AboutMichael Troy Expertise I can answer just about any question on early American History. My specialties are the American Revolution through the Civil War/Reconstruction. I also have greater expertise in matters relating to military, political or legal history.
Experience I have lectured at George Washington University regarding the Civil War, as well as several elementary school Civil War demonstrations. I was also a member of a Civil War reenactment group for about 10 years.
Education/Credentials J.D. University of Michigan
B.A. George Washington University
Question I am a 4th grader doing a personal research project on the Revolutionary War mainly about Benedict Arnold. My teacher wants us to find out who the best experts are and what books you would recommend for me to read regarding: Why Benedict Arnold helped the British and why he is considered a hero by some historians?
Thank you.
Answer Hi Kyle,
Few would argue that Benedict Arnold was a great hero for most of the war. He was co-commander of the force that captured Fort Ticonderoga early in the War. This was an amazing accomplishment. Even more amazing was their ability to take the cannon captured their and transport them back to Boston for use in George Washington's action there. Without those cannon, it is quite possible that the rebellion would never have had the early victory of forcing the British from Boston and they might have lost right there.
Later, Gen. Arnold is with the victory at the Battle of Saratoga. That victory was what finally convinced the French that the Americans had a chance and got them to start providing aid. Without that aid, it would have been virtually impossible for the war to continue.
Up until that time, Benedict Arnold was probably the second most respected leader in the army, second only to George Washington. It is a reasonable inference that America might not have won that war without him.
So what happened? Why did a hero become a traitor? Well, at the Battle of Saratoga, Arnold was injured and lost a leg. He was later appointed to a desk job in control of military forces in Philadelphia. There, he met a young 17 year old girl named Peggy Shippen, with whom he fell in love and married. Peggy was pro-British as was her family.
As the war went on, Arnold became angry that he was not being given credit for all the work he had done for the country. More than that, he had been promised a great deal of money and other compensation that the government now simply refused to give.
Arnold and his new wife had an expensive lifestyle and were getting deeper into debt. Arnold was getting more and more financially desperate and angrier at the Continental Congress for ignoring his claims. Eventually he was convinced that his country had betrayed him by throwing him aside when he had been too injured to be of any more help to them. He met with some of Peggy's friends in the British Army and agreed that in exchange for money and a commission as General in the British Army he would help the British capture West Point, which would give them control of the Hudson River and cut the nation in half.
You have to remember that Benedict Arnold was born a citizen of Britain, just like almost everyone living in the former British Colonies of North America. Most British and many in America considered the leaders of the revolution to be traitors against England and that Arnold was simply moving back to being a loyal British Subject. So national loyalty was not exactly a clear question for everyone back then.
That said, there is no question that he betrayed the trust of the many Americans who had trusted him. Had his plan gone through, he would have sold out all of his fellow soldiers for his own personal gain. That is why he is seen as the embodiment of treason today.
