wi: Benedict Arnold resigns his commission

Instead of betraying his country in May 1779 he simply resigns his commission and stays with his wife in Philadelphia for the remainder of the war.
 
Instead of betraying his country in May 1779 he simply resigns his commission and stays with his wife in Philadelphia for the remainder of the war.

Arnold didn't betray his country....he betrayed the rebellious colonials...why would he resign?
 
Negotiation is as old as politics. Washington would probably try to keep him in service as best he could. He's hindered by the fact any offers he makes would have to pass through Congress tho.
 
Arnold didn't betray his country....he betrayed the rebellious colonials...why would he resign?

Arnold did not betray the revolution, the revolution screwed him in payments and career posibilties with gates taking credit all his victories and congress being dicks with their plans, he simple change sides who was to common in europe for generals and solider to change sided in war like know we change soccer Coach and player between season.

If he did decided steep down the revolution but not rejoing the british...the irony is that the continental congress will declare him either a deserter or a traitor and he will be in worse problems that OTL...But history is written by the victors
 
He would likely end up like Lincoln; reviled while he was still alive and deified a generation or two later. History would remember him as the man who saved the Revolution on more than one occasion. He was a war hero after all and that was what made his treason (why is not the issue) so traumatic. It'd be like Patton switching sides and surrendering his army in the process. I chose Patton because both men were fighting generals who stepped on the toes of a few politicians in their day. Of course Patton never would switch sides (though he might start a war with the Soviets) but you get the point.
 
Arnold did not betray the revolution, the revolution screwed him in payments and career posibilties with gates taking credit all his victories and congress being dicks with their plans, he simple change sides who was to common in europe for generals and solider to change sided in war like know we change soccer Coach and player between season.

If he did decided steep down the revolution but not rejoing the british...the irony is that the continental congress will declare him either a deserter or a traitor and he will be in worse problems that OTL...But history is written by the victors

Well, the revolution screwed EVERY soldier in payments. And Congress was, pretty much, dicks to just about everyone in uniform. That didn't cause most of the other officers to switch sides.

There's also the matter of Generals in Europe didn't normally switch sides by letting the new side into the fortress you're charged with holding for the old side. Especially not in the dead of night.

Ja. He was treated very shabbily. That's true. But he also had an ego the size of the entire continent, and a thin skin (emotionally).
 

Redhand

Banned
Instead of betraying his country in May 1779 he simply resigns his commission and stays with his wife in Philadelphia for the remainder of the war.

His wife was kind of the problem. She was loyalist and certainy affected him towards her way of seeing things. Her extravagant tastes drove him towards getting involved in corruption as commander in Philadelphia as his mercantile wealth was gone by this point in the war. She was basically the catalyst for his betrayal as she had contacts in Britiah command, specifically John Andre from when the British held Philadelphia.

Congress may have treated him poorly especially on terms of promotions but the whole Gates thing is overblown as Gates wasnt as completely useless as everyone seems to think and Arnold himself acknowledged this in conversations with Washington, who was arguably his best supporter.
 
He also believed that his actions would be to the benefit of England and the colonies, or so I once read. He believed that the colonies simply could not win, and that his surrendering of West Point to the British would greatly shorten the war, reducing the cost of the war and the loss of life.
 
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