Giving credit where credit is due

Benedict Arnold was a savior of the American Revolution. It was his brilliant leadership during the Saratoga campaign in 1777 that won the day(s), thus precipitating the entry of France into the war on the side of the Colonials, which eventually ensured ultimate victory, later, at Yorktown in 1781.

Earlier, He led an epic trek through the Maine wilderness to attack Quebec. Trudgeing through waist deep frigid water for hundreds of miles, half of his force succumbed to the elements or deserted before reaching Canada. Faced with the imminent expiration of most of his soldiers enlistments, Arnold then decided upon a desperate measure- a midnight assault during a snowstorm. It was repulsed, yet has gone down in military history as one of the most magnificent failures of all time.

Controversy remains over Arnolds exact role at the Saratoga battles- was he in the field, romantically leading from the front line on horseback, waving a saber; or was he in the rear,with his commanding officer, absorbing the situation as it unfolded,helping to direct the battle(s) with the knowledge that can only come from a wider view ? Either way the achievement ranks high, and its unfortunate his commanding Generals and the Congress never recognized his valor ... thus leading him to betray us.

His wife's connivance and extravagance pushed him toward his final decision.