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A Prank Led to America’s First Nominated Female to Office, and Other Lesser Known American History Facts

Khalid Elhassan December 13, 2019 33 min

7. Resentment at Lack of Recognition Started Arnold on the Road to Treason

In 1776, an enterprising Benedict Arnold constructed a fleet from scratch at Lake Champlain, which he used to defeat a vastly superior British fleet. While lionized as a hero by the public, his successes, rash courage, and driving style aroused the jealousy and resentment of other officers. So they backbit and schemed against Arnold.

When Congress created five new major generals in 1777, Arnold was stung when he was bypassed in favor of some of his juniors. It took George Washington’s personal pleas and entreaties to keep him from handing in his resignation. Soon thereafter, he repelled a British attack in Connecticut, and was finally promoted to major general, but Arnold’s seniority was not restored – another slight that ate at him. He tried to resign again, but was again talked into sticking around.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.