Two-hundred and thirty years ago, on September 23, 1780, the treasonous plot of American General Benedict Arnold, commander of the strategic fort at West Point, N.Y., was exposed.
Born to a prominent family in Connecticut in 1741, Arnold served in the militia during the French and Indian War, but soon tired of military life and deserted twice. He opened an apothecary shop in New Haven and worked as a druggist.
At the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, he joined the militia once again. Commissioned a colonel, he led the expedition that captured Fort Ticonderoga in New York in May 1775. But Arnold received little of the credit, which went to Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys.
At Saratoga, N.Y., Arnold played a major role in the relief of Fort Stanwix and was severely wounded in the leg. He was also removed from his post as second in command, which left him feeling slighted.
The Battle of Saratoga in New York in September-October 1777 was a major victory for the patriots and a turning point in the Revolutionary War. The British general said of Arnold that the American victory “was his doing."
Arnold was placed in command of Philadelphia in June 1778, after the British evacuated the city. He lived extravagantly and socialized with wealthy loyalists, one of whom he married. Corruption in his command led to his court-martial. He was found not guilty, but General George Washington reprimanded him, leaving Arnold angry.
In the summer of 1780, Arnold came up with the idea of turning over the strategic fort on the Hudson River at West Point, N.Y., to the British. On September 21-22, he met British Major John André and offered to sell it to the enemy for 20,000 pounds to help the British cut off New England from the rest of the colonies.
André was captured the next day near Tarrytown in Westchester County by New York militiamen, who found papers hidden in his stocking revealing the treasonous plot. André was hanged as a spy on October 2, but Arnold escaped downriver on a British ship.
After the war, Arnold settled in London, but the British did not welcome him as a hero. He started a shipping business and died in 1801, a penniless, broken man, his name synonymous in the United States with betrayal and treason.
In Saratoga National Historical Park stands a memorial with the inscription: "In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army, who was desperately wounded on this spot, winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution, and for himself the rank of major general." But there is no mention of Arnold’s name.
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