NARRATOR: In the predawn
darkness of a misty September morning in 1780, the
premier combat officer of the Continental
Army, Benedict Arnold, said farewell to a
young British officer and headed back home along
the banks of the Hudson River. Major General Arnold, commander
of the American fortress at West Point, had just
handed over information vital to the enemy's
planned attack of the Fort, then called the Key
to the Continent. If West Point fell, the
revolution would be over and Americans would remain
subjects of the British empire. Benedict Arnold was a man
who fought heroically, who sacrificed a great deal,
who was a superb leader in many respects, and then,
went over to the very side that he had been
fighting against, and this was unforgivable
in the eyes of most of his contemporaries and
remains that way for most Americans today. Benedict Arnold's name has
become synonymous with treason. To the average American,
Arnold and traitor mean the same thing,
thus, no one names their son Benedict in America. If the musket ball that
shattered his thigh bone in Saratoga had entered his
heart instead of his leg, he'd be remembered today as
one of this country's greatest heroes. We would have cities
named after him, there'd be a state named Arnold,
there'd be monuments to him all over the place. But we as a nation
should celebrate that which he did for us,
because none of us would be living under
the American flag if there hadn't been
a Benedict Arnold. NARRATOR: First arriving
from England in 1651, four generations of Arnold's
carved out the wild frontier of New England, helping to
settle the state of Rhode Island. Benedict's father,
Benedict, the Third, was compelled to apprentice
himself and learn the trade of barrel making, which served
him well in an economy based on trading and shipping. Looking to make more
money, he left Rhode Island and in 1730 moved
to the booming port town of Norwich, Connecticut. Norwich was a way station
between Boston and New York. It was in population
the seventh largest city in the continental 13 states. Norwich at that point
was a great seaport because you could ship
to New York and Boston through Norwich, and you didn't
have any bridges to cross. NARRATOR: Benedict Senior
began working on cargo ships, often sailing as far as
England and the West Indies to bring commodities
back to Norwich. He married Hannah King,
the beautiful young widow of his former boss, and took
over his shipping business as well. The Arnolds began a family,
but in the harsh reality of frontier New England where
illness usually meant death, only two of their six
children survived. One of those, by the
way, was an older son named Benedict Arnold. He died so because it was a
family tradition that there would always be in each
generation a Benedict Arnold, he was given the name of
his older, dead brother when he was born. NARRATOR: During the
coldest winter in a century, Benedict Arnold, the Fifth,
was born January 14, 1741, and proved to be stronger
than his older brother. He quickly became a leader
among the boys of Norwich and delighted in skating
in the winter time, fishing along the banks
of the Thames River, and staging mock battles in the
forests surrounding the town. Always the competitor, Arnold
would challenge his friends to foot races or dare them
to follow him dive off the high rocks
above Yantic Falls. Often, his father would
take him on trading voyages to the islands of the Caribbean,
and young Benedict became adept at sailing and navigation. Benedict's mother was
a very religious woman and piety and sincerity. She taught him things that he
carried all through his life. She taught him respect,
especially for women. He was very conscious of women,
and women made up his life. Arnold's whole being was wrapped
up in his love and devotion to the women in his life. ACTRESS AS HANNAH ARNOLD:
"Be dutiful to superiors, obliging to equals, and affable
to inferiors, if any such there be. Always choose that your
companions be your betters, that by their good
examples you may learn. Keep a steady watch over your
thoughts, words, and actions." Hannah Arnold, 1751. NARRATOR: The Arnolds,
like most New Englanders, were strict Puritans and
occupied the coveted first pew at the first Congregational
Church in Norwich. To ensure that young Benedict
received the best education possible, Hannah Arnold
enrolled her 10-year-old son in The Canterbury Academy. Benedict Junior
