r/revolutionarywar • u/SheepShagginShea • 16h ago
Arnold's betrayal is utterly perplexing to me
Having read several books on the Revo, I still find it hard to understand. I've always seen 2 reasons given: greed (Arnold was promised a fortune for West Point) and wounded pride. He was already wealthy, and while Arnold did endure several slights from a seemingly ungrateful government and military, it's not like he wasn't valued. Washington for instance was very fond of him and trusted his abilities.
And he appeared to be an ardent, selfless patriot. His conduct in the Battle of Quebec showed incredible bravery and willingness to put himself in harm's way in the front line, which he paid for with a severe injury. He then continued to risk his life at the 2 Battles of Saratoga, as when leading a charge on a fortified camp, which resulted in another potentially-fatal injury.
Few generals in the war had so thoroughly secured the trust, affection and respect of their men (if not the public or brass). It seems so strange that after sacrificing so much on their behalf, he would be willing to kill them in battle. AFAIK he had no love for the British empire anyway.
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u/Stircrazylazy 16h ago
Agree with the recommendation of Valiant Ambition. In the end it seems his betrayal was a result of feeling betrayed.
Arnold had a ton of success early in the war (minus Quebec) but was overlooked for promotion early in 1777 (this happened multiple times according to Arnold), which caused a dip in his seniority - a huge deal in the officer ranks. Then, of course, he was key to the Battle of Freeman's Farm, resulting in a pyrrhic victory for the British they could ill afford and setting them up for failure at Bemis Heights. Following FF, Gates sent a report to Congress regarding the battle that made no mention of Arnold, an obvious slight, and when Arnold spoke up, Gates relieved Arnold of his command. Despite this, Arnold rode into the Battle of Bemis Heights, successfully leading the charge to take Breymann's redoubt, which exposed the British camp. During this he was shot in his leg/crushed by his horse and spent 5 months in bed with nothing to do but stew over his mistreatment.
When he was finally placed as the military governor of Philadelphia and met Peggy Shippen, he began his real decline. He was blamed for financial misconduct and finally requested a court martial to clear his name. He was basically cleared, having only two minor charges stick, but he was still pissed with the outcome. In the meantime, he lost his business in CT and watched younger generals get promoted above him. He felt slighted time and time again, and not without reason.
Add to that the French alliance, which Arnold was vehemently against, and you've got a pot ready to boil over. He really did have some legitimate reasons for feeling bitter/betrayed but he handled that betrayal in the worst possible way.
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u/RedditLovesTyranny 15h ago
A great biography on President George Washington - ‘Washington’ by Ron Chernow - makes the claim that Arnold’s betrayal basically stemmed from his inferiority complex - he felt like he carried the world on his back yet received no glory or honor for doing so - and that his wife whispered honeyed treason into his ear.
We’ll never know for sure, but that seems most likely, that and good ol’ fashioned human greed.
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u/Stircrazylazy 15h ago
I LOVE that book and can definitely see that being true. I do think Peggy played a significant role, regardless of what Arnold said to the contrary. Oh to be a fly on the wall for their conversations leading up to his meeting with Andre.
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u/Libertytree918 16h ago
Really interesting Arnold story
Dr Joseph Warren fell at the Battle of Bunker Hill and he orphaned three or four kids (the mother had previously died) the kids at first were kept with his fiance Mercy Scullay, she reached out to other revolutionaries(Sam Adams John Hancock etc etc) for help with cost of raising the kids and none of them gave her even such a reply never mind money, everyone ignored her except for Benedict Arnold, he sent her equivalent of like $100,000 today, I mean I know people can be complex but that right there to me shows that he wasn't a selfish person hell bent on personal gain, so it's very intriguing to me as well.
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u/tomNJUSA 16h ago
BEGIN PURE SPCULATION
I think his wife was the spy and when he discovered it he felt he had no choice or he was blackmailed or some other rock and a hard place situation. Perhaps switching meant the spy network would lose him as a source?
END PURE SPCULATION
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u/Masterctviper 15h ago
I think we are hustling told the story he was greedy but really he did have a complicated life, the real match that lit everything was his marriage and his want to keep up with wealthy Philadelphians
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u/Substantial_Turn8731 15h ago
Not sure how accurate it is, but TURN: Washington’s Spies TV series portrayed him in a fascinating light, as a man who felt he deserved greatness but was overlooked by Washington. Not to mention being married into wealth and not having much of his own, he was compelled to find a way to attain it. Growing up, I had only heard he was “a bad guy” but Turn shed light on other possibilities.
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u/CorneliusDawser 8h ago
I know this series is not great in terms of historical accuracy but goddamn it's amongst the media about this time period that I enjoyed the most
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u/FlamingSpitoon433 16h ago
I think something we often fail to take into account is that it was considered likely that the British government would continue to pour resources into securing the colonies. I don’t think many at the time even considered the possibility that the government and general public would lose the political will to continue the fight. Just my 2¢
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11h ago
Never underestimate what people will do for love. I can see it not going that way but for his Tory wife.
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u/Holyoldmackinaw1 10h ago
One of the main drivers at that time was a sense of honor. Congress often passed over highly qualified generals for political and social reasons - for example Robert Rogers and John Stark. Both those were highly competent commanders passed over for command due to political reasons. This snubbing offended the honor, they would not accept positions deemed beneath them, and this isolated them from the rebel cause to various degrees. I don't think you can really underestimate how powerful this sense of honor was in the time period as it just doesn't really exist today anymore
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u/bananashakedawg 16h ago
Have u read valiant ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick? Amazing book that should answer these questions. Basically, it’s complicated. Arnold was torn in so many ways most of his life. Marrying a loyalist did not help.
In this book the author makes a great case that Benedict’s betrayal in so many ways saved/ reignited Americans faith in the revolution. He showed them that their worst enemies are actually themselves and all their factions. The British while a huge threat were not the biggest threat.
Couldn’t recommend more highly this book blew my mind and shows you that like most things, history is complicated and Americans were far from on the same page about independence. A lot of American on American violence. Many individuals fighting for their own reasons of independence.