Benedict Arnold: The Hero

At a time when America was in trouble and looking for people to lead us through the American Revolution, Benedict Arnold became one of those men. He was brave, a quick thinker on the battlefield, a planner, and a motivator of troops. Even though he was a highly successful military leader, he often struggled with the Continental Congress and its lack of praise for his accomplishments.

    When Arnold heard about the first fighting at Lexington and Concord, he took his militia, of volunteer townspeople, to help surround Boston. On his way to Boston, he dreamed up a plan to attack Fort Ticonderoga in New York. He realized the British cannons in the fort could be used to help force the British out of Boston. He received permission to attack the fort, but was angered that Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys were also going to try to capture Ticonderoga. Benedict Arnold could not convince Ethan Allen to follow his command, so they went together. They quickly left for upstate New York and successfully captured the fort on May 10, 1775.

    Congress and Arnold’s superiors never patted Benedict on the back for his achievements. Benedict Arnold thought he had accomplished something very good and deserved a reward, but nobody gave him one and this upset him. To make things worse, he didn’t get along with Ethan Allen or his men during the capturing of the fort. However, Ethan Allen agreed with Arnold that an invasion of Canada was necessary.

    George Washington believed in Arnold’s abilities and recommended him as the Colonel for the mission to and eventually the Continental Congress soon allowed him to go ahead with his plans. Arnold was eager to start. There were weather problems, a very hard march through the wilderness towards Quebec, spoiled food, and little water, but this would not stop Arnold. Arnold managed to push his men on, even though they were forced to eat bark from the trees and leather from their shoes. Even with the difficult conditions, he was able to encourage and motivate his troops until they finally arrived in Canada. The simple accomplishment that Arnold’s troops arrived will forever be seen as a great feat. On December 30, 1775 Arnold’s forces attack the city of Quebec. Although they failed to capture Quebec, George Washington still praised Arnold for his leadership and remarkable task of getting his men from Massachusetts to Quebec.

    As Arnold left Canada, he legally ordered the taking of supplies in Montreal. Arnold was taken to court but not convicted of stealing in the summer of 1776. Afterwards, he saw many officers of lower rank receive promotions above him. He had fallen out of favor with the Continental Congress because of the stealing. Arnold was angry that others were being promoted above him, and even George Washington asked Congress why Arnold was not being promoted. With Congress, not giving Arnold any information about why he was being skipped for a promotion, he went to Philadelphia to ask Congress himself. On his way there, he drove the British off after they burned Danbury. For this act, he was promoted. He would never forgive Congress for originally passing him over for promotion.

    At Saratoga, Arnold found himself under the command of General Horatio Gates. Gates was a much more cautious man than Arnold. Arnold and General Gates disagreed on many issues. After the Battle of Freeman’s Farm, September 19, 1777, Arnold was stripped of his command for not listening to Gates. On October 7, 1777, at the Battle of Bemis Heights, and with no official command, Arnold ordered an attack on the British. The sight of Arnold rallied the American troops and they followed him. His forces caused the British collapse and later surrender. During the battle, his horse fell on and he was shot in the leg, leaving him severely injuring. It was Arnold’s decision to attack that won the battle for the Americans. He was finally promoted ahead of the junior officers who had skipped him earlier. The Battle of Bemis Heights at Saratoga eventually became the turning point of the Revolution, and Benedict Arnold was the key figure in winning the battle.

    On May 30th, 1778, Benedict Arnold signed the Oath of Allegiance to his country. George Washington rewarded Arnold with the command of Philadelphia. By this point, Arnold was very upset with his treatment by Congress and his fellow officers. While in command of Philadelphia, he met his new wife and lost a lot of his money. Eventually Congress caught him making illegal business deals and ordered him court-martialed.

    Faced with an uncertain future, because Congress was upset with him, Arnold made the critical decision to start scheming with the British. In January of 1780, George Washington offered him a position as the highest commander under himself in the northern army.. Earlier in his career, he would have considered this a great achievement and honor. He used his injured leg as an excuse not to take the command, but asked Washington for the command of West Point instead, which was given to him in July of 1780. West Point was important because it stopped the British from using the Hudson River. Arnold was planning to turn West Point over to the British, but his plan was discovered. He would be forgotten as an American hero and only remembered as a traitor. Today, at West Point, where all generals have a plaque, his is blank, except for his rank and dates, 1741 -1801.