Historians would have readers believe Arnold was a tragic hero in an unwritten Shakespeare stage drama, destined for a fall from grace because of a fatal flaw of character. On September 23, 1780, a trio of volunteers detained British intelligence officer, Major John Andre, as he trekked the New York countryside returning to British lines after meeting with Arnold to seal the treasonous deal to hand over the military fortification at West Point. The trio found three documents in Andre's possession: a map of West Point, Washington's war council minutes from September 6, and a pass signed by Arnold stating that André, under the pseudonym John Anderson, was on business for West Point's commander and should be allowed to travel freely (Byron, n.d). Thus began the historical demonization of the man Brandt, Flexner, Kraske, Randall and Wallace argue (as cited in Ducharme and Fine, 1995) is America's greatest general of the American Revolutionary War.

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