Colonel Arnold

Benedict Arnold, then a colonel in the Continental Army, gestures with his right hand toward a view of Quebec, Canada, in this mezzotint print published in London on March 26, 1776. Arnold was well known at the time for successfully leading American troops through a challenging wilderness route and attacking British-held Quebec in December 1775. Severely wounded during the battle, Arnold earned a promotion to major general. By July 1779, however, Arnold had switched allegiances and was secretly providing military information to the British; in 1780 he became a brigadier general in the British Army and led a series of attacks in Virginia.