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Article: Arnold's Treason
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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ARNOLD'S TREASON
ARNOLD'S TREASON.
Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold of the Continental army fought for the American cause from Ticonderoga (1775) to Saratoga (1777), but by the spring of 1779several motives led him to open up a treasonable correspondence with the British headquarters in New York. Arnold felt repeatedly slighted by Congress, he resented authorities in Pennsylvania who had court-martialed him, he needed money, and he was opposed to the French alliance of 1778.
Throughout the rest of 1779and 1780, he transmitted military intelligence about the American army to the British. On 12 July 1780 he accepted the command at West Point, New York. He demanded
£
20,000 if he was able ...