Benedict Arnold and Major John André

On October 7, 1777, Benedict Arnold rode out against orders and led an American assault against British forces led by General John Burgoyne in one of the climactic battles and ultimate turning point of the war at Saratoga. Near the end of the most important American victory of the Revolution, Arnold’s leg was shattered by a volley that also hit his horse, which fell on the leg as well.

Arnold would later remark that he wish the shot had hit him in the chest. If it had, Benedict Arnold would be remembered as one of America’s greatest war heroes, and probably second only to George Washington among the generals of the Revolution. In fact, when Arnold was injured at the height of his success in October 1777, he had been the most successful leader of American forces during the war. Arnold had been instrumental in the seizure of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, he constructed the first makeshift American navy to defend Lake Champlain and delay British campaigning in 1776, and he was the principal leader at Saratoga in 1777. Even his unsuccessful campaign to Quebec in the winter of 1775 is remembered primarily for the amazing logistical feats undertaken by Arnold and his men to even reach the target.

History has accorded Arnold his fair share of credit for the fighting he participated in from 1775-1777. The problem is his contemporaries did not. Arnold was better on the field than any other American general in those years, but his mercurial personality rubbed some the wrong way, and other self-promoting generals, from Ethan Allen to Horatio Gates, credited themselves with success at Arnold’s expense.

Spying and treachery are as much a part of warfare as weapons and death. This has always been the case since the earliest battles and is not likely to change in the future. And yet, even within this irregular system, there are certain rules, especially in past eras such as the American Revolution. First, while spying on behalf of one’s country is perfectly respectable, betraying one’s nation is treason. Second, honorable men do not involve those too innocent to understand the consequences of their actions in their schemes. Third, no man wearing his own uniform can be considered a spy, for his garments make it clear who he is and preclude deception. All three of these rules played into the story of Major John André.

He was raised by devoutly religious parents and was a loyal Englishman and solid officer in His Majesty’s army. He had, it was rumored, an unfortunate romantic liaison that ended with a cancelled engagement, and during the early days of the American Revolutionary War, he had served his king in Canada before being captured and held as a prisoner of war. Once he was returned to his command, he was promoted in recognition of his strength of character under duress.
His reputation was so sterling, in fact, that he was given a very sensitive role, that of gathering intelligence for the British Army as they tried to put down the rebellious American colonies. This assignment, and an alleged relationship with a beautiful young Loyalist in Philadelphia named Peggy Shippen, would lead him to none other than Benedict Arnold.
In one of the most controversial and scrutinized episodes of the war, Arnold married Peggy Shippen despite her Loyalist sympathies, and while Arnold was willing to break the first rule, André broke the second rule by using Shippen to pass messages, possibly even playing on her own affections for him.

Ultimately, it was in breaking the third rule of espionage that André made his fatal mistake, for when he met near West Point to facilitate Arnold’s betrayal, he changed his clothes one fateful night in September 1780, changing his destiny. The Americans who caught him had far more respect for him than they did for their turncoat countryman. In the end, they agreed with Washington himself, who insisted that he was “more unfortunate than criminal."