The Notorious Benedict Arnold

Arnold is unable to initiate his plan with the British until his court-martial ends, but it is continually delayed. Meanwhile, rising food prices in Philadelphia spark riots, during which Arnold is chased and harassed in the street and his windows are smashed. His pleas for protection are ignored by the Pennsylvania council.

As Arnold's court-martial resumes, he puts up a strenuous defense and lashes out at the “glaring tyranny and injustice” (239) done to him. The court acquits him of all the serious charges, sentencing him only to a reprimand from George Washington, which he apologetically gives.  

Peggy Arnold gives birth to a son, and the Arnolds move into one of Peggy's father's houses because they can no longer afford the Penn mansion. Arnold conceives a plan to become commander at strategically vital West Point and turn it over to the British. Clinton agrees to his price.  

Arnold repeatedly petitions General Washington to give him the command at West Point. Washington is puzzled at this request for a defensive position, and instead offers him command of the left wing of his army. Arnold insists that he is not up to the physical demands of that job, and Washington reluctantly gives him command of West Point. Meanwhile, André is put in charge of the Arnold mission. 

Now commander of the fort, Arnold makes thorough inspections and notes, but his officers note that his behavior seems different and peculiar. Arnold settles into his personal headquarters across the river from West Point and sends for Peggy. His paradoxical situation is expressed in the fact that he is plotting to attack the fort named after him, Fort Arnold. 

The American Revolution seems at the brink of collapse, with a disastrous defeat at Camden, South Carolina, and the populace tired of endless war. Arnold sees his plot as a way to put an end to the war and achieve fame and honor among the British. As Arnold makes plans to meet with André, he learns that Washington and his staff are coming to West Point and will thus be easy prey. 

André boards the ship the Vulture to go to his mission with Arnold. Arnold enlists an unsuspecting friend, Joshua Hett Smith, to act as his tool for the mission. He tells Smith that there is a “John Anderson” aboard the ship with intelligence that could help the Americans. He instructs Smith to row out to the ship, pick “Anderson” up, and bring him to shore. Smith in turn enlists two tenant farmers, the Cahoon brothers, to help him in the assignment. Once ashore, Andre discusses plans with Arnold, then stays at Smith's house. 

That morning a group of American officers led by James Livingston fire without permission on the Vulture, forcing it to withdraw and preventing André from boarding it and returning to New York. 

Arnold entrusts papers with detailed information about West Point to André, telling him to carry them concealed in his stockings. He also gives André a passport that will get him past any American soldiers. Finally, Arnold has Smith lend Andre some new clothes to replace his British uniform. André now sets off to New York accompanied by Smith and his slave. 

At nightfall, the company is stopped by a group of American soldiers, who warn them not to go any farther into “no-man's land”—a violent territory torn apart by roving gangs of Loyalist and Revel thugs. Smith and André are forced to stay overnight at a farmhouse. 

The next morning Smith takes leave of André, saying he is too frightened to continue with him. Riding on alone, André encounters a group of three American militiamen in the town of Tarrytown.  

The militiamen stop André, ask to see his pass, and force him to strip down. They find Arnold's papers hidden in his stockings, whereupon they surmise he is a spy and lead him away to turn him over to the Americans. 

Before leaving on his mission, André had been given three principles by Clinton: “do not go behind American lines”; “refuse to carry incriminating papers”; and “no matter what, do not take off your British uniform” (253). Without intending to, André has violated all three. 

André is led to an American army post, where the colonel in charge sends Arnold notice that the prisoner has been taken and sends the papers on to George Washington. The messenger reaches Arnold at West Point and gives him the news. Shocked and agitated, Arnold goes upstairs, tells Peggy, and leaves immediately in a boat, thus evading Washington's arrival. He tells the boat men to row him to the Vulture. 

Washington arrives at West Point just minutes after Arnold's departure, and is surprised to find no one there to meet him. In his inspection, Washington notes that guns and soldiers are in disarray, making the fort wide open to attack. 

In Arnold's house, Peggy has an emotional breakdown in the presence of Arnold's aides, claiming that her child is in danger and that her husband will never return. Washington arrives, as does the messenger with the incriminating papers. Washington reads them and realizes that Arnold has betrayed him. He orders the West Point officers to prepare for a British attack, putting General Nathaniel Greene in charge. 

Peggy has another emotional scene in front of Washington and his aides, convincing him that she had no part in her husband's conspiracy. After questioning Joshua Hett Smith, Washington becomes convinced that he was an unknowing patsy in Arnold's scheme.  

Now aboard the Vulture, Arnold writes Washington a letter exonerating Smith and presenting his treason as a noble act of patriotism. He arrives in New York in the uniform of a British general. His welcome is not warm, and it becomes clear that his treason is a failure—all the more so if André dies for his part in it. 

André has confessed his true identity and is put on trial before Washington's generals. In the trial, André confesses the entire truth about his deal with Arnold. Although the generals are impressed by his frankness, he is judged a spy and sentenced to death. Clinton seeks every available option to save André's life, but to no avail. André's request to die by firing squad instead of hanging is also denied. After writing copious farewells to his family and friends, Andre faces his execution with courage and dignity. Arnold realizes full well what André's death will mean for him. 

Crowds in Philadelphia, New Haven and Norwich react to Arnold's treason by rioting in the streets, burning effigies of Arnold, and (in Norwich) desecrating graves of the Arnold family. Peggy obtains Washington's permission to return to her family in Philadelphia. She, too, faces hostility from ordinary citizens since the Pennsylvania council has uncovered a letter between her and André, suggesting that she may have been involved in her husband's plot. 

In the meantime, Arnold pressures Clinton to pay him money for his efforts. Clinton is not receptive to his military advice, and many British officers distrust him. Arnold's entire plot has backfired.  

The public reaction to Arnold's treason passes from shock to rage to amazement at the close call. Wearing his new British uniform, Arnold leads a raid on Richmond, Virginia, forcing Governor Thomas Jefferson to flee and taking several American soldiers prisoner. George Washington has approved a secret plot to kidnap Arnold, but the plan fails when Arnold leaves on the Richmond raid. Later, Arnold leads a destructive attack on New London, Connecticut, 10 miles from his own hometown. 

A month later, the British surrender at the Battle of Yorktown, which ends the war. Arnold leaves the United States for good and settles with Peggy in London. He finds a welcome reception from King George III, but the public ignores him or treats him with hostility. He obtains officership for his sons, but government and military jobs are closed to him. 

Arnold and Peggy attempt various business ventures in Canada, then in London, without success. All the while opprobrium follows Arnold and he lashes out at his enemies through lawsuits and duels. 

In 1801 Arnold's health takes a turn for the worse, including gout, asthma, and gradual heart failure. Benedict Arnold dies on June 14, 1801 at the age of 60; Peggy dies of cancer three years later at the age of 44 and is buried beside her husband. 

An unusual monument to Benedict Arnold at the Saratoga battlefield epitomizes the place he occupies in American history: it is a sculpture of a disembodied lower left leg, with an inscription praising “the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army” (306) but never mentioning him by name.