October 22, 2025 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early days of the American War for Independence, Major General Benedict Arnold was one of the Revolution’s brightest stars. His victories at Fort Ticonderoga and Saratoga made him one of the most admired American Revolutionary War leaders of his time. Yet the same ambition that drove his heroism would also lead to his downfall. Feeling overlooked and underpaid, Arnold made a secret pact with the British, trading loyalty for money and rank. His name became a permanent shorthand for betrayal, but the truth of his story reveals a man torn between duty, pride, and disappointment.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
And we continue with our American stories. Few stories are
as compelling, as complex, or as mystifying as that of
Benedict Arnold. Here's Greg Hengler with the story.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Benedict Arnold is hands down America's most infamous turncoat. He
has been dead for over two hundred years, and his
name is still shorthand for trader, as we've seen exemplified
in movies like Grumpier Old Men.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
You Trader, Benedict Arnold.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
In spite of his ultimate deception, Benedict Arnold remains one
of the most gifted generals America has ever known. In
May of seventeen seventy five, Arnold led an attack on
the remote British outpost at Fort ticonder ROGA quick tempered
and strong willed, Arnold joined forces and immediately clashed with
(01:04):
Ethan Allen, the leader of a small militia of frontiersmen
known as the Green Mountain Boys. The fort is captured,
thinks mostly to Benedict Arnold, that forces the British to
abandon Boston. Both Allan and Arnold wrote extensive reports about
the events to the colonial committees, but they only accepted
(01:26):
Allan's glorified version that barely mentions Arnold. This would be
the beginning of a pattern in Arnold's military career that
would repeat itself. Arnold is later given the impossible task
of defending New York's Lake Champlain from attack. He constructs
(01:47):
the first American naval fleet of fifteen small war vessels
to engage the British at Valcour Island in October of
seventeen seventy six. Although he was not victorious, his efforts
not only established the American Navy, but severely delayed the
advancement of the world's finest navy into American territory, allowing
(02:10):
Washington's army time to rebuild and resupply. In spite of
his aggressive and heroic achievements, the Continental Congress refused to
recognize Arnold, and he was passed over for promotion in
favor of junior officers with far less military achievement. George Washington,
(02:31):
who was Arnold's close friend and one of the few
men who came to his defense, took issue with the
Continental Congress's decision, rebuking them for making political rather than
strategic military promotions. In September of seventeen seventy seven, Arnold
was placed under the command of Horatio Gates at Saratoga
(02:52):
in upstate New York. Gates, while never coming within a
mile of the fighting, held Arnold back, confine him to
his tent, and refused reinforcements the fine Gates orders. Arnold
seized a horse and rallied the Americans to victory, and
took a bullet to the leg and barely survived after
(03:13):
being crushed by his own horse. However, it is this
shot that will change the course of history and nearly
alter the course of independence. Here's Arnold biographer Willard Randall.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
When the battle was over, his second in command said, sir,
where are you hit? And Arnold said, it's my leg.
I wish it had been my heart, And I do too.
I wish it had been in his heart, because if
he had died at that moment, he would have been
the great hero of the Revolution.
Speaker 5 (03:46):
Here's historian Paul Hutton, carried from the battlefield terribly wounded.
Arnold was immediately placed under arrest for having disobeyed orders.
But the day is won. It's clear to everyone on
the battlefield that Benedict Arnold has won the day, clear
(04:07):
to everyone except Horatio Gates. He denies Arnold credit. He
accepts credit for America's greatest victory.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
General Washington steps in and in trusts the newly reclaimed
city of Philadelphia to Arnold. He is now the city's
military governor. Away from the battlefield, Arnold takes full advantage
of his position, living opulently while using and abusing his position,
running shady business deals in a lively black market.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
He has served, he has been wounded severely, and so
he starts as a governor to take what he thinks.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Is his due.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
It is here, in April seventeen seventy nine, where the
thirty eight year old Arnold meets and marries a beautiful, flirtatious,
intense eighteen year old from a very wealthy, loyalist family.
Her name is Peggy Shippen. Here's Arnold. Historian William Stanley.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Arnold was to the British what rava was of the
English what patent was to the German. In other word,
a general who could defeat them. The British wanted Arnold
out of there without.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Arnold did win, but Arnold's shady side deals are exposed
by the press. Once again, Arnold faces a slight against
his honor with an impending court martial and a public
rebuke from General Washington, Arnold and his young bride begin
exploring options for disaffection. Despite his reprimand Washington wants to
(05:54):
give his brilliant general a field position of honor, but
after Arnold's abitiously lobbies strongly for a non field position
at West Point. In the fall of seventeen eighty, Washington
makes him the commander of the strategic American stronghold known
as the Key to the Continent, a four on the
(06:16):
front lines that bears his own name. For Arnold, west
Point becomes Arnold's key negotiating resource. Here's former superintendent of
the US Military Academy at West Point, Lieutenant General Dave Palmer.
