Benedict+Arnold's+Treason+at+West+Point





[[image:benedict_arnold.jpg width="120" height="124" align="left" caption="B. Arnold"]] Benedict Arnold:
=== Benedict Arnold was born on January 14th, 1741. He was a general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He started out as a merchant on ships on the east coast during this time a war broke out so he joined the militia and was a distinguished soldier because of his bravery and leadership. At the beginning of the Revolution, Benedict Arnold was one of the bravest.Benedict was one of the smartest generals in American history, he tricked the British into thinking that thousands and thousands of American forces were heading to Fort Schuyler. There were really less than a thousand were going to the fort. The Americans entered the fort with no enemy, thanks to Benedict Arnold's trick.Benedict Arnold was in charge of West Point and he took that as an insult. So he started to plan TREASON. He was planning to just give up the fort when the British would arrive to attack it. ===

[|Major John Andre]was a British army officer who was hanged as a spy during the American Revolutionary War. They hung him because he helped Benedict Arnold attempt to surrender to the British. In 1779 Andre became a general of the [|brithish army] in america with the rank of major. In april of that year he took charge of [|British secret intelligence]. By he next year he had begun to plot with General Benedict Arnold. Arnold had an loyalist wife who's name was [|Peggy Shippen], was a close freind of andres and possibly a [|mistress]. She was one of the go-betweens in the correspondance.
 * Major John Andre**

GETTING CAUGHT To aide andres escape through american lines, arnold provided him with common clothes and a passport and traveled under the nme [|John Anderson]. hidden in his stocking he bore six papers written in arnolds hand that showed british how to take the fort. andre rode on in safetly until 9 am on september 23 when he came near terrytown New York wher armed militia man [|john paulding]and [|isaac wart]stopped him. He was searched and then bendict arnold got screwed because his name was all over the papers. Andre told the people who caught him that he was a british officer and was not to b detained when to his surprise they said they were americans snf that he was their prisoner. they searched him and found arnolds papers in his stocking.

For a while arnold was not suspected of this crime because he was not suspected as some one to do this kind of thing because he was a high ranking war hero. No one suspected him to be a turn coat but then [|Major Benjamin Tallmadge], head of the continental arm intelligence arrived and pursuaded he people to bring he prisoner back. he was skeptical of arnold commiting treason but he saw the papers and he sent a note to arnold. the note gave arnold about an hour to escape the to the british right after he left [|washington] arrived with his party and secured west point and the brithish never took it over.