was a good student and did well at the Academy. Meanwhile, Benedict Senior
was spending less time at sea and more time downing
pints of ale at local taverns. The family fell into debt
and could no longer afford to keep Benedict in school. Mrs. Arnold arranged
for her son to be apprentice to a local
druggist, who ran the largest retail store on
the Old Post Road between Boston and New York. Hannah Arnold sent her son
to a Doctor and Mrs. Lathrop, who lived in Norwich town. He was a leading
citizen in the area, they had no children
of their own, and she was very sure that he
would not only provide Benedict a trade, but also would
provide the sort of disciplined environment that a father
in those days would give to a young boy of which
Benedict's father couldn't. The wife, Mrs. Lathrop,
on the other hand, was also very beneficial. She had an impact on him. She taught him
the social graces. She taught him how to
behave in polite society. NARRATOR: In 1756, while Arnold
lived at the Lathrop's, Britain and France renewed their fight
for control of North America. Eager to eradicate the
hated French Catholics, New Englanders swelled the
ranks of the British army. Rambunctious young Arnold
dreamed of going into battle, and twice ran away to join
the fight against the French, only to be called
back by his mother. Finally, Dr. Lathrop
let Benedict go to fight in the French and Indian War. The day before
going into battle, Benedict Arnold got word
that his mother had caught yellow fever and
was gravely ill. Risking execution for deserting
his unit, he hurried home. Hannah Arnold died soon after,
then Benedict buried her next to her other children in
the Old Norwich cemetery. Grieving young Benedict was now
forced to become his own man. Young Benedict
Arnold was saddened by the death of his
mother, but his father, the once proud captain
Arnold, took Hannah's death even harder. ACTOR AS ISAAC HUNTINGTON:
"Captain Arnold was drunken in said Norwich, so that
he was disabled in yea use of understanding
and reason appearing in his speech, posture,
and behavior, which is against the
peace of our Lord, ye King, and the
laws of this colony." Justice of the Peace,
Isaac Huntington. After his mother's
death, his father took even more
increasingly to the bottle, and essentially,
became the town drunk. His lowly status was
made all the more worse by the high position he
had once held in society, and it became increasingly
humiliating to young Benedict. In fact, he often had to carry
his father home drunk at night, and the older Arnold simply
became the butt of ridicule in the town. NARRATOR: Benedict
Arnold's father soon died. Arnold sought to escape the
shame of his family's fall from grace in Norwich, and
so in the spring of 1762, the 21-year-old Arnold
moved to the larger town of New Haven, Connecticut. He opened a store selling
primarily drugs and books and kept the store stocked
with a wide variety of items obtained on merchant
voyages to London. He did that and was fairly
successful until the turmoil of the era caught up, and a
lot of the merchants, the shop owners, had trouble as
the tax situation changed. He went into trading
and fell back on what his father had done
and what he had learned as a young man, and what he had
been doing for Dr. Lathrop out of Norwich Town, and became
a very successful trader because he knew so much
about the business. NARRATOR: Arnold was an
aggressive sea captain, hauling livestock to the West Indies,
liquor and raw materials to Britain, and finished
goods and luxuries back across the Atlantic for sale
in Arnold's own store in New Haven. The confident young
man furnished his home in the style of a
wealthy Englishman and gazed with pride out his
window to the bustling harbor. The ambitious Arnold soon became
one of New Haven's leading citizens, as well as one of
its most eligible bachelors. In 1763, he married
Margaret Mansfield, the beautiful daughter of
the High Sheriff of New Haven County. He was very much in love
with his new bride, who bore him three
children, but now he was required to spend
more time at sea. England's latest new
tax made it increasingly difficult for Arnold and
other American businessmen to turn a profit. When England decided to
tax the colonies to help pay the bills of keeping
the army over here, the British army, which had
been put here, left here, after the French
and Indian Wars, they came up with a whole series
of taxes that they kept trying. The British parliament decided
