Life and Treason of Benedict Arnold

by Jared Sparks

The suspicions excited in his patriotic breast, by these and other indications of the temper and views of Congress, were more than confirmed when the treaty with France was ratified. He was shocked to find his country, by the folly and duplicity of its pretended leaders, thus tied to its "proud, ancient, and crafty foe, the enemy of the Protestant faith, who fraudulently avows an affection for the liberties of mankind, while she holds her native sons in vassalage and chains." His virtuous spirit could not brook such an enormity. From that hour he resolved to abandon a cause, sustained by iniquity and controlled by usurpers, in which he could no longer act with that pure and disinterested aim for the public good, which had always been the ruling motive of his conduct. He retained his arms and command only for a suitable opportunity to surrender them to his King in such a manner, that he might accomplish an event of decisive importance with the least effusion of blood.

"With respect to that herd of censurers," said he in conclusion, "whose enmity to me originates in their hatred to the principles by which I am now led to devote my life to the reunion of the British empire, as the best and only means to dry up the streams of misery, that have deluged this country, they may be assured, that, conscious of the rectitude of my intentions, I shall treat their malice and calumnies with contempt and neglect." Such was the tenor of Arnold's Address to his former fellow citizens of the United States. His next performance was a Proclamation to the officers and soldiers of the Continental army, particularly those who had "the real interest of their country at heart, and who were determined to be no longer the tools and dupes of Congress and of France." All such he invited to come over to the King's standard, holding out as a temptation, that they should be clothed, subsisted, and paid like the other troops in the British service, and receive the value of any horses, arms, or accoutrements, which they might bring with them. A bounty of three guineas was offered to every non-commissioned officer and private. Officers were to obtain rank in proportion to that which they had formerly held, and to the number of men who should accompany them. It was expected, that a colonel would bring with him or recruit in a reasonable time seventy-five men, a major fifty, a captain thirty, and a lieutenant fifteen. They were moreover to have the inestimable privilege of fighting for "true American liberty," which had so long been denied to them by their oppressors.

In its other topics the proclamation was little else than a repetition of the address. Abusive epithets were profusely applied to Congress and the French. The soldiers were told, that they had been robbed of their property, imprisoned, and dragged against their will to the field of battle; that they were the prey of avarice, the scorn of their enemies, and the pity of their friends; that America had become a land of widows, orphans, and beggars; and that no security any longer remained even for the consolations of that religion, for which their fathers had braved the ocean, the heathen, and the wilderness. Rising in the climax of absurdity, he goes on to say; "can you at this day want evidence, that the funds of your country are exhausted, or that the managers have applied them to their own private use? In either case you surely can no longer continue in their service with honor or advantage. Yet you have hitherto been their supporters in that cruelty, which, with an equal indifference to yours, as well as the labor and blood of others, is devouring a country, that, from the moment you quit their colors, will be redeemed from their tyranny."

By appeals like these were the American soldiers called upon to desert their country, and rally under the banner of a traitor, who had sought the ruin of themselves, their friends, and the cause for which they had long borne arms and often exposed their lives. Such appeals would appear incredible even from so desperate and degraded a man, had not the infirmity of his understanding already been proved to be on a level with the depravity of his heart. The only wonder is, that a measure of such imbecile malevolence and hopeless folly should be sanctioned by the British commander, and published from day to day in the gazettes issued under his authority. How was it possible for him not to perceive, that the effect would be contrary to his interests and wishes? Who would join a traitor? Who would deliberately seek disgrace and infamy? And, above all, who would be cajoled by falsehood and malignity, as undisguised as they were audacious and wicked?

Well informed as to the actual condition, principles, and feelings of the American soldiers, and aware that his proclamation would only excite indignation and disgust, Arnold adopted another expedient to keep his new friends in good humor, and convince them that in him they had gained an important acquisition. He represented to Sir Henry Clinton, that the bounty was much too small, and recommended an increase to ten guineas. He said the American soldiers were chiefly prevented from deserting, by the loss they would sustain in forfeiting their arrears of pay, which had now become large, on account of the poverty of the country and the wretched state of the American finances. Ten guineas he thought would dissolve this tie, and bring over as many deserters as could be desired.

As the bounty was prescribed by the government, and Sir Henry had no authority to allow more than three guineas, Arnold immediately wrote to the ministry, and laid his proposition before them, supporting it by such arguments as he could draw from his invention. In replying to Sir Henry Clinton on the subject, Lord George Germain said he did not think the amount of the proposed sum an objection to it, considering the vast importance of increasing the British army by a corresponding diminution of that under Washington; but he foresaw a very serious evil in the operation of the scheme, since it would tempt deserters to come over for the sake of the bounty, who, having pocketed the ten guineas, would find their way back again as soon as possible to the American camp. To avert this consequence, the minister suggested, that no more than the usual sum of three guineas should be paid at first, and the remaining seven when the regiment, to which the deserter was attached, should be reduced, or at the end of the war. Officers he thought should be liberally rewarded, especially if they brought with them the men they had before commanded.

Many were supposed to be deterred from desertion by the fear of recapture. To obviate this difficulty, a project was set on foot for organizing them into regiments to be employed in the West Indies, or on the Spanish Main. This was favorable to Arnold's views, and it was approved by the King. No harm could result from it; and nearly the same benefits would accrue, as if they were engaged immediately under Sir Henry Clinton, since it would enable him to draw from the West Indies a corresponding force. But why it should be thought, that an American soldier would be allured from his home by the bounty of ten guineas and the almost certain prospect of finding a grave in a tropical climate, is not apparent. The experiment seems never to have been tried.

In short, there is no evidence that Arnold met with any success in his attempts to recruit from the American army. A few deserters and refugees, already within the British lines and not united with any corps, and particularly officers desirous of place and employment, nominally constituted his regiment, which was never so far completed as to be known either for its numbers or exploits.

The sentiments of the British cabinet, in regard to the defection of Arnold, may be gathered from the minister's first letter to him after that event.

"I have the pleasure to acquaint you," says Lord George Germain, "that his Majesty was graciously pleased to express his satisfaction in the demonstration you have given of the sincerity of your return to your allegiance, and of your earnest desire to atone for past errors by a zealous attachment to his royal person and government in future. And his Majesty has been graciously pleased to command me to signify to Sir Henry Clinton his royal approbation of the rank he has given you in the army under his command, and of his having appointed you to raise a corps.