Benedict Arnold: Hero and Traitor of the American Revolution

Benedict Arnold, a Connecticut man, was a member of the Revolutionary cause from the beginning of the war. After the first battles at Lexington and Concord Arnold along with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont successfully took Fort Ticonderoga in New York, the first important victory for the rebelling colonists.


After the creation of the Continental Army in 1775, Arnold would play an important role in the unsuccessful Battle of Quebec. From Arnold's perspective, the failure was a lack of resources supplied by Congress. This failure embittered him and he would become continuously embittered with the Continental Congress and the Continental Army.


A colonel, Arnold was upset when he was on numerous occasions passed up for promotion to Brigadier General. From the beginning money and glory were important to Arnold, and he would never think that he had received enough of it.


Arnold's most important victory for the Continental Army was in the Saratoga Campaign during the summer of 1777. A brash and fearless commander, he played crucial roles in a number of battles during the campaign, and ultimately defeated British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne at the 2^nd Battle of Saratoga.


This campaign was crucial to the Continental cause. With its success in New York, the French decided to join forces with the Americans in their fight for independence, a crucial union without which the Revolution most likely would not have been a success. Appreciating the strong role that Arnold had played in the Saratoga campaign, the Continental Congress awarded him with the rank of Major General which he had long sought. However he was not given the seniority he thought he deserved, and even this promotion was seen as a slight by Arnold.


He would spend the next years in Philadelphia serving as military Governor, where Arnold would live a life of splendor. Wondering about his expenses he was court-martialed by the Continental Congress, another slight against Arnold. While in Philadelphia he would meet and marry 19 year old Peggy Shippen.


Benedict Arnold: Traitor