Writing Resources
Benedict Arnold ultimately renounced his loyalty to America because he had no support and he was slighted and overlooked too many times He executed the tragic action in hopes for a better life in England and he specifically wanted a commision in the British armed forces to have a chance to show his native country what a mistake they have made He unfortunately did not have the foresight to know that Britain would never fully trust a traitor and he just sort of faded away after his new life began never capturing respect and recognition from his new country either Arnold realized this and it was the inspiration for this unverifiable deathbed quote in 1801 Let me die in this old uniform in which I fought my battles May God forgive me for ever having put on another Though the underappreciation of his efforts may have been the leading cause of his want to desert it was certainly a combination of all the uncertainty in his life that pushed him over the edge Having to supply for five kids and his new wife who was so demanding forced him to take the easy way out and leave his debt behind Not to mention this was his loyalist wife who had known John Andre and was also influential in Arnolds final decision to turn over West Point She helped in the exchange of the letters between them
