“The Real Benedict Arnold,” by Jim Murphy
Clarion Books, New York, 2007, 264 pages, Grades 6-9.
Our late Bishop Glennon Flavin once stated in a Legion of Mary meeting that “no one gets to heaven by themselves, and no one gets to hell by themselves.”
So how do people make important decisions? Is it their own doing or do others have a responsibility in the decisions? These are the basic questions that established nonfiction writer Jim Murphy asks about Benedict Arnold. Is he just a disgusting traitor, or is there more to the story? Who was he and what motivated him to betray his country? Murphy attempts to unravel this complicated knot.
The Arnold family had been a leading family in New England for a century before the American Revolution. But over time, the family becomes impoverished. Young Benedict grew up during these unhappy times and was affected by them. He develops a temperament that is quick to become angry over personal or familial slights. It doesn’t matter if they are real or imagined. With a chip on his shoulder, Benedict fights his way through life. This choleric personality makes many people resent him.
By force of character, Arnold builds a successful business in New Haven, Connecticut. But the taxes imposed upon the American Colonies by the Crown in the 1770s nearly bankrupt him. When the American Revolution begins, Benedict Arnold becomes an avid patriot and rises quickly in General George Washington’s army to the rank of general. He turns into a brilliant battlefield commander capable of using daring tactics at the Second Battle of Saratoga that saves the Revolution from collapsing.
While he has Washington’s full confidence, Arnold makes repeated enemies with members of the Continental Congress and leaders in the city of Philadelphia. In many cases, he is not to blame but inflames ill will by bluntly confronting the legislators over their greedy actions. This creates a poisonous atmosphere with many legislators and some generals.
Badly wounded twice in combat, General Arnold has contempt for many of his growing number of enemies. His character is repeatedly maligned in public and Congress refuses to pay him the money he is owed for paying for the upkeep of his army. His thin-skinned personality is repeatedly abused when less competent men are made major generals in the Continental Army. He believes that many people hate him, and he is largely correct in his assessment. The one joy in his life at this time is his marriage to Peggy Shippen, the wealthy daughter of a loyalist family in Philadelphia.
Shuttled to the sidelines by his enemies, he feels abandoned by Washington when he is convicted on trumped-up charges at a military court martial. He must publicly apologize for his nonexistent military failings. He broods for months over this public humiliation and then seems to make the fatal decision to betray the country by turning over the important fort at West Point to the British. The English intermediary in the treason is Major John Andre. Through chance, Arnold escapes, Andre is captured, and Washington reads all the treasonous letters of Benedict Arnold. Utterly crushed, Washington exclaims: “Arnold has betrayed me. Who can we trust now?” (p. 214)
How does this sordid saga end? What happens to Benedict Arnold? What 30 pieces of silver do the British give him for treasonous acts? What becomes of Major John Andre? Why was General Washington so impressed with the young officer? And finally, who is to blame for this terrible act?
Why was Bishop Flavin so accurate in saying that no one goes to heaven or hell without help from others?
I hope you get a chance to read this outstanding book, “The Real Benedict Arnold,” by Jim Murphy.
