Sheinkin, Steve. The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism and Treachery. 2010. 337p. ISBN 978-1-59643-486-8. Available at B ARN and as an audiobook on Overdrive.
No figure in the history of the American Revolution is more reviled than Benedict Arnold, the man who agrees to betray his country and plotted the end of the Revolution for a large sum of money. Born in January 1741, Benedict Arnold was frail. Even as a small child, Arnold wanted to impress those around him, and felt that he needed to eclipse his father’s many failures. Through dedication and hard work, Arnold managed to redress the family finances and became prosperous. Married with three children, Arnold ran a successful Connecticut shipping company, but still wanted more.
An opportunity presented itself when the British made a series of political blunders while trying to collect taxes from its American colonies. Angry colonists gathered to protect themselves and their properties, until the flames of revolution was ignited with a British march to Concord and Lexington. Hearing of this momentous event, Arnold assumed command of the New Haven militia, and he marched out with his troops to support the nascent Continental Army. Despite never having fought, Arnold was shrewd and came up with a plan to seize the guns of Fort Ticonderoga and use them to dislodge the British from Boston.
Through subsequent action, Arnold made a name for himself for bravery and boldness, yet also attracted an increasingly higher number of detractors who could reproach him his lack of patience, his short fuse, and his capacity to enrich himself at the expense of the institutions he represented. Bold assaults on Quebec, the delay of the British reconquest of Lake Champlain and his bravery on the field spread his name far and wide, but he eventually garnered the ire important Pennsylvanians. With past decisions catching up with him, and with his financial situation in disarray, Arnold reached out to the British, who dispatched Major John André to negotiate a treacherous act: Arnold agreed to turn over Fort West Point to the British. With the Fort, which controlled the upper Hudson River in their hands, the British would have effectively cut off the colonies in two, and might have ended the Revolutionary War in their favor.
Unfortunately the plot failed, André was caught and executed as a spy, and Arnold escaped, joining the British as a general but then forced in exile in England, where he died in 1801. A man who could have been known as one of the greatest military heroes of the United States instead became synonymous with treason and bad judgment.
Engaging and packed with action and adventure, Arnold’s story continues to fascinate and intrigue readers. Fans of historical events and of military prowess will appreciate Arnold’s strength but will ultimately feel sorry for a man who made the wrong decisions.
