Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold was one of the Continental army’s most energetic commanders during the American Revolutionary War. He played important roles at Fort Ticonderoga, Lake Champlain and Saratoga but believed that Congress and fellow officers denied him recognition and reimbursement. In 1780 he secretly agreed to surrender West Point to the British; the plot failed after the capture of John André, and Arnold escaped to serve as a British brigadier.

Kenneth Roberts’s Rabble in Arms offers a sympathetic fictional treatment of Arnold before his treason, emphasising his military courage and grievances. He also appears in broad Revolutionary narratives such as Jeff Shaara’s Rise to Rebellion and The Glorious Cause. Novelists repeatedly ask how a genuine patriot and effective soldier became the most enduring American symbol of betrayal.

Diana Gabaldon’s An Echo in the Bone is set in 1777, Jamie and Claire enter the American Revolutionary War while their relatives are scattered across both sides of the Atlantic.