that they would levy taxes through stamps on all
kinds of products, but there again, the
turmoil of the era caused him difficulties, and he,
like so many other New England traders, became smugglers. Smuggling was not
so much considered to be a crime against the
British, as it was clever, a way to avoid these
unjust, unfair taxes. ACTOR AS SAMUEL PETERS:
"Smuggling is riveted in the constitution of the
inhabitants of Connecticut as much as superstition
and religion, and their province is a
storehouse for the smugglers of the neighboring colonies,"
the Reverend Samuel Peters. NARRATOR: As the British
moved to enforce these taxes, riots broke out in
several New England towns, including New Haven. In 1770, British troops
opened fire on an unruly mob in what came to be known
as the Boston Massacre. Three years later, Americans
threw cargo overboard in Boston Harbor in a protest
known as the Boston Tea Party. Benedict Arnold saw himself
during these times of trouble as the country was drifting
toward independence as one of the rebels, as
one of the people fighting for or preparing to
fight for, prepared to argue for, American rights. He saw himself at first doing
that locally in New Haven. He was a member of the militia
and was elected early in 1775 the captain of the
New Haven Company. So he saw himself as a leader. He was. He saw himself as a radical. He was. He saw himself as an aggravated
merchant and trader, which he was. Tensions finally
exploded in April, 1775, when British regulars and
Massachusetts militiamen fired at each other in
Lexington and Concord. The Revolutionary War had begun. Word spread like wildfire
through the cities and towns of New England, and 34-year-old
Benedict Arnold was ready. He immediately responded. He said this was war. In New Haven, they said let
us all go to church and pray for the King. The King, King George the Third,
was a certified card carrying wacko. He was not of sound mind. Arnold knew this can't go on. We're going to have to fight,
and so while the conservatives went to church to
pray for the King, Arnold went to the powder
keg to get the power to march on Boston. He was a man of action. NARRATOR: Conservatives in New
Haven, led by David Wooster, feared a conflict with
England and refused to hand over muskets
and gunpowder to Arnold and his men. Wearing the scarlet coats of the
Second Connecticut Foot Guard, they assembled in the square as
Arnold demanded the ammunition they would need to
fight the British. ACTOR AS DAVID WOOSTER:
"This is colony property. We cannot give it up without
regular orders from those in authority." David Wooster. Regular orders be damned. Our friends and neighbors are
being mowed down by red coats. Give us the powder
or we will take it. None but All Mighty God
shall prevent my marching. Benedict Arnold. When Arnold and his
50 men got to Lexington, they joined the throng of
thousands of militia, who, like him and his
people, spontaneously had marched from all over New
England to resist the redcoats. At that time, there was
no Continental Army. It was just a
spontaneous uprising. There was no single leader. It was a mob, truly a mob
of milling militia people. Arnold, seeing that nothing
was going to happen there, recalled that there were
cannon in Fort Ticonderoga in upper state New York, where
he had been as a young man, and where he had
come as a trader. He talked the
Massachusetts authorities into making him a colonel
and giving him authority to raise troops and go
capture Fort Ticonderoga and grab the cannon. And off he went to
Ticonderoga, where he suddenly found himself face to
face with one of the more, shall we say unusual characters
of the revolution, Ethan Allen. And there was a clash of giant
egos right there on the spot. So Arnold and Allen met, and
they had a terrible wrangle. Who was going to
command, and so forth. Arnold had a commission,
but Allen had the men, so they finally decided
they'd attack together. So they did attack
side by side, pleasant and of course, it was a joke. I mean, they captured the thing
without firing a shot hardly, but they had done this
really remarkable thing. They had captured
this fort, which sent a great in
rush of confidence through the whole country. Maybe we can beat these guys,
if we can capture Ticonderoga. And so, Arnold was instantly
catapulted to hero status. Arnold, said, my God, they
don't know there's a war on, and he immediately communicates
