Why Benedict Arnold is considered both a hero and a traitor?

            Benedict Arnold was a military hero for both sides in the same war between Britain and the Americans. He began his career as an American Patriot in May 1775, and led the brigade that captured Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. Arnold’s heroics continued in September, when he led an expedition of 1,150 riflemen against Quebec, the capital of British Canada. Even though the effort ended in disaster, he fought bravely and honourably. For the next five years, Arnold served the Patriots side with distinction in one battle after another. No general was more imaginative than Arnold, no field officer more daring, no soldier more courageous.

             Yet Arnold has gone down in history not as a hero, but as a military traitor who, as commander of the American fort at West Point, New York, in 1780, schemed to hand it over to the British. Why did he do this? It is said that after so many sacrifices, he became disillusioned with the war’s progress. Perhaps even more important, he grew deeply mistrustful of the cause’s civilian leaders and, ultimately, Arnold himself felt betrayed. He began to feel that British rule would perhaps be best for his country but the fact is that he will be remembered as both a hero and a traitor to his country!