Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-05-30
BENEDICT ARNOLD'S TREASON.
A New and Important COntri-
button to Our ReVOlus
tiOnary History.

AAo DEltABA commanders Account OF
His Negotiations with the Traitor
His Arrangements Of Washington for
Hanging Andre.
The following account of the plot of
Arnold to surrender his command and
several important forts to the British,
and Of the hanging of Andre, written
by Sir Henry Clinton, the British
Commander, with whom Arnold was
negotiating, has recently been publish
ed, for the first time:
"About eighteen months before the
present period, Mr.. Arnold Ia Major
General IN the American service) had
found means to intimate to me, that
having found cause to be dissatisfied
with many late proceedings of the
American Congress, particularly their
alliance with France, he was desirous
Of quitting them and joining the cause
OF Great Britain, could he be certain of
personal security, and Naturalization
for whatever loss of property he might
thereby sustain. An overture Of that
sort coming from an officer of Mr..
ArnOld's ability and fame, could not
but attract my attention, and as
thought it possible that like another
General, Monk, he might have repented
Of the part he had taken, and wished
to make atonement for the injuries he
had done his country by rendering her
signal and adequate benefit, l was, Of
course, liberal, IN making him such Of
ters and promises as l judged most
likely to encourage him in his present
temper. A correspondence was after
this opened under feigned names; in the
course of which, he from time to time,
transmitted TO me most material intel
hgence; and with a view las I supposed
Of rendering US still more essential
service, he obtained in July, 1850, the
command Of all the enemy's forts in
the Highlands, then garrisOned by
about 1000 men. The local Importance
Of the post has already been very
fully described. 1t Is therefore scarce
" necessary to observe how that the
obtaining possession Of them at the
present critical period would have been
a most desirable circumstance; and
that the advantages to be drawn from
Mr.. ArnOld's having the command Of
them, struck me with full force, the in
slant l heard of his appointment. But
the arrival Of the French armament,
the consequent expedition to Rhode
Island, and the weakness Of my own
force, together with the, then daily in
crease Of Mr.. WashingtOn's obliged me
to wait for some more favorable oppor- |
tunity before l attempted to put that |
gentleman's sincerity to the proof.
I'm the mean time, wishing to re- |
duce to an absolute certainty whether /!
the person l had so long correspondent /
with was actually Mai. Gen. Arnold, |
at West Point, [ acceded !
to a proposal he made me to permit |
some officer IN my confidence to have a |
conference with him, where /
every thing might be more explicitly |
settled than it was possible to DO by |
letter, and as he required that my Ad- |
jutaut General, Maj. Andre who had /
chiefly conducted the correspondence |
with him under the signature of John
should meet him for this /
on neutral ground, 1 was in
dUced to consent TO his doing so from
my great confidence IN that officers |
prudence and address. Some attempts /
towards a meeting had been according
ly made before Sir George ROdney's ar
rival. But though the plans had been
well laid, they were constantly frustra-
ted by some Untoward accident or
other, one ofwhich had very nearly cost
Mr.. Arnold his life. These disappOint-
ments made him Of course cautious; and
as l now became anxious to forward the
execution of my project while l could
have that naval chiefs assistance, and
under so good a mask as the expedition
for the Chesapeake, which enabled me
to make every requisite preparation
without being suspected, l consented |
to another proposal from General Ar
mold for Major Andre to 90 to him by
water from Dobb's ferry, In a boat |
which he would himself send for him
under a flag Of truce. For l couldhave |
no reason to suspect that any bad con-
could possibly result to Mai. |
Andre from such a mode, as I had /
given it in charge to him, not change |
has dress or name on GHy account, or |
possess himself of writings by which |
the nature of his embassy might be |
traced, and l understood that after his
business was finished he was to be sent |
back in the same way. But unhapplly /
none Of these precautions were observed; |
on the contrary, General Arnold, |
for reasons which he Judged i'm
portant or perhaps (which Is
the most probable) losing at the
his presence of mind, thought |
proper to drop the design of sending
Major Andre back by water, and pre-
vailed upon him lOr rather compelled
him, as would appear by that unfortu-
nate officers letter to me- to part with
his uniform, and under a borrowed dis
guIse to take a circuitOus route to New /
York through the posts of the enemy /
under the sanction of his passport. /
The consequence was las might be ex-
pected) that he was stopped at larry |
town and searched, and certain papers
being found about him concealed he |
Mas notwithstanding his passport car
RED prisoner before Mr.. Washington, |
to whom he candidly acknowled ged his
name and quality. Measures were of
course Immediately taken upon this to
seize Gen. Arnold; but that officer, being
fortunate enough to receive timely no.
tice Of Major Andres fate, effected his
escape to a Kings slOOp lying off Tai
ler's point, and came the next day to
New York.
q was exceedingly shocked by this |
very unexpected accident which not /
only ruined a most important project,
which had all the appearance of being
IN a happy train Of success, out in
volved in danger and distress a con
friend for whom l had very
the warmest esteem. Not |
knowing, however, the
full extent Of the misfortune, l did not
then imagine the enemy could have |
any motive for pushing matters to ex-
tremity, as the bare detention of so /
valuable an officers person might have
given him great power and advantage |
over me; and l was accordingly in /
hopes that an official demand from me
for his immediate release, as having
been under tie sanction Of a flag Of |
truce when he landed within his posts