‘God Save Benedict Arnold’: More than a man who betrayed his country

“Most Americans know one thing about Benedict Arnold,” writes award-winning author and historian Jack Kelly in ‘God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America’s Most Hated Man’ (St. Martin’s Press). 

“He betrayed his country.”

But it’s not the entire story, argues Kelly.

In July 1780, Arnold was a major general in the Continental Army and had just been given command of New York’s West Point fort by George Washington as they battled with the British in the Revolutionary War.

Arnold had acquired a reputation as a courageous commander and astute military tactician, playing pivotal roles in successful campaigns such as the the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and Battle of Saratoga, where he was shot in the leg.

But Arnold was repeatedly overlooked for promotions and saw others take credit for his successes. Indeed, at one stage, Arnold had even resigned his commission, such was his dissatisfaction.

Matters reached a head in September 1780.

Having married into a family loyal to Britain, Arnold soon found himself moving in Loyalist circles where he entered into secret negotiations with British general, John André, to offer Yankee positions to the enemy.

A plan was hatched. Arnold would surrender West Point in return for a payment of £20,000 (around $4 million today).

The plan never happened.

When André was captured by American militiamen, he was found carrying details of the surrender, exposing what Kelly calls Arnold’s “grievous breach of faith”. 

Arnold fled, joined the British army and, later, settled in England where he died in 1801.

But his betrayal would never be forgotten. “When Arnold switched sides, his reputation descended into a black hole,” writes Arnold. “The gravity emanating from his treason has long distorted accounts of his genuine accomplishments.”

Even his close friends disowned him. One, Eleazer Oswald, said he wished the “ball which pierced his leg at Saratoga, had been directed thro’ his heart.”

It was especially hard for George Washington who had always been fond of Arnold. “George Washington loved Benedict Arnold,” writes Kelly. “[And] Arnold’s betrayal broke his heart.” More than 250 years later, Benedict Arnold’s name remains a byword for betrayal.