with General Washington. And he said, if we invade
Canada now and make them the 14th state, we
can capture Canada before they know there's a war. He was absolutely right. ACTOR AS BENEDICT ARNOLD:
"The American colonies are in danger from Canada,
whether in the hands of the British or
restored to the French." Benedict Arnold to the
Continental Congress, 1775. NARRATOR: When Arnold returned
home from Ticonderoga, he learned that
his wife had died. Now the single
father of three boys, Arnold put them in the
care of his sister Hannah and turned his attention north. His goal was to push the British
off the continent entirely and put Canada on the side
of American independence. At that time, Canada was
a river and two cities. You've got the St. Lawrence
River and the cities of Quebec and Montreal, seaports
really, because traders with the ocean going ships would
sail all the way in to the two. The rest of Canada was a vast
wilderness filled with trappers but no real settlements. Nothing, just those two cities,
so what the Americans wanted to do to make Canada the 14th
colony was to capture Quebec, capture Montreal, and they
would have the 14th colony in their control. NARRATOR: Arnold began a trek
through the frigid wilderness of Maine in an epic
journey known as the March to Quebec, in which
he led 1,000 men 380 miles up the treacherous
Kennebec River. Waterfalls and swift
currents forced the men to have to carry their boats
upstream for much of the way. ACTOR AS BENEDICT
ARNOLD: "You would have taken the men for
amphibious animals, as they were a great part
of the time under water." Benedict Arnold, October, 1775. NARRATOR: The Americans almost
starved to death along the way and were helped by friendly
Indians, who dubbed Benedict Arnold, the Dark Eagle. Finally reaching the fortress
city on the icy St. Lawrence River in December, 1775, Arnold
held the future of Canada in the palm of his hand. Arnold's prong was
to surprise Quebec, to come in through the woods
in a direction they wouldn't necessarily be looking. They would have been looking
up and down the St. Lawrence River. However, the other
prong, led by an American named Montgomery, a
General Richard Montgomery, did succeed in taking Montreal,
and he came down the river, and he and Arnold joined forces
and waited for a snowstorm to give them surprise
to go into the city. That snowstorm
came, the blizzard, on the final day of 1775. NARRATOR: In
simultaneous attacks, Arnold and Montgomery charged
opposite ends of Quebec City. Montgomery's troops
stalled just before scaling the wall of the lower
city, enabling the British to fire rounds of grape shot
down at the helpless men. Montgomery was mortally
wounded and died at the foot of the Great Wall
as his men ran for their lives. Arnold stormed the palace
gate and took his fight to the city's narrow,
winding streets. Not knowing Montgomery's
fate, Arnold was pinned down by the
British, who were not surprised by the attack. It all fell on Arnold. Though he got into the
city, he couldn't quite carry it through. He tried desperately
and in the process, with the British
lining the windows, firing down into the streets,
he was hit in the leg and had to be borne
from the scene. NARRATOR: Arnold was forced
back across the border into New York. With thousands of
British reinforcements pouring into Canada,
the Americans took a defensive stance at the
newly acquired Fort Ticonderoga on the banks of Lake Champlain. If you look at the
situation in 1776, the British forces are
at the northern part of Lake Champlain, the American
forces at the southern part, whoever controls the lake is
going to have to have a fleet. Neither had a fleet. The British brought pieces
overland and began to assemble the boats at the northern part. Arnold was put in
charge of the lake, but they really had
to build the warships. They set up docks and shipyards
and sort of a backwoods arm race began with the Americans
building war vessels at the south, the British
building fighting ships at the north. They both finished
about the same time. Arnold got his and sailed
north about the time the British were sailing south. They met in the middle
at a battle called the Battle of Valcour Island. NARRATOR: Although the
opposing navies blasted away at each other for
hours, Arnold's fleet was positioned between
the island and the shore and was protected from the
full force of British cannons. With no experienced sailors
on the American side, Benedict Arnold
