, it demonstrated great leadership skills on Arnold’s part that he even managed to get his force to the outskirts of Quebec.
In 1776, a creative Arnold constructed a fleet from scratch at Lake Champlain, with which he defeated a superior British fleet. While proclaimed a hero, he also aroused the resentment and jealousy of fellow officers, who began a whispering campaign to tarnish his name. In 1777, Congress created five new major generals, and Arnold was aghast upon discovering that his name was not on the list while some of his juniors were.
He was kept from resigning only by personal pleas from George Washington. A short time later, after defeating a British advance into Connecticut, Arnold was finally promoted to major general. However, his seniority was not restored, which he took as another slight. He again sought to resign his commission but was prevailed upon to remain. He performed brilliantly in thwarting the British advance from Canada into upstate New York in 1777, and was instrumental in bringing about its defeat, culminating in the British surrender at Saratoga, where Arnold suffered a serious wound.
Crippled by his injuries, he was made military commander of Philadelphia, where his socializing with loyalist families and lavish lifestyle, which he financed with questionable dealings, led to scandal. His marriage to a much younger woman of loyalist sympathies and extravagant spending habits soon pushed him into debt, and between stewing over slights and his increasing financial difficulties, Arnold secretly approached the British, offering to switch sides.
After his stint in charge of Philadelphia, Arnold was put in command of West Point, a fortified position on the Hudson river, upstream from British-occupied New York City. West Point barred the British from sailing upriver. Arnold schemed to sell the British plans of the fortifications, and to help deliver them into their hands, for £20,000. However, his British contact, major John Andre, was captured, along with documents incriminating Arnold, who barely escaped ahead of arrest.
Arnold was then made a brigadier general in the British army, and led Redcoats against his former comrades. His new masters never warmed to him however, and he was unable to secure a regular commission in the British Army after the war. After the conflict’s end, he engaged himself in a variety of enterprises, including privateering and land speculation in Canada, before finally settling in London, where he died in 1801.