Whenever conspirators engage to carry out a plot, they at once begin to
construct arguments justifying means to their ends.
At the present day we observe oily worded arguments made in the public
press to gild the corruption of virtue by the influence and power
of money; and no flight of the imagination is required to determine
exactly the same influence at work to-day in our money-bag circles
which shows its corruption in the following letter addressed to Arnold
in 1778:
“Dear General:
“Among the Americans who have joined the rebel standard, there are
very many good citizens whose only object has been the happiness of
their country. Such, then, will not be influenced by motives of private
interest to abandon the cause they have espoused. They are now offered
everything which can render the Colonies really happy and this is the
only compensation worthy their virtue.
“The American Colonies shall have their Parliament, composed of two
Chambers, with all its members of American birth. Those of the upper
house shall have titles and rank similar to those of the House of Peers
in England. All their laws, and particularly such as relate to money
matters, shall be the production of this assembly, with the concurrence
of a Viceroy. Commerce in every part of the globe subject to British
sway shall be as free to the people of the thirteen Colonies as to the
English of Europe. They will enjoy, in every sense of the phrase, the
blessings of good government. They shall be sustained, in time of need,
by all the power necessary to uphold them, without being themselves
exposed to the dangers or subjected to the expenses that are always
inseparable from the conditions of a state.
“Such are the terms proffered by England at the very moment when she
is displaying extraordinary efforts to conquer the obedience of her
Colonies.
“Shall America remain, without limitation of time, a scene of
desolation,--or are you desirous of enjoying peace and all the
blessings of her train? Shall your provinces, as in former days,
flourish under the protection of the most puissant nation of the world?
Or will you forever pursue that shadow of liberty which still escapes
from your hands, even when in the act of grasping it? And how soon
would that very liberty, once obtained, turn into licentiousness, if
it be not under the safeguards of a great European power? Will you rely
upon the guarantee of France? They among you whom she has seduced may
assume that her assistance will be generous and disinterested, and that
she will never exact from you a servile obedience. They are frantic
with joy at the alliance already established, and promise you that
Spain will immediately follow the example of France. Are they ignorant
that each of these has an equal interest in keeping you under, and
will combine to accomplish their end? Thousands of men have perished;
immense resources have been exhausted; and yet since that fated
alliance the dispute has become more embittered than ever. Everything
urges us to put a conclusion to dissensions,--not less detrimental
to the victors than to the vanquished; but desirable as peace is, it
cannot be negotiated between us as between two independent powers;
it is necessary that a decisive advantage should put Britain in a
condition to dictate the terms of reconciliation. It is her interest,
as well as her policy, to make these as advantageous to one as the
other; but it is at the same time advisable to arrive at it without any
unnecessary waste of that blood of which we are already as sparing as
though it were again our own.
“There is but General Arnold who can surmount obstacles so great as
these. A man of so much courage will never despair of the Republic,
even when every door to a reconciliation seems sealed.
“Render then, brave General, this important service to your country!
The Colonies can not sustain much longer the unequal strife. Your
troops are perishing in misery. They are badly armed, half naked and
crying for bread. The efforts of Congress are futile against the
languor of the people. Your fields are untilled, trade languishes,
learning dies. The neglected education of a whole generation is an
irreparable loss to society. Your youth, torn by thousands from their
rustic pursuits of useful employments, are mown down by war. Such as
survive have lost the vigor of their prime or are maimed in battle;
the greater part bring back to their families the idleness and corrupt
manners of the camp. Let us put an end to so many calamities; you and
ourselves have the same origin, the same language, the same laws. We
are inaccessible in our island; and you, the masters of a vast and
fertile territory, have no other neighbors than the people of our
loyal Colonies. We possess rich establishments in every quarter of the
globe, and reign over the fairest portions of Hindustan. The ocean is
our home, and we pass across it as a monarch traversing his dominions.
From the Northern to the Southern pole, from the East to the West
our vessels find everywhere a neighboring harbor belonging to Great
Britain. So many islands, so many countries acknowledging our sway, are
all ruled by a uniform system that bears on every feature the stamp of
liberty, yet it is well adapted to the genius of different nations and
various climes.
“While the continental powers ruin themselves by war, and are exhausted
in erecting the ramparts that separate them from each other, our
bulwarks are our ships. They enrich us; they protect us; they provide
us as readily with the means of invading our enemies as of succoring
our friends.
“Beware, then, of breaking forever the link and ties of friendship
whose benefits are proven by the experience of a hundred and fifty
years. Time gives to human institutions a strength which what is new
can only attain in its turn, by the lapse of ages. Royalty itself
experiences the need of this useful prestige, and the line that has
reigned over us for the past sixty years has been illustrious for ten
centuries.
“United in equality, we will rule the universe; we will hold it bound,
not by arms and violence, but by the ties of commerce,--the lightest
and most gentle bonds that human kind can wear.”
Allowing sufficient time for the arguments of this letter to
crystallize his determination, Arnold was entrapped. Barclugh had
analyzed what effect the document would have on Arnold’s mind; he knew
that vanity alone would lead him to commit treason on the pretext that
he might save his country from desolation and ruin, so that he could
be the master-key in the great drama. To end the war at one stroke and
receive the pecuniary gratitude of the English government and to stand
out in history like Brutus, or Monk, or Marlborough, as the creator of
kings or governments, was the dream of an adventurous spirit. Arnold
loved dramatic display. Battlefields had provided him a theatre for the
exercise of his valor; garrison duty at Philadelphia had given him the
allurements of social dissipations; the need of money and the glitter
of kingly promises were for him the crucial tests of honor which sunk
his career.
Roderick Barclugh was in Arnold’s office the next day at midnight, and
thus addressed his victim:
“General Arnold, you of all Americans can end this cruel war with the
mother country. So if you receive twenty thousand pounds in gold and
a commission as General in the British Army, and a pension of two
thousand pounds sterling per annum for life, what can you do to endow
your countrymen with the blessings of peace?”
“Mr. Barclugh,” said Arnold, “I shall be inflicting enduring good upon
humanity to stop the vain sacrifices of Americans in a forlorn cause.
I would re-establish trade and friendly relations at home and abroad.
The name of Arnold would be a synonym for the savior of this country.
There would be no need, then, for a Washington. I would be the founder
of great prosperity and happiness, and my natal day would be cherished
by the,--well, by the nobility, anyway.
“However, I have thought of the best way for us to accomplish the
object: you see, West Point is the citadel of American military hopes;
if they were to lose that stronghold, New England could be cut off
from the rest of the Colonies. The control of the upper Hudson falls
with West Point. Communications would then be cut between New England
and the Southern Colonies. The rebel forces would then be merely local
bands, and the commanders partisan leaders. Then another British force
could invade Virginia and each section be subdued in detail, but after
the fall of West Point the Colonists would be glad to make terms of
peace. Bloodshed would then be stopped.
“I can secure the command of West Point from the Commander-in-Chief,
and when once in the coveted position, then Americans and American
destiny will be at my feet.”
“Your plan is an inspired one, General Arnold, and here are two
thousand pounds in Bills of Exchange on the Bank of Amsterdam, which
you can get cashed at my office as a token of my faith in you. Now,
with my passport in my pocket I shall start at once by way of West
Point for New York, and carry the good news to General Clinton. Be sure
and communicate with General Washington at once for your assignment to
your new command,” were the parting words of Roderick Barclugh, as he
mounted his horse at daylight to begin his journey through the Jersey
Highlands, under the disguise and name of Pierre La Fitte.