took it upon himself to serve as Admiral
as well as cannoneer. ACTOR AS BENEDICT ARNOLD:
"We suffered much for want of seamen and gunners. I was obliged myself to
point most of the guns on board the Congress, which
I believe did good execution." Benedict Arnold. He fought a defensive battle. He did quite a lot of
damage to the British. They did a hell of a
lot more damage to him. They sank almost his entire
fleet, but again, what courage. Practically every other man on
his ship is dead or wounded, and he's up on the prow of this
ship firing this cannon all by himself, ignoring these
swarms of cannonballs and bullets flying
all around him. So the British, as a result
of this terrific defense, went back to Canada, and this
really gave us a breathing space of at least 9 to 12
months, which was absolutely crucial. NARRATOR: Despite his heroics
and brilliant leadership in combat, the
Continental Congress refused to recognize Arnold,
and he was denied the promotion that he so richly deserved. Feeling as though his government
had slapped him in the face, Arnold went back to New Haven
to prepare his resignation, but the war would
follow him home. He was in Connecticut and the
British invaded Connecticut, and they marched
2,000 men inland to attack Danbury, which
was a big storehouse for the Continental Army. And here's a state with
thousands and thousands of people on the militia rolls. These guys were able to march
right through the middle of the state. Nobody fired a shot at them
until they got to Danbury. They burned everything they
could find there in Danbury, did a lot of really
serious damage there, and then they started
marching back. NARRATOR: Benedict Arnold led
a group of local militiamen that fought the British all
the way back to the sea. The inexperienced civilians
inflicted heavy casualties on the King's army,
and as a result, the Continental
Congress was embarrassed into promoting Benedict
Arnold to Major General. ACTOR AS BENEDICT
ARNOLD: "My commission was conferred unsolicited and
received with pleasure only as a means of serving my country. With equal pleasure, I resign
it when I can no longer serve my country with honor. When I entered the
service of my country, my character was unimpeachable,
yet even personal injury shall be buried in my zeal
for the safety and happiness of my country, in whose cause I
have repeatedly fought and bled and am ready at all
times to risk my life." Benedict Arnold, 1776. NARRATOR: Although the
Continental Congress did make Benedict
Arnold a Major General, five junior officers, who had
received promotions before him, still had seniority over him. Arnold was not
satisfied and proceeded to turn in his resignation. The day he turned
in his resignation, a letter arrived from
Washington saying he needed Arnold in the north. He needed him in
northern New York where the British
were about to invade. Arnold withdrew his
resignation and headed north. That was really what
Arnold was waiting for. He wanted to fight. NARRATOR: A large British
army under the command of the Playboy General
Johnny Burgoyne were planning an invasion
that would once and for all crush the Continental Army and
secure the eastern seaboard for the Empire. The British objectives
in 1777 were very simple, to cut the United States in half
along the line of the Hudson River. One force would come from Canada
down Lake Champlain to Albany to the Hudson River, one would
attack north out of New York City, and when they had
the line of the Hudson, as they called it, they would
have isolated New England, which they considered to
be the hotbed of rebellion. Arnold's job along with
all the army in the north was to block, blunt, stop the
British invasion out of Canada coming south. NARRATOR: The Americans were
under the command of Horatio Gates, unlike Arnold, a man
unwilling to fight and lead his troops into battle. Major General Arnold had
taken it upon himself to engage the British, and
had so far been successful. However, on the final
day at Saratoga, with victory or
defeat in the balance, Gates had confined
Arnold to his tent. The Americans and
the British fought, and it became sort
of a standoff. Arnold though was chomping
at the bit to get into it. He finally couldn't
contain himself. He jumped on his horse,
rode to the battle, and with no command authority
at all except his presence, and people knew who he was,
he took command of the battle himself and led attack after
