“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.