Benedict Arnold, next to
Washington himself, was probably the most brilliant and
resourceful soldier of the Revolution. Washington so trusted him
that, when the dark days at Valley Forge were over, he placed him
in command of the recaptured federal capital. Today the name of
Arnold would rank high in the memory of a grateful country had he
not fallen into the bottomless pit of treason. The same is in
some measure true of Charles Lee, who was freed by the British in
an exchange of prisoners and joined Washington at Valley Forge
late in the spring of 1778. Lee was so clever with his pen as to
be one of the reputed authors of the Letters of Junius. He had
served as a British officer in the conquest of Canada, and later
as major general in the army of Poland. He had a jealous and
venomous temper and could never conceal the contempt of the
professional soldier for civilian generals. He, too, fell into
the abyss of treason. Horatio Gates, also a regular soldier, had
served under Braddock and was thus at that early period a comrade
of Washington. Intriguer he was, but not a traitor. It was
incompetence and perhaps cowardice which brought his final ruin.
Europe had thousands of unemployed officers some of whom had had
experience in the Seven Years' War and many turned eagerly to
America for employment.
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