attack into the British lines, miraculously was
which never touched. And finally, as the
sun was setting, he led a charge that
broke the British lines. And as he rode into the British
lines, his horse was shot down and a musket ball entered
his leg shattering the thigh, and Arnold fell as the sun fell. Carried from the
battlefield, terribly wounded, Arnold was immediately
placed under arrest for having disobeyed orders. But the day is won. Burgoyne is finished. His army is soon
forced to surrender. It's clear to Burgoyne,
it's clear to everyone on the battlefield,
that Benedict Arnold has won the day. Clear to everyone
except Horatio Gates. He denies Arnold credit. He accepts Burgoyne's sword. He accepts credit for
America's greatest victory. Arnold, while the glory goes to
Gates, lays in a hospital tent while doctors ponder whether
to cut his leg off or not. Glory is turning increasingly
bitter to Benedict Arnold. NARRATOR: The magnificent
American victory inspired the French to
declare war on England and become allies
with the colonies. Confined to a
hospital bed and not happy with the idea of now being
an ally of Catholic France, Arnold recovered slowly. With the victory at Saratoga,
his country needed him more than ever, and
George Washington knew it. ACTOR AS GEORGE WASHINGTON:
"As soon as your situation will permit, I request that
you will repair to this army. It is my earnest wish to have
your services for the ensuing campaign." George Washington. Arnold, by this time, was
Washington's favorite general. He just adored the
guy, and he wanted to do things to make him happy. And he wanted to give
him a command which had some prestige, and yet,
didn't require him to do anything that would cause
his bad leg to be hurt again or anything like that, so he
made him military commander of Philadelphia just after
the British retreated from Philadelphia as a result
of the French alliance. When the British heard that the
French were allied with America and was sending a
fleet to America, they realized that they couldn't
defend both Philadelphia and New York, so they decided to
leave Philadelphia and retreat to New York. So Arnold took over a city
that had just been occupied by the British for over a year,
and it was a city in chaos. NARRATOR: Arnold walked a
fine line between loyalists and patriots in Philadelphia,
and as a result, was resented by both. He took full advantage of his
position as military governor, using his skills
as a businessman to make a lot of money, and
enthusiastically join the ranks of the city's social elite. At one of the many
parties and balls he attended, the
38-year-old Arnold met a young girl 20
years his junior, who would change his life forever. Peggy Shippen was the
beautiful, vivacious, charming daughter of one of the most
prominent loyalist families in Philadelphia. She had been the belle
of Philadelphia society during the British occupation. She'd been besieged by many
young officers who had courted her, including Clinton's aide,
the handsome, dashing John Andre. And now she caught the fancy of
Benedict Arnold, who laid siege to her with a passion,
with a madness that equaled his actions at Saratoga. ACTRESS AS MRS.
ROBERT MORRIS: "Cupid has given our little general
a more mortal wound than all the host of Britain's could." Mrs. Robert Morris, 1778. Then all of a sudden, this
beautiful girl, Peggy Shippen, the prettiest girl in
Philadelphia, she likes him. That's strange right
on the face of it. Here is a broken man,
crippled from combat, 38 years old, and here is
this 18-year-old beauty. She loves him. Peggy Shippen is in the
employ of British espionage. There's a plot, and
a very sinister plot. Arnold was to the British what
Rommel was to the English, what Patton was to the Germans. In other words, a general
who could defeat them. The British wanted
Arnold out of there. Without Arnold, they'd win. NARRATOR: To prove
to Peggy's father that he was serious
about his daughter and about staying
in Philadelphia, Arnold put a down payment on
the 96 acre estate of Mount Pleasant and moved into the
elegant mansion, formerly the home of General William Howe
during the British occupation. Two weeks later, Benedict Arnold
and Peggy Shippen were married. In the winter
of '78, the spring of '79, in Arnold's heart
it all came to a head. All of the troubles he
had had with backstabbing fellow officers,
all the troubles he had had with failure to be
recognized by the Continental Congress for his
