![]() ![]() In February 1777, when he learned that Congress had refused to promote him to major general, he resigned, but Washington refused to accept the resignation. When a British army forced the Americans out of the city of Montreal, Arnold directed the rear guard during the army’s retreat, got a fleet constructed on Lake Champlain, and fought a naval action that delayed the British long enough to make it impossible for them to advance farther in 1776.īy now a general, he was on good terms with Washington and with general Schuyler and Gates, but he had made powerful enemies within the Army and within Congress. He successfully urged the Continental Congress to invade Quebec, was denied command, led a second expedition through the wilderness to attack Quebec City (having received permission from Washington himself), had his left leg shattered in the same attack that killed the commander of the other expedition and nonetheless kept the city under siege for another four months until he was relieved in April, 1776. In 1775, he was responsible, with Ethan Allen, for capturing Fort Ticonderoga, which as we have seen, provided the guns that made it possible to force the British to leave Boston (and, nearly all of New England) forever. But why did he do it? That’s a valid question. The fact is, Arnold betrayed his trust and attempted to betray his country. ![]() To attempt to understand is not the same thing as making excuses. His career poses questions that can’t be answered, but should be asked. Not an undeserved fate – there can be no doubt of his guilt – but tragic nonetheless, because before he became a traitor he was a hero, and the country he betrayed he first suffered for and served well. Such a strange and tragic fate for a brilliant general. To call someone a Benedict Arnold is to call him a traitor. A memorial to Arnold on the Saratoga battlefield does not mention his name, but says, instead: “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.” ![]()
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