WI: Benedict Arnold doesn't turn coat?
- Thread starter oshron
- Start date
If he stays on with the army long-term he would definitely be kept busy in Ohio with the wars against the local tribes. If he calms down a bit with age and lives long enough I could see him as an instructor or possibly the first superintendant of the military academy at West Point which, if he lives long enough, could have considerable impact later on.
Incidentally, I just came across a prophetic warning from Lord North about what an American victory would mean. "If America should grow into a separate empire, and if Europe did not support Britain now, it would one day find itself ruled by America imbued by democratic fanaticism."
Yea, this is obviously a guy who thought the Americans were fighting for taxes.
i decided to finally go and write up a short biography of Arnold ITTL and this is what i came up with. before i make it final, i want to get some second opinions:
Benedict Arnold (January 14 1741 - June 14 1801) was an American general who fought for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary Wars; he was one of the highest commanders of the Continental Army, a personal favorite of George Washington who gave him command of half the Revolutionaries' forces. Born in [Connecticut], Arnold was a merchant who was operating ships on the Atlantic Ocean at the time of the war's outbreak in 1775. After joining the Revolutionary army outside of Boston, he distinguished himself with acts of intelligence and bravery, including the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, excellent tactics in the Battle of Quebec at the close of 1775 and the Battle of Valcour Island despite losing the latter, the Battle of Ridgefield which saw him promoted to major general, operations in relieving the Siege of Fort Stanwix, and key actions during the Battles of Saratoga. Saratoga was a major turning point in Arnold's military career, as he was forced to take command of the American forces after Horatio Gates was killed by a stray cannonball on September 19, at the beginning of the First Battle. In the Second Battle, on October 7, Arnold led a daring cavalry charge against the [British] forces, only for his horse to be shot out from under him, and Arnold himself received gunshot wounds that left him permanently lame in one arm. Despite his successes, Arnold was passed over for promotion by the Continental Congress until 1780, when Washington insisted that he be given greater recognition after the dismissal of Charles Lee. His contributions to the war effort following this were mostly centered on the South, particularly at both of the Battles of Camden. Following the end of the war in 1783, Arnold was reassigned to the Ohio Territory, where he led American forces against local native tribes such as the Shawnee until 1789 before retiring from active duty to become the first superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 1800, he campaigned for the presidency as a Federalist against Thomas Jefferson, but narrowly lost the election and passed away the following summer.
what do you all think?
EDIT: silly me, i forgot to mention one of the previous changes to the TL in the original text
you all may have noticed some parts of the text above enclosed in brackets; that's because i'm inserting OTL names for the ease of understanding, and the original text has different names for both Connecticut and the British
Benedict Arnold (January 14 1741 - June 14 1801) was an American general who fought for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary Wars; he was one of the highest commanders of the Continental Army, a personal favorite of George Washington who gave him command of half the Revolutionaries' forces. Born in [Connecticut], Arnold was a merchant who was operating ships on the Atlantic Ocean at the time of the war's outbreak in 1775. After joining the Revolutionary army outside of Boston, he distinguished himself with acts of intelligence and bravery, including the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, excellent tactics in the Battle of Quebec at the close of 1775 and the Battle of Valcour Island despite losing the latter, the Battle of Ridgefield which saw him promoted to major general, operations in relieving the Siege of Fort Stanwix, and key actions during the Battles of Saratoga. Saratoga was a major turning point in Arnold's military career, as he was forced to take command of the American forces after Horatio Gates was killed by a stray cannonball on September 19, at the beginning of the First Battle. In the Second Battle, on October 7, Arnold led a daring cavalry charge against the [British] forces, only for his horse to be shot out from under him, and Arnold himself received gunshot wounds that left him permanently lame in one arm. Despite his successes, Arnold was passed over for promotion by the Continental Congress until 1780, when Washington insisted that he be given greater recognition after the dismissal of Charles Lee. His contributions to the war effort following this were mostly centered on the South, particularly at both of the Battles of Camden. Following the end of the war in 1783, Arnold was reassigned to the Ohio Territory, where he led American forces against local native tribes such as the Shawnee until 1789 before retiring from active duty to become the first superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 1800, he campaigned for the presidency as a Federalist against Thomas Jefferson, but narrowly lost the election and passed away the following summer.
what do you all think?
EDIT: silly me, i forgot to mention one of the previous changes to the TL in the original text
you all may have noticed some parts of the text above enclosed in brackets; that's because i'm inserting OTL names for the ease of understanding, and the original text has different names for both Connecticut and the British
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Interesting notion. Though the compulsive nitpicker in me wonders why cavalry?
Also, I've never heard of being lame in an arm before.
Otherwise, I think it looks like a reasonable sum up.
Actually being lame in the arm is a perfectly valid descriptor for if you lose the use of one of your arms.
Grimbald
Monthly Donor
Quebec
Arnold might have been successful enough in the northern front to make the St Lawrence River and the NB/NS border the Canada/US border.
Later efforts against the Indians night have set up the US to take southern Ontario in the War of 1812 or perhaps avoid the war all together.
Arnold might have been successful enough in the northern front to make the St Lawrence River and the NB/NS border the Canada/US border.
Later efforts against the Indians night have set up the US to take southern Ontario in the War of 1812 or perhaps avoid the war all together.
which actually works out very well, because the TL that i plan to use this version of Arnold in entails huge annexations of *Canada to the US following the War of 1812 (though not actually southern Ontario
)