re: The Top 10 Greatest Generals of All-Time - According to Mathematics

Greene was indeed a very good General.

Back to Arnold. He had already suffered a year of indignity at the hands of politicians after the heroics at Ticonderoga and the navy battle of Lake Champlain that stalled Carletons goal of sacking New York from the North. The battle itself was miraculous seeing that he hastily constructed a tiny flotilla to hinder British ships of the line but even more heroic was his escape out of Valcour Bay when escape from his cut off position seemed virtually impossible.

Then in 77 came Saratoga. He had already rallied the American left at Bemis Heights to prevent the British flanking maneuver when General Gates relegated him to the sideline to promote a friend of a politician to command of the left position. As the battle raged, Arnold was stuck inside a home in the rear begging Gates to allow him to join the fight. While Gates sat in a parlor debating the merits of the American cause with a recently captured British officer, Arnold mounted a horse and galloped off alone to join the battle. Gates sent a man after him to bring him back but Arnold told him to pound sand.

Upon arrival at the fighting, Arnold rallied the American forces and took on aggressive tactics that eventually settled the issue and resulted in the total surrender of Burgyones army.

Gates took credit for this victory and raced couriers to Congress to set a narrative that diminished Arnold’s role. While he sat drinking cordials in a gentlemanly debate with an officer as the battle raged, Arnold defied his order and rode into battle to lead the troops to victory and took a second bullet to the same leg that had been busted up in the assault that he led in Quebec a year earlier.

Washington advocated his merits to the politicians numerous times but all military officer appointments were decided by the politicians at that stage of the war. Arnold proved time and again to be the best that they had, but that man was done as wrong as any military officer has ever been done wrong. Sucks that a man who loved the cause so much was done so wrong on so many occasions that he would build up enough animosity just to be recognized for his ability.