Posted on 06/30/2006 7:03:46 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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BUMP
It was genius
As a commander Arnold was brilliant, but he let his bitterness get the better of him and the rest is history. Still a cool find, though!
Agreed. And, ultimately received the very same perceived treatment from his new British counterparts.
A&E broadcast a made-for-tv film on Benedict Arnold, starring Aidan Quinn as Arnold, approx. five years ago. I actually felt sorry for the traitor by the end of the film, his was a pathetic life.
If I remember correctly, there's a small monument near the site of the battle, opposite Valcour Island, on the New York side of the lake.
I guess the thing to do with Arnold is to remember that "Once a traitor, always a traitor..." isn't true.
He wasn't a traitor at all when he carried out his spectacular heroics at Montreal and Quebec, and Valcour Island, nor when he provoked the Americans to fight at Saratoga, ensuring the victory that Gates may well have let slip through his fingers. He was an American hero at all of those battles. They are not tainted by treason.
Then came his fall, without redemption. But that's later.
When he won his great victories, he was a hero. And in truth he was the best American field commander of the war.
Take a moment to silently thank our nations
TRUE Patriots on this July 4th, 2006God Bless America
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education.
They had security, but they valued liberty more.
Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged:
"For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor".They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War.
We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!
Some of us take these liberties so much for granted.....we shouldn't.
So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots...
I will. Thanks for the great post.
The naval war in Lake Champlain saved the Union.
The Smithsonian had a fantastic exhibit in 1995 with a gunboat they had raised from Lake Champlain.
Unfortunately, the schoolgirls who were there with me weren't impressed.
Despite the cannonball lodged in the hull.
Chicks.
The Short List--for subjects of more limited appeal and/or limited to Northeast region (Freepmail me to get ON or OFF the Short List):
Here's the traitorous b*stard (but a brave fighter when he was in it):
LOL! You got that right.
Happy Fourth of July to everyone.
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