great achievements on the battlefield,
his need for money, his relationship
with a young woman who had loyalist intents,
and somewhere in there, somewhere in that winter,
he had decided that he was going to turn his coat. He was no longer going to
support the patriot cause, but to support the British. Only weeks after his marriage,
he makes the first attempts to contact British commander to
find a way to join the British. NARRATOR: Arnold supplied
information to the British for over a year, sending
messages through Peggy, and taking advantage
of her relationship with British Major John Andre. Devising a scheme to end the
war and line his own pockets, Arnold offered the British the
keystone of the American cause, the fort guarding the
Hudson River at West Point. 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 Hudson, they would probably win the war. ACTOR AS BENEDICT ARNOLD: "If I
point out a plan of cooperation by which Sir Henry
shall possess himself of West Point, the garrison,
et cetera, et cetera, 20,000 pounds sterling I think will be
a cheap purchase for an object of so much importance. I expect a full and
explicit answer." Benedict Arnold, letter to the
British General Henry Clinton. NARRATOR: Two weeks after
Arnold's offer to the British, Washington appointed him
commander of America's most strategic spot. As the commander,
Arnold now has to find a way to communicate
with the British. He needs to give them
the plans to West Point, he needs to tell
them how to attack, so Arnold and Clinton set that
up between Andre and Arnold in the middle of the night along
the shores of the Hudson River. NARRATOR: Arnold and
Andre talked for hours on the banks of the Hudson. As dawn broke,
American artillery opened fire on the
British warship Vulture, which had ferried Andre up
the river from New York. With daylight increasing, Andre
put the plans in his boots, donned civilian
clothes, and received a pass signed by Arnold to get
him through the American lines. In unfamiliar
country, Andre was set upon by highwaymen,
common thieves, who came across the map and
plans signed by Arnold, and in a flash of
patriotism turned the young spy over to
American troops in the area. When the American commander saw
what John Andre had with him, he was suspicious,
but Benedict Arnold was the commander of West
Point and should be notified. He sent messengers to Arnold
and to George Washington, who was scheduled to meet with
Arnold that very morning. Sitting there waiting
for Washington to arrive, Arnold is confident that Andre
is safe back in New York City. He's at his table when
a messenger comes in, and it's a messenger from his
officer who had captured Andre. And he sent along the
information of Andre's capture and the kind of incriminating
evidence he had, and he also said, I
have sent that evidence to General Washington. So now Arnold knows
Andre's caught, the evidence is on
the way to Washington, Washington is on the
way to visit Arnold. NARRATOR: Arnold
quickly told Peggy that they had been caught
and instructed his oarsmen to row him out to the Vulture. Meanwhile, Washington arrived
at Arnold's house expecting to have breakfast with
his favorite general. When he gets
there, the message just arrives with all the papers
that show Arnold is a traitor. And he knows that Arnold has
just by that thin a margin missed turning West Point
over to the British. ACTOR AS GEORGE WASHINGTON:
"Whom can we trust now?" George Washington. NARRATOR: Arnold
escaped to New York, and his wife Peggy
threw a tantrum that convinced Washington that she
was not involved in the plot. John Andre was not so lucky. Although admired by his captors,
only a trade for Benedict Arnold would save his life. Convicted of being a spy,
he was sentenced to hang. Well, there were estimates
of 1,000 people present. There was just one
request he had, that instead of being hanged, a
humiliating means of departure from his life, he be shot,
but Washington went along with the verdict
and he was hanged. He struggled briefly,
dangling, then, he was dead. ACTOR AS GEORGE MATTHEW:
"Had his plan succeeded, it must have put
an end to the war. General Arnold did but just
escape, and upon his arrival in New York was appointed
a Brigadier General in our service by Sir Henry. Had the scheme answered,
no rank would have overpaid so important a service." British Lieutenant
George Matthew. ACTOR AS BENEDICT ARNOLD:
