Alexander H

1)What if Arnold's was shot dead at Saratoga, while leading that charge?
How would he be remembered? (or rated amoungst the Revolution's
Generals?

2) What if (while in Philidelphia) Arnold recieved some back pay from
Congress and a letter of full support from Washington and Congress?
how would he have been used by Washington in the last campaigns of
the war... or how do you think he would have wanted to be used?

botully

Arnold was a brave and talented commander, no one disputes that. If he were killed at Saratoga he would be remembered by historians as a hero. The average American has never heard of Greene, Wayne, Morgan or many other guys who deserve to be honored. If he were killed at Saratoga I think he'd be remembered like Phil Kearny (Civil War).

No time for Q 2 at this time. Later.

leveller

has there ever been a definitive reason as to why he decided to defect to the british?

tjadams

Not only his boot being immortalized, but also the whole man as well.
He was a great commander.

I could see him continuing the way he prosecuted the war and he would have kept his drive alive till the end of the war and very likely been a force in politics as well.

Alexander H

I have always wondered how he'd have faired if sent south.
Congress would have still favored Gates over anyone at that point.
And Arnold was still slightly gimpy still but some have assumed he was faking a bit to get the West point gig.

But would Washington maybe have favored Arnold at that point over Greene?
It's possible I guess.... or directly under Greene's comand? (not thinking that would have been a good idea)

I almost can see a Tarleton / Arnold punchfest all across the south.
Not sure that would be good...
but it would be pay-per-view that's for sure.

tjadams

I can see Geo. Wash having a fond spot for B.A., much of like how Wash. treated Lafayette.

Yes, I can think of really no one more willing & able to gnaw on the same bone with Tarleton than B. A.
Their exchanges would have been the things of movies!

Alexander H

He had definately been slighted on several ocassions.
(off the top of my head)

He had felt as if he had sacrificed more that anyone in the war effort as of that point (arguably he had)... and he had spent some of his own money to fund a few things, as well... he assumed he would be compensated by Congress (ha ha)

He thought several 'foreign' officers had been promoted above him.
(they kinda were)

After his injury at Saratoga he was given the 'command' if you will, of Philidelphia (after the Brits vacated back to NY)... and he did use that position to lets say, make some money... wink wink
(it was almost common practice for this to happen (or at least Arnold thought it was ok)...but he was brought up on charges .... and he thought Washington would back him 100%.
BUT... Washington backed him about 70%...and sent him an official rebuke.. and a copy was also sent to Congress.

In hind sight we can see that that was the straw that broke his sanity.
While he was still in Phili... the plan began being arranged.
Get the gig at West Point...and so it went.

tjadams

Let's not forget the young and alluring Peggy Shippen (loyalist leanings?) that Arnold married.

Knarly Dan

I don’t know if there’s a consensus among experts, but from what I’ve read the probable reason in one word is revenge.

From 1775, when he confiscated a stash of gunpowder from New Haven’s reluctant town leaders, particularly Wooster, to the seizure of cannons at Fort Ticonderoga during which he aggravated Ethan and Ira Allen, to getting caught in the crossfire between Gates and Schuyler, not to mention all the while being backstabbed by Benjamin Church, Arnold gradually collected a virtual army of American enemies that must have made even General Clinton shake his head.

All this in addition to tightwad American officials who seemingly expected him to conduct military campaigns at his own expense.

This went on for years. By the time Arnold arrived in Philadelphia as military governor, I surmise he’d just had it with people. Even so, he doesn’t seem to have been plotting treason at first, because Arnold all but begged Washington and influential civilians to be appointed commander of an American fleet. This man would surely have been as dangerous at sea as he was on land, but nothing came of it. Then Arnold asked for just one ship. None was offered. This after all he’d done, particularly on Lake Champlain.

That’s probably when he started seriously considering payback, his Loyalist wife facilitating matters, and further exascerbated by money woes incurred while living in high style (which he'd more than earned the right to do, IMO).


As he was carried off the field at Freeman’s Farm, Arnold’s reported to have wished the ball had struck his heart rather than his leg. Had that happened, he’d be remembered as one of the greatest military men this country ever produced.

tjadams

Very good posting. This is close to the reasons I can squint and mildly understand WHY B.A. did what he did. I feel all the above reasons, and his marriage to Peggy.
"..two things seemed to have brought Judge Shippen around: Arnold's protection of persecuted Quakers and Loyalists and his purchase of a magnificent estate on a hill overlooking the Schuylkill River, Mount Pleasant.."[1]

[1] Willard Sterne Randall, Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor ( New York: Dorset Press, 1990), 432.