Did Benedict Arnold Make Decisions

Benedict Arnold is one of the most infamous traitors in history, particularly the Revolutionary War. Arnold's name is coined as a traitor and has been a great controversial debate. With Arnold's hard decision in battle tactics, the choices he has made led to a huge victory for the Americans. So, without Benedict Arnold's bravery and courage, could the U.S. have won the Revolutionary War? Where would America be today if Arnold didn't make the decisions he did in battle? On January 14,1741, Benedict Arnold was born to a well off family. A sea-captain and merchant for a father and a widow for a mother. Arnold throughout his life has had to make hard decisions, for in 1752, at age eleven, Arnold was sent away to boarding school. Arnold

Acting under a commission from the revolutionary government of Massachusetts, Arnold partnered with Vermont frontiersman Ethan Allen and Allen’s Green Mountain Boys to capture the unsuspecting British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York on May 10, 1775. Later that year, Arnold led an ill-fated expedition on a trek from Maine to Quebec. The purpose of the expedition was to rally the inhabitants of Canada behind the Patriot cause and deprive the British government. With the enlistments of many of his men expiring on New Year’s Day, Arnold had no choice but to launch a desperate attack against well-fortified Quebec City through a blizzard on December 31, 1775. Early in the battle, Arnold received a grave wound to his leg and was carried to the back of the battlefield. The assault continued, but failed miserably. Hundreds of American soldiers were killed, wounded or captured, and Canada remained in British

The antipathy was mutual, and Gates at one point relieved Arnold of his command. Nonetheless, at the pivotal Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7, 1777, Arnold defied Gates’ authority and took command of a group of American soldiers whom he led in an assault against the British line. Arnold’s attack threw the enemy into disarray and contributed greatly to the American victory. Ten days later, Burgoyne surrendered his entire army at Saratoga. News of the surrender convinced France to enter the war on the side of the Americans. Once again, Arnold had brought his country a step closer to independence. However, Gates downplayed Arnold’s contributions in his official reports and claimed most of the credit for himself.
Meanwhile, Arnold seriously wounded the same leg he had injured at Quebec in the battle. Rendered temporarily incapable of a field command, he accepted the position of military governor of Philadelphia in 1778. While there, his loyalties began to