Benedict Arnold: The Greatest Traitor In American History
The Greatest Traitor In American History
Benedict Arnold was a brave and cunning American general who became known as the greatest traitor in American history. Born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich CT, Arnold quickly developed an unsavory and violent personality, which lasted until the day he died on June 14, 1801. He started out his life in debt, but became a successful sea merchant and smuggler who served in the French and Indian War. By age 25, he was the leader of a rebel group, the Sons of Liberty, in New Haven, Connecticut, and later he went on to fight in the revolutionary war, and was appointed by General George Washington to be the military governor of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, after becoming Commander of the American installation at West Point, he used his position to attempt to betray the American forces by turning over West Point, and its 3000 American troops, to the British for a large sum of money. This act of treason is why his name is synonymous with the word “traitor.” …show more content…
He was one out of two survivors from nine children, with an alcoholic father and a weak-willed mother, who did little to ease his aggressive nature. When his father died, the family was left in debt, forcing his mother to take him out of school, which he attended from ages 11-13. When he was a sea merchant captain and smuggler, he fought two duels. After the American Revolution, He started a business in 1785, but a fire wiped it out in 1788, and insurers refused to pay. By 1794 he was a privateer in the West Indies. Arnold was captured by the French for being a spy during the French Revolution, but he escaped and then helped British planters stop a slave uprising. After England had no further use for him or his military experience, he died from illness in
Benedict Arnold was a brave and cunning American general who became known as the greatest traitor in American history. Born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich CT, Arnold quickly developed an unsavory and violent personality, which lasted until the day he died on June 14, 1801. He started out his life in debt, but became a successful sea merchant and smuggler who served in the French and Indian War. By age 25, he was the leader of a rebel group, the Sons of Liberty, in New Haven, Connecticut, and later he went on to fight in the revolutionary war, and was appointed by General George Washington to be the military governor of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, after becoming Commander of the American installation at West Point, he used his position to attempt to betray the American forces by turning over West Point, and its 3000 American troops, to the British for a large sum of money. This act of treason is why his name is synonymous with the word “traitor.” …show more content…
He was one out of two survivors from nine children, with an alcoholic father and a weak-willed mother, who did little to ease his aggressive nature. When his father died, the family was left in debt, forcing his mother to take him out of school, which he attended from ages 11-13. When he was a sea merchant captain and smuggler, he fought two duels. After the American Revolution, He started a business in 1785, but a fire wiped it out in 1788, and insurers refused to pay. By 1794 he was a privateer in the West Indies. Arnold was captured by the French for being a spy during the French Revolution, but he escaped and then helped British planters stop a slave uprising. After England had no further use for him or his military experience, he died from illness in