George Washington Wanted Revenge On Benedict Arnold
George Washington As my regular readers already know, I write about anything that I find interesting. Sometimes articles have to do with science, aircraft, or even the earth. Other times it might be history, famous people or weapons. Today I have written about a little known event involving George Washington, Benedict Arnold and a sergeant in the Continental Army named Champe. Most of us, when we think of George Washington, think of a man who was very calm and purposeful in his actions. A man that was not rattled by anything. Sometimes people's outward demeanor does not reflect their inner feelings. Washington was one of those people. He had been very disturbed by the desertion of Benedict Arnold and was seething inside over this, even though to look at him you would never know this. He had managed to capture Arnold's aide and had no problem with the death sentence. Washington wanted to get his hands on Arnold in the worst way. Arnold had been a very important general in the Continental Army and a very successful one. He was a very egotistical man, who felt that he never got the credit that he was due for his successful tactics. He was partly correct, sometimes others got the accolades that he deserved, but is this a reason to desert your country? This is something that happens all the time. Anyway, somewhere along the way he felt that the British would appreciate his leadership more and he and a few of his men went over to the side of the crown, where he was made a general in the British army. It was just too easy for him to switch sides and start killing his former comrades and maybe it was better that he did it when he did, rather than have him do it during one of the very important battles that could have changed the war.
Benedict Arnold Washington felt betrayed and not only that, he had lost his most efficient general. Yes there was no denying it, Arnold was the best general we had. This ate at Washington and he discussed it at length with one of his majors, a man named Lee, who was in charge of about 200 men, some of which were mounted dragoons and the others infantry. The unit was called the Light Horse Corps. Lee contacted Washington some time later and put forth an idea, it was a plan actually. He told Washington that he had this plan where one of his men would desert from the unit and convince the British to take him in, after all there were people deserting quite often and this should not seem unusual to them. He told Washington that he already found a civilian who would contact the soldier from time to time and when the time was right, the two of them would kidnap Arnold and bring him back for punishment. Washington approved the plan pending the acceptance by the soldier. The soldier was Sergeant Major John Champe. Champe did not agree at first, because he found the idea of pretending to be a traitor distasteful. He was offered a promotion if he succeeded and finally accepted. The problem for Champe was that he had to really escape the camp, because things had to look real. He managed to do this, but after an hour or so Lee sent out dragoon to track him down, because he could delay no longer without giving away the plan. Due to the harsh terrain and darkness, Champe could not make as good time as he would have liked and he finally heard horses behind him. The dragoons had caught up to him and his life was in danger. He managed to evade them by taking a different road than the one to the British camp, but they doubled back and he could see them in the distance. He made it to a river and could see British ships. He jumped into the water and managed to get a small distance from the shore, when the dragoons got there. The British saw what was happening and opened fire on the dragoons and sent a small boat for Champe. They managed to save him and after a few days of interrogation, they offered him a position in the British Army. He managed to refuse, stating that it was too risky and that if he was captured, he would be hung as a traitor. They accepted that and turned him loose in New York City, where Arnold had a house. Everything was going according to the plan. His contact met him in New York City and reported to the Continental Army that the first phase of the plan had succeeded. Phase two of the plan was that somehow Champe had to meet Arnold and convince him to let him join his unit. He wondered how he could do this? One day while Champe was walking in the street, fate stepped in. Arnold was also on the same street. Champe went up to him and told him that he had deserted, because it was a hopeless cause and that Arnold had been his inspiration. Arnold talked to him for awhile and then offered him a position in his unit at the same rank that he had in the Continental Army. This is what Champe was waiting for and he readily accepted.
Continental Army Accepting A British Surrender Champe was now meeting with this contact about every third day and told him about what had happened. The two of them now planned phase three, the capture and kidnapping of Arnold. This was extremely hard to plan. Arnold's house went right up to the sidewalk in the city. The only place where there was some privacy was in the back yard. The back yard it would have to be. Champe spent days loosening up the fence posts. The plan was that he and his contact would disable Arnold, get out through the back with him and carry him off. They were going to say that he was a drunk friend they were taking home if anyone asked. The planning was done very carefully and went on probably far longer than necessary, because the Sergeant Major was a very careful man. Finally he was ready and just before nightfall, when the plan was to be put into effect, Arnold ordered him to board a ship with his unit that was bound for Virginia. Champe had no choice but to go and unfortunately assist in fighting Virginians. He managed to slip out of camp that night and make his way back to the Continental Army. His mission had been a failure, but he was still regarded with respect for his brave attempt. He was honorably discharged from the army, because Washington didn't want him to be captured by the British and get hung as a traitor to them. He was never promoted while he was alive, buy many years after his death the congress in recognition of his bravery and service made him an officer. |
