Benedict Arnold: The Hero Who Became America’s Most Famous Traitor
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 22 October 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
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Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early days of the American War for Independence, Major General Benedict Arnold was one of the Revolution’s brightest stars. His victories at Fort Ticonderoga and Saratoga made him one of the most admired American Revolutionary War leaders of his time. Yet the same ambition that drove his heroism would also lead to his downfall. Feeling overlooked and underpaid, Arnold made a secret pact with the British, trading loyalty for money and rank. His name became a permanent shorthand for betrayal, but the truth of his story reveals a man torn between duty, pride, and disappointment.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:04.0 | What I told people, I was making a podcast about Benghazi. |
| 0:08.5 | Nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked, why? |
| 0:15.1 | Benghazi, the truth became a web of lies. |
| 0:18.5 | From prologue projects and Pushkin Industries, this is Fiasco, Benghazi. |
| 0:23.6 | What difference at this point does it make? |
| 0:26.6 | Listen to Fiasco, Benghazi, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:33.6 | You get your podcasts. And we continue with our American stories. |
| 0:47.9 | Few stories are as compelling, as complex, or as mystifying as that of Benedict |
| 0:53.4 | Arnold. Here's Greg Hengler with as that of Benedict Arnold. |
| 0:56.5 | Here's Greg Hengler with the story. |
| 1:01.8 | Benedict Arnold is hands down America's most infamous turncoat. |
| 1:07.3 | He has been dead for over 200 years, and his name is still shorthand for traitor, as we've seen exemplified in movies like grumpier old men. |
| 1:11.7 | You traitor, Benedict Arnold! |
| 1:16.5 | In spite of his ultimate deception, Benedict Arnold remains one of the most gifted generals |
| 1:22.6 | America has ever known. In May of 1775, Arnold led an attack on the remote British outpost at Fort Ticonderoga. |
| 1:33.5 | Quick-tempered and strong-willed, Arnold joined forces and immediately clashed with Ethan Allen, |
| 1:40.0 | the leader of a small militia of frontiersmen known as the Green Mountain Boys. |
| 1:46.1 | The Ford is captured thanks mostly to Benedict Arnold that forces the British to abandon Boston. |
| 1:52.5 | Both Alan and Arnold wrote extensive reports about the events to the colonial committees. |
| 1:59.0 | But they only accepted Alan's glorified version that barely mentions Arnold. |
| 2:05.4 | This would be the beginning of a pattern in Arnold's military career that would repeat itself. |
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