PeopleQuiz is Trivia and Biography Quizzes about Famous People. Always free - play unregistered or, Register and Login to submit quizzes and save your scores. Comment in our trivia blog & browse mini-biographies.
Briefly General in the Continental Army during the American Revolution known today for his infamous act of treason: plotting to surrender the American fort at West Point, New York, to the British.
Benedict Arnold was a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Known today for his infamous act of treason, Arnold had distinguished himself as a hero of the revolution early in the war through acts of cunning and bravery at Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 and at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. Arnold strongly opposed the decision by the Continental Congress to form an alliance with France, having experienced a bitter defeat at the hands of the French and their Indian allies during the French and Indian War (1754?1763).
Disaffected due to grievances with the Continental Congress and the military; suffering from mounting personal debt, and facing corruption charges filed by the Pennsylvania civil authorities, Arnold also faced pressure at home from his wife Margaret, a British Loyalist. In 1780 he formed a plot to surrender the fort at West Point, New York to the British. This would have given British forces control of the Hudson River valley and split the colonies in half. The plot was thwarted, but Arnold successfully evaded capture by the Continental army and fled to England. He was given a commission as Brigadier General in the British Army along with a reduced award of ?6,000 sterling.
Today, the name Benedict Arnold has become synonymous with the word "traitor" in the United States.
