Arnold's Treason

Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold of the Continental army fought for the American cause from Ticonderoga (1775) to Saratoga (1777), but by the spring of 1779several motives led him to open up a treasonable correspondence with the British headquarters in New York. Arnold felt repeatedly slighted by Congress, he resented authorities in Pennsylvania who had court-martialed him, he needed money, and he was opposed to the French alliance of 1778.

Throughout the rest of 1779and 1780, he transmitted military intelligence about the American army to the British. On 12 July 1780 he accepted the command at West Point, New York. He demanded £20,000 if he was able to successfully betray West Point. In the event of his failure, Arnold was still assured £10,000 for his allegiance to Britain. He negotiated with Maj. John André, adjutant general of the British army. André visited Arnold on 21 September 1780. The Americans captured Andréon 23 September, found documents implicating Arnold, and sent them to Gen. George Washington. News of André's capture was also sent to Arnold, thus giving him time to escape down the Hudson River to the British before he could be arrested for treason. He became a brigadier general in the British army, went to England after the defeat of the British, and died there on 14 June 1801.

Bibliography

Martin, James Kirby. Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered. New York: New York University Press, 1997.

Randall, Willard Sterne. Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor. New York: Morrow, 1990.

Wilson, Barry K. Benedict Arnold: A Traitor in Our Midst. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2001.

—Randolph G. Adams/F. B.