Benedict Arnold

A hyperlocal production unmasks one of America’s greatest villains.

Benedict Arnold:

HERO BETRAYED

WRITTEN BY MEGIN POTTER | PHOTOS PROVIDED

IN WAR, every battle comes down to two sides; the winners and the losers. The catch is, you can’t know what side you’re on until the battle is over.

THE UNDOING OF THE MAN

Benedict Arnold fought for both the Continental army and the British army in the Revolutionary War, an act that earned him a reputation as America’s most infamous traitor. There is evidence to support the claim that he was a brave leader, endeared to his men, who, despite his best efforts, was never quite able to break through the ranks into the country’s upper echelon. This documentation (and so much more!) has been unearthed during an epic quest to unmask America’s most well known war villain; the Judas of the Revolutionary War. In a recently released docudrama, “Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed,” narrated by Martin Sheen, compelling commentary (assembled from 30 hours of interviews with the world’s foremost authorities, historians, and authors well-versed in the Revolutionary War and the colonial era) and re-enacted events (many of which were shot locally) present a more complete picture of this man and his motivations. It examines the question: Why did Benedict Arnold decide to return his allegiance to the British? “It’s just an incredible story from American history that no one knows about,” said filmmaker Anthony Vertucci.

TALON FILMS TEAM

A DUBIOUS ALIAS

History comes down to who controls the narrative. Today, Benedict Arnold is synonymous for “traitor,” along with words like betrayal, turncoat, and snake in the grass. It’s been a marketing campaign of historic proportions, and one that some, including two locals, have spent the last 20 years working to put a different spin on. “Look up fortitude in the dictionary and you’ll see us in there somewhere,” jokes Vertucci, a Saratoga resident who, in addition to being the co-founder of Talon Films is a seniorlevel marketing professional well-versed in communications. “As Americans, our mythology is very important to us,” he continued. “We’re a relatively young country, and the Benedict Arnold story is like the 800 lb. gorilla no one wants to tackle.” “What we’ve made is a postcard from here to the rest of the world,” said Tom Mercer. A local native, Mercer spent the first half of his career entrenched in government before becoming a writer and film producer.

THE DUALITY OF MAN

Theirs is the intriguing tale of Benedict Arnold from the time he was a boy. Arnold grew up in one of the wealthiest and most influential families in New England at a time when honor meant everything. He was pulled by the dual forces of his mother’s religious fervor and his father’s public disgrace. Arnold was an idealistic man who believed, like others in the Independence Movement, that achievement should determine your position in society rather than inheritance. He was a merchant who refused to be subservient to what he viewed as repressive taxes set by the British. Benedict Arnold joined the Continental forces after the first skirmish of the Revolutionary War at Lexington, and commissioned a colonel, helping to capture Britain’s Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775.

IDEALISTIC, IDOLIZED, ADORED

On the blizzardy night of December 31st, 1775, Arnold was wounded in the leg during a bold attack on the walls of Quebec City. In October 1776, and now a brigadier general, he delayed enemy forces in a battle on Lake Champlain’s Valcour Island. Despite the outcome, he was passed over for promotion to major general. In 1777, Benedict Arnold disobeyed orders and fought at two battles in Saratoga, during which it was declared by Lt. Henry Livingston that he was “the light and soul of his troops”. The decisive victory, which would later become known as the turning point of the war, allowed Benjamin Franklin to forge a much-need alliance with the French, and boosted army morale.

THE BRUTAL REALITY OF WAR

Anthony Vertucci learned the true nature of war and how it impacts the psyche from his father. He was a marine who fought in the Pacific theatre during World War II. At the age of 19, he landed on the beach at Iwo Jima on D-Day. He was a man who, once his son grew up, never gave him a varnished version of the brutal realities inherent in human conflict. “I was able to get another perspective from him once he realized the earnestness and purity in which I was asking the questions.” “Some of the things he went through as a 19-year-old were unimaginable,” said Vertucci. Whatever a man’s motivation had been at the start of the conflict, Vertucci realized, when it came down to it, his decisions were about survival.

ARNOLD’S DOWNFALL

While in Saratoga, Arnold fought fiercely, sustaining a devastating wound to the same leg that had been injured during the siege of Quebec City. Afterwards, he was made military commander of Philadelphia, the nation’s new capital. In April 1779, his questionable financial schemes resulted in Congress ordering him court martialed, and later that month, he married the socially ambitious Peggy Shippen (despite being 20-years her senior). The following year, believing that he was doing what was best for himself and the nation, Arnold handed over plans for West Point’s defenses to British Major John Andre, who was later captured by three militiamen. Word of Arnold’s actions spread, and after the war, he lived the remainder of his days exiled in England - still subject to the arbitrary power that he’d tried so valiantly, and with much personal sacrifice, to vanquish.

THE SPEAR THAT COULD REWRITE HISTORY

The film, “Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed” debuted at Universal Preservation Hall in November 2021, and is currently available on various streaming platforms. In May this year, a CD of the documentary was released and a presentation given about the film at the New York Military Museum. “I’m not a great history buff, but this was an opportunity to hear another side of it, so I was curious,” said Saratoga resident John Rockwell about why he attended the event. Afterwards, veteran Vince Lanci, who had come up from Schodack, said, “My opinion about Benedict Arnold being a traitor is exactly the same - but I am going to go home and research it more.” For more information, go to benedictarnoldherobetrayed.com SS