With the passing of time, Benedict Arnold the traitor has overshadowed Benedict Arnold the hero. Those who know of his extraordinary sacrifices for the colonies during the American Revolution are still confounded by his defection to the British side. Fortunately, a wealth of personal and official correspondence exists to document his rise and fall. A Hero and A Spy follows this paper trail to uncover Arnold's driving ambition and the frustrations that led him to carry out the ultimate betrayal. Letters between Arnold and his co-conspirator, John André, reveal the chilling plan to bring America to its knees. Arnold recaptured Fort Ticonderoga from the British, led an army through the wilderness of Maine, took a bullet while attacking Quebec, stopped the British naval forces on Lake Champlain, repelled 2000 British regulars with only 500 militiamen at Ridgefield, and took another bullet while defeating their land forces at Saratoga. Claimed by George Washington to be his "greatest fighting general," he was both a hero and a spy.
Russell M. Lea
(2006), 2008, 5.5" x 8.5", paper, index, 636 pp.
ISBN: 9780788438110
101-L3811
