Benedict Arnold

Story Summary

I rejoice
in the opportunity I have
of inviting you to join
His Majesty's Arms.

Benedict Arnold
Proclamation to the Continental Army
October 20, 1780

At the beginning of September, 1780 Benedict Arnold was a Major General in the Continental Army. His assignment? The command of West Point, a strategically important American fort on the Hudson River.

By the end of the month, he was a traitor who had tried to sell out his country, his fort and his men. His price? Twenty thousand pounds sterling (worth about $1 million today).

What caused this twice-wounded Revolutionary War hero to commit treason? Who was this man whose very name means “traitor” to an American?

Author: Carole D. Bos, J.D.