McGraw Hill, $32.95, 363 pages
Before he betrayed his country…
In September of 2005 I reviewed a novel by James Nelson called Thieves of Mercy for this newspaper. Nelson’s latest work is a dramatic, non-fiction account of Benedict Arnold’s contributions to the success of the American Revolution. The versatile author sets the tone for his book, and his thesis, with a quotation from the great naval historian Alfred Thayer Mahan. “That the Americans were strong enough to impose the capitulation of Saratoga was due to the invaluable year of delay secured to them in 1776 by their little navy on Lake Champlain, created by the indomitable energy and handled with the indomitable courage of the traitor, Benedict Arnold.”
Before the war Arnold is described as an enterprising, intensely competitive ship captain from New Haven, Connecticut, whose business interests took him from Canada to the West Indies. For the first five years of the Revolution he was, as Nelson writes, “the very image of the American citizen-soldier: brave, dedicated and selfless, with a genius for military matters that came not from formal training, which he did not have, but from native ability.”
Nelson’s purpose is not to rehabilitate Benedict Arnold’s image, although after finishing the book readers may feel he is not quite the blackguard history has made him out to be. Instead we experience the early years of the American Revolution through Arnold’s varied and mostly successful efforts. His treason did not occur until 1780, when he gave the plans of West Point to the British. Prior to this time Arnold had made invaluable contributions to the American cause, the most dramatic of which was his incredible trek through present-day Maine to attack Quebec in November of 1775. By 1776 Arnold was on Lake Champlain building a fleet, with which he would oppose a British invasion force from Canada. This was followed the next year by an American victory at the Battle of Saratoga in which Arnold played a leading role before he was seriously wounded.
Military historians may take issue with Nelson’s thesis, which is that a minor naval action on Lake Champlain (also known as the Battle of Valcour Island) could be such important an event so early in the Revolution. Nelson’s point is that although the British were triumphant, their victory came so late in 1776 that they returned to winter quarters in Canada, rather than advance further into New York. The author reminds us that in the 18th century, “by November the campaign season was over.” This delay gave American forces time to reorganize and prepare for the British invasion the following year. America’s victory at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 led to France’s recognition of the United States, which turned the tide of the war.
In his conclusion Nelson writes that if Arnold had died at the Battle of Saratoga, as perhaps he hoped, he would have joined the “pantheon of Revolutionary War heroes” led by George Washington and John Paul Jones.” Unfortunately for Arnold, however, he is instead remembered as one of the most infamous traitors in American history.
Retired from teaching in Philadelphia, Harry Gratwick spends summers on Vinalhaven. His article on the many destinations of Vinalhaven’s fabled granite will appear in the 2007 Island Journal.