Speaker 6 (06:34):
West Point was not just a strategic spot. West Point
was the strategic spot in the American Revolution. Both sides,
British and Americans, agreed on one thing that if the
British could ever capture the line of the Hutch, they
would probably win the war.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
It doesn't take long for Arnold's secret plot to be unearthed,
causing him to flee West Point for a British warship
stationed on the Hudson. Ironically, at this same hour, General
Washington was en route to West Point to feast with
his trusted friend. Arnold's betrayal is so unexpected and cuts
(07:14):
General Washington so deeply that, after failing to capture Benedict Arnold,
Washington proclaimed, Arnold has betrayed me. Whom can we trust?
Now safely behind British lines, Benedict Arnold receives his twenty
thousand pounds ransom payment and a commission as brigadier general
(07:36):
of sixteen hundred troops in his Majesty's Army. Benjamin Franklin remarked,
Judas sold only one man, Arnold three million. Benedict Arnold's
treason united the thirteen colonies and increased their enlistments and
re enlistments in ways that neither he nor the British
(07:58):
could have ever foreseen. Benedict Arnold died in London in
eighteen oh one, at the age of sixty, A spiritually,
financially an emotionally broken man. There's a monument on the
battlefield at Saratoga National Park, the site of his greatest victory,
A boot statue commemorating the permanent wounds General Benedict Arnold
(08:22):
sustained with the inscription in memory of the most brilliant
soldier of the Continental Army, who is desperately wounded on
this spot, winning for his countryman the decisive battle of
the American Revolution, and for himself the rank of major general.
The monument bears no name, and there's good reason.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Because there is a law in America has by the
Congress that you can neither chisel the name benedic'donald or
mold it in metal. So I mean they took this
guy right off the face of the US.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Here's former military story and at west Point, Major John Hall.
Speaker 7 (09:05):
Were it not for his treason, he would almost undoubtedly
be one of the most celebrated American commanders of all
of the American Revolution. West Point to this day would
probably still be called Fort Arnold rather than West Point.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
And great job as always to Greg Hengler and to
all the supporters and contributors to this show, Benedict Arnold's
story here on our American Stories
And we continue with our American stories. Few stories are
as compelling, as complex, or as mystifying as that of
Benedict Arnold. Here's Greg Hengler with the story.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Benedict Arnold is hands down America's most infamous turncoat. He
has been dead for over two hundred years, and his
name is still shorthand for trader, as we've seen exemplified
in movies like Grumpier Old Men.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
You Trader, Benedict Arnold.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
In spite of his ultimate deception, Benedict Arnold remains one
of the most gifted generals America has ever known. In
May of seventeen seventy five, Arnold led an attack on
the remote British outpost at Fort ticonder ROGA quick tempered
and strong willed, Arnold joined forces and immediately clashed with
(01:04):
Ethan Allen, the leader of a small militia of frontiersmen
known as the Green Mountain Boys. The fort is captured,
thinks mostly to Benedict Arnold, that forces the British to
abandon Boston. Both Allan and Arnold wrote extensive reports about
the events to the colonial committees, but they only accepted
(01:26):
Allan's glorified version that barely mentions Arnold. This would be
the beginning of a pattern in Arnold's military career that
would repeat itself. Arnold is later given the impossible task
of defending New York's Lake Champlain from attack. He constructs
(01:47):
the first American naval fleet of fifteen small war vessels
to engage the British at Valcour Island in October of
seventeen seventy six. Although he was not victorious, his efforts
not only established the American Navy, but severely delayed the
advancement of the world's finest navy into American territory, allowing
(02:10):
Washington's army time to rebuild and resupply. In spite of
his aggressive and heroic achievements, the Continental Congress refused to
recognize Arnold, and he was passed over for promotion in
favor of junior officers with far less military achievement. George Washington,
(02:31):
who was Arnold's close friend and one of the few
men who came to his defense, took issue with the
Continental Congress's decision, rebuking them for making political rather than
strategic military promotions. In September of seventeen seventy seven, Arnold
was placed under the command of Horatio Gates at Saratoga
(02:52):
in upstate New York. Gates, while never coming within a
mile of the fighting, held Arnold back, confine him to
his tent, and refused reinforcements the fine Gates orders. Arnold
seized a horse and rallied the Americans to victory, and
took a bullet to the leg and barely survived after
(03:13):
being crushed by his own horse. However, it is this
shot that will change the course of history and nearly
alter the course of independence. Here's Arnold biographer Willard Randall.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
When the battle was over, his second in command said, sir,
where are you hit? And Arnold said, it's my leg.
