Benedict Arnold Essay, Research Paper

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold liked to lead and command his men on the front

lines. The Battle of Saratoga was a major battle in the American Revolution;

it helped persuade the French into signing a Treaty with the United States

that helped turn the on the British. The open-field battle style was favored

by the British. The American s were almost out of options, until their savior

General Benedict Arnold rode in. Arnold personally led the charge during

the Battle of Saratoga, however Arnold was wounded during the final

assault in his left knee. While the American troops surrounded and

captured forces, Arnold laid in pain on the battlefield. Gates took the credit

for the victory at Saratoga and didn t mention Arnold in his reenactment to

General Washington.

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 attack and invasion of Canada. The route to

Montreal was easy, but the trip Quebec was much tougher. 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.

Arnold had many conflicts with Congress in his lifetime. He

continually battled with members that did not like him for various reasons.

But Congress decided to change the rules and they didn t promote Arnold.

Five other men were inferior to Arnold when it came to military intelligence.

Congress had made Arnold look like a fool, and he resented it. In one

instance, Arnold had put a request into Congress for reimbursement for

supplies that he bought with his own money during his march to Quebec.

But Congress wasn t going to pay a large sum of money unless he could

prove that he indeed had spent the money. Arnold did not keep records of

what he spent because he was too involved with the march itself. He felt

that, yet again, his government had let him down. All of this caused Arnold

to resign from the military on July 11th. Although he resigned he offered up

his services to the military if he was needed.

The final event that caused Arnold to turn on America was when he

was tried on several misdemeanor charges. On December 25, 1779 hearings

opened for the court martial case of Benedict Arnold. Arnold was eventually

censured from the American Army. After this Arnold switched to the British

side, and was known as a traitor. His great leadership helped the British

immensely, yet obviously not enough to win the war.

Benedict Arnold was considered a military genius; he was able to

bring his troops from near defeat to victory. Arnold was probably the only

man to be respected by both the British and Americans prior to 1779.

Benedict Arnold was one of the best Generals that had served in the

American Army.