Was Benedict Arnold a Real Traitor? Essay

The book opens to a grim scene of a crowded field, filled with angry and shocked people, surrounding the gallows and looking at the road ahead as a band marched in playing a funeral march. Behind the band marched the broken and defeated Benedict Arnold, former general of the rebel army and traitor to the new country of The United States, in prison rags and shackles. The somber scene concludes with Arnold swallowing his saliva and marching onward towards his sure death. The story of Benedict Arnold begins 39 years earlier in the port town of Norwich, Connecticut. Benedict Arnold was born to a wealthy family in Norwich in one of the coldest winter months ever recorded. He was named after his dead brother of the same name and was some what of a rebel in his younger days. His parents sent him off to a respected boarding school where his real troubles began. In August of 1753 he received a letter from his mother, Hannah. It told of an awful outbreak of yellow fever in Norwich that is soon to claim the lives of his younger sisters Mary and Hannah. Two weeks later he received a follow up, in which his mother stated that Hannah was out of danger but his 8 year old sister, Mary, was dead. Soon after, Benedict's youngest sister, Elizabeth, died of yellow fever. As his pranks and tricks at school became increasingly violent, Benedict's father's shipping business was dying and his drinking problem got worse. Benedict

It is believed that Benedict Arnold was a great general in the revolutionary war. He fought beside George Washington in the continental army. When he was a general for the continental army he had a couple of successful raids and took over british forts. He was also promoted to colonel by Benjamin church. He was doing great during his time with the continental army and his comrades trusted him, and he was praised for his successful attacks. Even though, a couple of his companions did bully and mess with him, they still found him useful when it came to taking over british forts and achieving bountiful attacks towards the british. He even got hurt during an attack on the british. George Washington sent Arnold to attack Quebec where he hurt his knee. As a result, his attack in Quebec failed miserably. This really shows that Benedict arnold was trying his best to be great man and do what was right. After Arnold had done so many

Desiring recognition and the feeling of pride brings a fullness in life so if you were to not being given the proper recognition, if you were utterly ignored, if you were tossed aside and others received credit for your very own work, is if you were faced to choose between taking the high road and becoming a better human being or would you act out in vengeance? Benedict Arnold’s historical acclaim is often associated with the traitor activity, by examining the experiences with Arnold, Americans are able to appreciate his leadership prior to his betrayal; his character is really revealed through his past and all that he accomplished for his beloved country.

The movie, The Patriot, is the story of a South Carolina plantation owner, Benjamin Martin, who leads a local militia against British troops in the South during the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. Martin, who is a widower with six children and a veteran of the French and Indian War, wants nothing to do with the war until a brutal British Colonel, William Tavington, kills one of his sons and takes his eldest son, a member of the Continental Army, prisoner. Martin, who’s character is loosely based on Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, uses guerrilla warfare to cut British supply lines and attack outposts in an attempt to slow General

It seems that the United States has been one of the most dominant, if not the most dominant, countries in the world, since the Declaration of Independence. Yet, on Monday, April 17, 1961, our government experienced incredible criticism and extreme embarrassment when Fidel Castro, dictator of Cuba, instantly stopped an invasion on the Cuban beach known as the Bay of Pigs. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, his advisors, and many Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials, made the largest error of their political careers. Once the decision was made to invade Cuba, to end Castro and his Communist government, Kennedy and his administration were never looked at in the same light nor trusted again. Russian leader Nikita

There are, however, situations in which betraying one’s country is unjustified. When a person or group violently and disrespectfully breaks a law, such as the Weather Underground did in their protest of the lack of attention being given to the Vietnam War, their actions are unjustified. Now let us distinguish between an unjust action and an unjust cause. The Weathermen were in my opinion morally justified to go against the government and protest the war in Vietnam (obviously protest is very different than betrayal, but for the sake of an example …). This was their morally justified cause. By bombing buildings and bashing glass, they proceeded to act unjustly and were at fault. Nevertheless, the Weather Underground was right in placing their personal beliefs over their country.

