Treason, Virginia Endangered, Yorktown and A Gulf of Civil Horror Summary and Analysis

One of Washington's most admired officers is Benedict Arnold, well known for his military prowess and great skill at leading men. Wounded in battle in Canada, Arnold is unfit for active duty, so Washington appoints Arnold as military commandant of Philadelphia after the British evacuation of that city. Arnold becomes enamored of a young woman named Peggy Shippen, whom Washington had known when Peggy was a girl. Peggy is lovely and wealthy and has her pick of beaus, especially one named John Andre, a British adjutant general. Peggy's Tory status dims for Arnold, who revels in Peggy's high lifestyle and social status.

News of Arnold's deepening relationship with Peggy alerts local patriots, who assume that Arnold, who has no wealth of his own...