Compounding the agony was the treason of Benedict Arnold, who conspired to sell the plans of West Point- the crucial fortress in Washington's Hudson Highlands defense system- to the British. While some believed the conspiracy's failure afforded, as Greene said, "the most convincing proofs that the liberties of America are the object of divine protection," others wondered whether the cause would survive. If Arnold, who served so nobly at Quebec, at Valcour Island, and during the Saratoga campaign, had lost all sense of honor and patriotism, how many others might follow his treasonous path?

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Compounding the agony was the treason of Benedict Arnold, who conspired to sell the plans of West Point- the crucial fortress in Washington's Hudson Highlands defense system- to the British. While some believed the conspiracy's failure afforded, as Greene said, "the most convincing proofs that the liberties of America are the object of divine protection," others wondered whether the cause would survive. If Arnold, who served so nobly at Quebec, at Valcour Island, and during the Saratoga campaign, had lost all sense of honor and patriotism, how many others might follow his treasonous path?" in the context of "Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012 (2012), p. 67" to mean that wisdom is timeless.