Backstabber Report

Benedict Arnold V – First American Backstabber

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He may well be the first American backstabber, defecting to the British shortly after taking the first oath of allegiance given to the members of the Continental Army. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While he was still a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted unsuccessfully to surrender it to the British. After the plot was exposed in September 1780, he entered the British Army as a brigadier general.

Though always to be remembered by Americans as a traitor, some scholars believe that he was driven to his actions due to the political backstabbing he received during his service.

Arnold was a successful battlefield leader, winning engagements against the British that earned him rank and honor early in the American Revolution. However, during his American military career he created political enemies, who passed him over for promotion in favor of their own politically motivated appointments.

He had been brought up on a courts martial charge for malfeasance of funds because he lacked receipts – receipts lost during a hasty retreat from the British – and found himself owing 1000 pounds to the Continental Congress even though he had proven his personal expenditures in support of the war effort far exceeded that amount.

The results of the Courts Martial found him guilty on two counts, while the majority of the other more serious charges resulted in findings of Not Guilty.

The ultimate backstabbing of Arnold may have come from George Washington, himself. One week after congratulating Arnold on the birth of a son, Benedict Arnold VI, Washington wrote a disparaging letter in evaluating Arnold, thus almost assuredly ending Arnold’s military career. By Arnold’s recount, Washington had promised that no derogatory letter would be written, but again, politics may have played a role in Washington’s decision to reverse an earlier decision.

Benedict Arnold went on to successfully win battles against the American Continental Army, avoiding standing orders issued by Washington to summarily hang him if he were captured.

Arnold found little success after returning to England where he lived out the remainder of his life. The majority of the British leadership thought him untrustworthy, a turncoat, and a backstabber to a cause he fought for so exceedingly well, until he met with an unsuccessful personal career.