"What would be my fate if I should be taken prisoner?" Benedict Arnold. ACTOR AS CAPTURED
AMERICAN OFFICER: "They will cut off that
leg of yours wounded at Quebec and at
Saratoga and bury it with all the honors of war,
and then hang the rest of you on a gibbet." Captured American Officer. NARRATOR: Benedict Arnold
became a Brigadier General in the British army. He was not trusted by
his fellow officers, and was not able to lead the
King's soldiers as well as he had the Americans. This lack of respect led to
disastrous circumstances. unwilling to obey the
orders of a traitor, the British made a frontal
assault of Fort Griswold. The attack was suicide,
and bitter British troops slaughtered captured
Americans and torched the town of New
London, Connecticut, burning it to the ground. When it was all done, there
was nothing but dead bodies everywhere, and for nothing. So, Arnold then, it was
then I think more than ever that the country said
he's an evil man. ACTOR AS ELEAZER OSWALD: "Let
his name sink as low in infamy as it was once
high in our esteem. On this stage, all good men will
unite in excreting his memory to the latest posterity. Even villains less guilty
than himself will not cease to upbraid him, and
though they approve the treason, they will despise the traitor." Lieutenant Colonel
Eleazer Oswald, 1780. NARRATOR: Unable to
lead British troops and with the parliament
preparing to scale down its war with the
colonies, Benedict Arnold left for England. He became an advisor
to King George, but was never trusted or
even liked by the nation to whom he defected. Arnold's years in
England were rather sad. He was regarded by the British,
unfortunately, as a traitor. Although, they took
very good care of him. They gave Peggy a
pension for life. Arnold himself had a very good
pension from the British crown, but he never felt accepted
in British society to the level, of
course, of acceptance that he thought
he should achieve. NARRATOR: After the
war, Peggy Arnold remained a loyal, loving
wife to her husband. However, back in the newly
independent United States, Benedict Arnold was
hated as much as ever. There are several examples of
where the very name, Benedict Arnold, has been
removed from history. Right after his treason,
George Washington decreed that the name Benedict
Arnold would never be mentioned again in anything written about
the army or about the country. They actually went to
the cemetery in Norwich and they removed the father's
gravestone and his brother, who had been born and
died before him. And at Saratoga today,
they have a monument to Benedict Arnold's left leg,
but they don't have his name. The monument says for
the most gallant warrior in the Continental Army. And then on a wooden plaque
outside a wrought iron fence, it says the monument within is
the memory of Benedict Arnold, because there is a law in
America passed by the Congress that you can neither chisel
the name Benedict Arnold or mold it in metal. So, I mean, they
took this guy right off the face of the earth. NARRATOR: Hated in America
and shunned in Britain, Arnold became afflicted with
a nervous disorder, which would eventually take his life. Knowing that the
end was near, Arnold asked Peggy to help him put on
his old Continental uniform one last time. ACTOR AS BENEDICT
ARNOLD: "Let me die in my old American uniform. The uniform in which
I fought my battles. God forgive me for ever
putting on any other." Benedict Arnold, 1801. NARRATOR: Benedict Arnold died
in London on June 14, 1801, soon after, 44-year-old
Peggy Arnold died as well, and they were both laid to rest
at the Cathedral of Battersea. The legend of America's
greatest traitor did not die, and the scorn that Americans
felt for him did not diminish even long after the war. The fact that it
still exists today probably tells us that the
values of loyalty, of country, of patriotism are
still important and they're still deep. You go to West Point, the
site that Arnold was trying to sell, what is the motto? Duty, honor, country. Arnold fell flat in all three. ACTOR AS NATANIS:
"The Dark Eagle comes to claim the wilderness. The wilderness will
yield to the Dark Eagle, but the rock will defy him. The Dark Eagle will
soar aloft to the sun, nations will behold him
and sound his praises, yet when he soars his highness
his fall is most certain. When his wings brush
the sky, then the arrow will pierce his heart." Natanis, chief of
the Abenaki tribe, upon first meeting
Benedict Arnold. [music playing]
