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Benedict Arnold
Turncoat
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Benedict Arnold was a general during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Army, but switched sides to the British Empire. As a general still on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and attempted unsuccessfully to surrender it to the British. After this he served with British forces as a Loyalist. Arnold is considered by many to be the best general and most accomplished leader in the Continental Army. Without Arnold's earlier contributions to their cause, the American Revolution might well have been lost; but after he switched sides, his name became a byword for treason in the United States. In spite of his success, Arnold was passed over for promotion by the Continental Congress while other general officers took credit for his many accomplishments. As his personal debts mounted, Congress investigated his accounts, and charges of corruption were brought by political adversaries. Frustrated, bitter, and disaffected by the assaults on his honor and strongly opposed to the new American alliance with France, Arnold changed sides. In July 1780, he sought and obtained command of West Point in order to surrender it to the British. Arnold's scheme was detected when American forces captured a British Major carrying papers that revealed Arnold's plan.
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