I wish it had been my heart, And I do too.
I wish it had been in his heart, because if
he had died at that moment, he would have been
the great hero of the Revolution.
Speaker 5 (03:46):
Here's historian Paul Hutton, carried from the battlefield terribly wounded.
Arnold was immediately placed under arrest for having disobeyed orders.
But the day is won. It's clear to everyone on
the battlefield that Benedict Arnold has won the day, clear
(04:07):
to everyone except Horatio Gates. He denies Arnold credit. He
accepts credit for America's greatest victory.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
General Washington steps in and in trusts the newly reclaimed
city of Philadelphia to Arnold. He is now the city's
military governor. Away from the battlefield, Arnold takes full advantage
of his position, living opulently while using and abusing his position,
running shady business deals in a lively black market.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
He has served, he has been wounded severely, and so
he starts as a governor to take what he thinks.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Is his due.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
It is here, in April seventeen seventy nine, where the
thirty eight year old Arnold meets and marries a beautiful, flirtatious,
intense eighteen year old from a very wealthy, loyalist family.
Her name is Peggy Shippen. Here's Arnold. Historian William Stanley.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Arnold was to the British what rava was of the
English what patent was to the German. In other word,
a general who could defeat them. The British wanted Arnold
out of there without.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Arnold did win, but Arnold's shady side deals are exposed
by the press. Once again, Arnold faces a slight against
his honor with an impending court martial and a public
rebuke from General Washington, Arnold and his young bride begin
exploring options for disaffection. Despite his reprimand Washington wants to
(05:54):
give his brilliant general a field position of honor, but
after Arnold's abitiously lobbies strongly for a non field position
at West Point. In the fall of seventeen eighty, Washington
makes him the commander of the strategic American stronghold known
as the Key to the Continent, a four on the
(06:16):
front lines that bears his own name. For Arnold, west
Point becomes Arnold's key negotiating resource. Here's former superintendent of
the US Military Academy at West Point, Lieutenant General Dave Palmer.
Speaker 6 (06:34):
West Point was not just a strategic spot. West Point
was the strategic spot in the American Revolution. Both sides,
British and Americans, agreed on one thing that if the
British could ever capture the line of the Hutch, they
would probably win the war.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
It doesn't take long for Arnold's secret plot to be unearthed,
causing him to flee West Point for a British warship
stationed on the Hudson. Ironically, at this same hour, General
Washington was en route to West Point to feast with
his trusted friend. Arnold's betrayal is so unexpected and cuts
(07:14):
General Washington so deeply that, after failing to capture Benedict Arnold,
Washington proclaimed, Arnold has betrayed me. Whom can we trust?
Now safely behind British lines, Benedict Arnold receives his twenty
thousand pounds ransom payment and a commission as brigadier general
(07:36):
of sixteen hundred troops in his Majesty's Army. Benjamin Franklin remarked,
Judas sold only one man, Arnold three million. Benedict Arnold's
treason united the thirteen colonies and increased their enlistments and
re enlistments in ways that neither he nor the British
(07:58):
could have ever foreseen. Benedict Arnold died in London in
eighteen oh one, at the age of sixty, A spiritually,
financially an emotionally broken man. There's a monument on the
battlefield at Saratoga National Park, the site of his greatest victory,
A boot statue commemorating the permanent wounds General Benedict Arnold
(08:22):
sustained with the inscription in memory of the most brilliant
soldier of the Continental Army, who is desperately wounded on
this spot, winning for his countryman the decisive battle of
the American Revolution, and for himself the rank of major general.
The monument bears no name, and there's good reason.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Because there is a law in America has by the
Congress that you can neither chisel the name benedic'donald or
mold it in metal. So I mean they took this
guy right off the face of the US.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Here's former military story and at west Point, Major John Hall.
Speaker 7 (09:05):
Were it not for his treason, he would almost undoubtedly
be one of the most celebrated American commanders of all
of the American Revolution. West Point to this day would
probably still be called Fort Arnold rather than West Point.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
And great job as always to Greg Hengler and to
all the supporters and contributors to this show, Benedict Arnold's
story here on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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