The Arnold Branch

Benedict Arnold, Traitor The seeds of Benedict Arnold's treason were probably sown in Philadelphia, where he was forced to defend himself against court-martial charges brought by the Executive Council of Pennsylvania. Arnold's skills as a diplomat did not match his skills as a military leader, and he was popular neither with the civilians he attempted to govern nor the officers with whom he fought. He was considered to be impetuous and imprudent in speech, with an overbearing personality and aggressiveness. During the long wait for his trial, Arnold's financial position deteriorated due in part to his preference for the high life, and in part to the slowness of Congress in reimbursing him for the monies which he advanced from his own pocket for the support of his troops. The complaints of his treatment were listened to with sympathy by his new wife, Peggy Shippen, and her decided Tory leanings most likely magnified Arnold's sense of ill treatment. It was probably in this time period that the first British overtures to him were made. A year after charges were filed, Arnold was found guilty of two charges and, on 6 April 1780, received the ordered reprimand from General Washington. Though considered nothing but a tap on the wrist by many, Arnold perceived this sentence as a betrayal, even though he was subsequently given command over West Point. It was in this state of mind that Arnold listened to an offer from Major Andre, the British adjutant-general. The offer was for 20,000 pounds and a commission as major-general in the British army if Arnold succeeded in turning West Point over to the British. If he tried and the takeover failed, he was still guaranteed his expenses and a commission as a brigadier-general. But the plan never got that far because Andre was captured before he could return to his ship. The papers found on him were evidence of the plot and it was only because of a warning by a courier of Andre's that Arnold was able to flee in time to avoid arrest. Andre was executed as an enemy spy, and Arnold took up arms with the British for the remainder of the war. The Enigma of Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold's Leg Benedict Arnold at Valley Forge Isaac Newton Arnold (1815-1884) Who Was Who in the Union p.10 While serving as a Republican congressman from Illinois, Isaac N. Arnold also served on Colonel David Hunter's staff at 1st Bull Run. A New Yorker by birth, he practiced law there until moving to Chicago in 1836. Originally a Democrat, the slavery issue moved him into the Free Soil and later the Republican Party. Meanwhile, he served in the state legislature and missed being elected its speaker. He was defeated for the U.S. Congress, as a member of the Republican Party, in 1858, but won two years later, serving from march 4, 1861, to March 3, 1865. Even while that body was in session, he served in a military capacity. He did not seek reelection in 1864, but became a treasury auditor for a little more than a year before resuming his practice and beginning a writing career.