AMERICA AT WAR
Benedict Arnold and the Price Placed on West Point
Before he tried to hand a Hudson River fortress to the British, Arnold had helped win the Revolution’s northern campaign—and grown convinced that the country he served had cheated him.
Benedict Arnold was one of the Continental Army’s boldest commanders before he became its most notorious defector. His attempt to surrender West Point exposed how much the Revolution depended on vulnerable places, fragile institutions, and individual choices.
George Washington arrived at Benedict Arnold’s headquarters on September 25, 1780, expecting to meet the commander of West Point. Arnold was gone. His British contact, Major John André, had been captured two days earlier with papers tied to the post’s defenses, and Arnold had fled to the British warship *Vulture*.[5][6]
The escape made Arnold the Revolution’s lasting symbol of betrayal. His earlier service makes the story more complicated than the image of a man who had always been waiting to change sides. Arnold had fought boldly for the American cause, suffered serious wounds, and earned Washington’s confidence. He had also accumulated political enemies, financial troubles, and grievances over recognition. Those pressures did not make treason inevitable. Arnold chose to turn them into a bargain with the enemy.
A Record of Service
Arnold helped Ethan Allen capture Fort Ticonderoga on May 10, 1775, an early success for the patriot cause. Later that year, he joined the expedition against Quebec and was wounded in the left leg during the failed assault on December 31.[1]
In 1776, Arnold commanded American naval forces at Valcour Island on Lake Champlain. The American force did not win the engagement, but it delayed the British advance southward.[1]
His most prominent battlefield role came during the Saratoga campaign. At Bemis Heights on October 7, 1777, Arnold played an important part in the American attack on British forces. Horatio Gates commanded the Northern Army, and the victory cannot fairly be credited to one officer. Still, Arnold’s aggressive leadership mattered in the fighting. He was severely wounded again in his left leg, an injury that permanently limited his ability to serve in active infantry command.[1][3]
Saratoga helped persuade France to enter the war as an American ally. For Arnold, it did not settle his conviction that the new nation had failed to reward his service.[1]
Philadelphia, Promotion, and Resentment
In February 1777, the Continental Congress promoted five brigadier generals junior to Arnold to major general. The decision reflected the political and regional considerations behind congressional appointments, but Arnold regarded it as a personal and professional slight.[1]
After the British left Philadelphia, Washington appointed Arnold military commander of the city in June 1778. The post put him at the intersection of military authority, civilian government, wartime commerce, and private money.[2]
Arnold clashed with Pennsylvania officials, including Joseph Reed, over requisitioning and commercial matters. His conduct drew public scrutiny, while his costly habits and financial troubles made him vulnerable. In April 1779, he married Margaret “Peggy” Shippen, whose Philadelphia social circle had included British officers during the occupation, among them André.[2]
By May 1779, Arnold had begun secret communications with the British through André, Sir Henry Clinton’s intelligence chief.[1][2] His resentments were real, but they did not excuse his decision. Other American officers lived with factional conflict, debt, and disappointment without offering military positions to Britain.
Why West Point Mattered
West Point stood on a defensible stretch of the Hudson River. Its fortifications were intended to prevent British warships from moving freely through the river corridor, where control could threaten connections between New England and the states to the south.[6]
Arnold sought command of West Point in 1780, and Washington granted him the appointment on August 3. Arnold then negotiated with the British to surrender the post for £20,000.[6]
On September 21, Arnold and André met secretly near Haverstraw to finalize the plan. André carried documents describing West Point’s defenses, troop positions, supplies, and artillery. Arnold also gave him a pass under the assumed name “John Anderson,” allowing him to travel through American lines.[4][5]
The proposed exchange involved far more than a single fort. Britain would have gained a Hudson River position from an American general entrusted with its defense.
The Papers in André’s Boots
André could not return to British lines by the planned route. Traveling overland, he was stopped near Tarrytown by New York militiamen on September 23. They found the West Point papers hidden in his boots.[5]
The documents quickly pointed toward Arnold. Before Washington reached Arnold’s headquarters, Arnold learned that André had been captured and escaped to the *Vulture* on September 25.[1][6]
André did not escape. A board of American officers at Tappan concluded that he had entered American lines under a false identity and acted as a spy. He was convicted and hanged on October 2, 1780.[4]
André was mourned in Britain as a young officer who met his death with composure. Arnold became a byword for treachery in the United States. The contrast remains striking: André was conducting a British intelligence mission, while Arnold had agreed to sell the command entrusted to him by the Continental Army.
Fighting for the Crown
The British commissioned Arnold as a brigadier general and paid him roughly £6,315. He later commanded raids against Virginia and Connecticut, fighting for the Crown against Americans he had once led.[1][6]
The plot did not deliver West Point, and the Revolution survived. But it exposed a wartime force held together by uncertain finances, contested civilian institutions, and personal trust. Arnold had helped win early American victories and had suffered lasting injuries in the cause. At West Point, he used the confidence he had earned as part of a deal with Britain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Benedict Arnold turn traitor?
No single event explains Arnold’s decision. He resented being passed over for promotion, faced financial pressure, and felt pursued by political opponents in Philadelphia. His marriage brought him into a Loyalist-connected social world, and his secret correspondence with the British began in 1779. Those circumstances formed the setting, but Arnold chose to negotiate the surrender of West Point for money and a British command.[1][2][6]
What happened to Major John André?
Major John André, the British intelligence officer who handled Arnold’s correspondence, was captured near Tarrytown on September 23, 1780, carrying documents connected to West Point. An American board of officers determined that he had acted as a spy behind American lines. He was hanged at Tappan on October 2, 1780.[4][5]
TIMELINE
Key moments
Sources
- Benedict Arnold — George Washington's Mount Vernon Digital Encyclopedia
- Why Benedict Arnold Turned Traitor Against the American Revolution — Smithsonian Magazine
- Saratoga Battle Facts and Summary — American Battlefield Trust
- Proceedings of a board of general officers respecting Major John André — Library of Congress
- Pass Written by Benedict Arnold for John Andre, September 22, 1780 — New York State Archives
- From hero to traitor: Benedict Arnold's day of infamy — National Constitution Center
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