          The events of the two years previous to Saratoga were very influential to Benedict Arnold. During that time Benedict Arnold and George Washington were planning a double-pronged attack and invasion of Canada, this would be accomplished by taking out Montreal and Quebec. The idea was that the British commander in Canada, Sir Guy Carleton, could only defend one of the cities during a simultaneous attack, which would leave an unprotected city to fall to the Americans. Montreal would have to be sieged by moving northward through Lake Champlain, then into the waters of the St. Lawrence River opposite Montreal. The route toward Quebec was far more complex. A force would have to be guided along the raging Kennebec River, into the highland mountains of Maine, over three lakes to the Dead River, then onto the Chaudière River, and on into the St. Lawrence River opposite Quebec. During Washington’s meetings with Arnold, he was examined Benedict very carefully, and he liked what he saw. In Washington’s mind there wasn’t a better man for the job than Arnold, to lead the charge into Quebec. Arnold was given independent command from Washington to lead troops through Maine and

Benedict Arnold was a general during the American Revolutionary War who had originally fought for the American Continental Army but he had defected the British Army. While he was a general on the American side, Arnold had obtained command of the fortifications at West Point, NY (New York), overlooking the cliffs at the Hudson river and he had planned to surrender those places to the British forces. He was born in Connecticut and he was a merchant operating ships on the Atlantic Ocean when the war broke out in 1775. He had joined the growing army that was outside of Boston and had distinguished himself through acts of intelligence and bravery. Arnold’s actions had included the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, defensive and delaying tactics at the Battle Of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain in 1776 and the Battle Of Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Benedict Arnold was a general during the Revolutionary War, whom fought for the American army but eventually betrayed them and fought for the British. Included in this report will be his biographical information, the major events and people in his life which influenced him to become the person he was, and why he was important. I will be using this information to explain what made him a leader.

When George Washington discovered the now-infamous treachery of John André and Benedict Arnold, he was preparing for a breakfast at the Arnold home. Arnold fled from the house, but his wife “Peggy had retired to her bedroom, ready to feign innocence and hysterical despair…She was an artful actress, and the show of stunned sorrow which she staged in the days that followed convinced almost everyone of her innocence.” Ever since Peggy Shippen Arnold’s dramatic display of her ignorance to her husband’s betrayal, historians have struggled to accurately reconstruct the facts of her life. Today, the consensus has given her a prominent role in Benedict Arnold and John André’s conspiracy, but thanks to her family’s efforts to preserve her legacy by

Arnold had planned to take Quebec but a rainstorm had prevented any movement for up to three days. In the three days the intercepted letter allowed British to bring more reinforcements for more protection. Arnold then waited for reinforcements from Colonel Montgomery who had lost men due to the expiration of their subscription. Arnold was soon to lose a number of his own for the same reason and to smallpox which broke out among the American forces.

Not everyone possesses the quality of loyalty, but those that do are worth having a relationship with. The author of Cue for Treason, Geoffry Trease, demonstrates this trait in many of the characters. The most loyal bond in this book, which took place very early on in the novel, was Peter and Kit’s. One of the most significant bonds has to be amongst the Secret Agents, the Queen, and all of England. Lastly, the most heroic form of loyalty is portrayed by Tom Boyd, Peter, and Kit. Each one of these characters do not betray each other once. So, several characters in the novel show loyalty to one another throughout.

Although we never fully discover the humanness of Arnold, one thing is for sure, “He invites fear rather than attraction when he claims to know things about her family and neighbors that he couldn’t possibly know.”(SparkNotes Editors)

There are many individuals in American History, whom we as Americans regard for their courage and audacity in shaping our nation. We learn in our history classes the great accomplishments of our founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Ben Franklin. One other great founding father and our First President, George Washington was one whom we learned much about. We learn in school that he is as a prime example of leadership, citizenship, and overall individual achievement for his many contributions to our nation’s earliest struggles. But although we are taught that George Washington was this man of great disposition, no man is without his flaws. Many scholars have sought to enlighten individuals to these cracks in the Nation’s

Prior to the American Revolution, Benedict Arnold was a captain in the Governor's Second Company of Guards. When hearing about the battles of Lexington and Concord, Arnold and his men became eager for action. They marched off to Cambridge to ask for the commission of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety to capture Fort Ticonderoga. Along the way, Arnold’s group met up with Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys. Arnold and Allen disputed about who was in total command but Arnold’s attempt to take command was futile so he accompanied the Green Mountain Boys with Allen as leader. On May 10th, the two groups successfully captured the fort by surprising the British Garrison.