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In Memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army who was desperately wounded on this spot, winning for his countrymen the Decisive Battle of the American Revolution and for himself the rank of Major General. —”Boot Monument,” Saratoga, New York

On the Fourth of July we celebrate the birthday of the United States and reflect upon the amazing pantheon of Founding Fathers. There’s George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, Richard Henry Lee, John Adams, Ben Franklin, and the many brave signers of the Declaration of Independence.  Men who risked it all to throw off the yoke of oppression.

But usually absent from our thoughts is the name of a man whose revolutionary accomplishments are no less worthy but forever stained by an act of betrayal.

Major General Benedict Arnold.

Arnold’s name today is synonymous with “traitor” and thrown around as a schoolyard taunt. But Arnold the American general is a man without whom American independence quite possibly would never have happened.

Arnold was a man with deep business and family roots in the New World. He was a Connecticut merchant and pharmacist and the great-grandson of a Rhode Island governor.  When the Revolutionary War broke out Arnold—a militia captain and patriot—distinguished himself with acts of cunning and bravery at Lexington and Concord and the surprise capture of  Fort Ticonderoga. The British found Arnold a worthy adversary and he quickly rose to become George Washington’s most valuable general and trusted friend.

Hailed as the “Hero of Saratoga,” Benedict Arnold was a commander who garnered the respect of his men by leading from the front lines, having his horse shot out from under him and his leg shattered by a bullet. Arnold’s fearlessness and strategic mind turned the tide of the Revolution and convinced the French to join the cause—a singular event that helped the Americans ultimately win the war.

Today, there are but a few remnants of Arnold’s battlefield prowess. There is the Boot Monument at Saratoga that attests to Arnold’s bravery, and a plaque in the West Point chapel recognizing him as one of America’s greatest generals. But on both, Arnold’s name is purposefully absent. That’s because he conspired to turn his command—West Point itself—over to the British in exchange for the rank of brigadier general, and £6,000.

Historians have long considered the reasons for Arnold’s treachery; that his accomplishments went unrecognized by the Continental Congress; other officers were given the credit for his actions; coveted promotions went to more connected native sons; or perhaps even the influence of the loyalist sympathies of his young wife.

Had Arnold not made the decision to switch sides, today he would be venerated along with the other Founders. It has been proposed that history might even have regarded him as an equal to Washington himself.  Arnold’s visage would probably be on our currency, and we might be shopping for bargains on his birthday.

In  war and in business and life you have to take risks. Sometimes big risks. You have to decide which side you’re on, often in the thick of it, without knowing the outcome or the ultimate consequences. It’s the chance you take when you get off the sidelines and jump into the fray. You make friends, and enemies. Arnold paid a steep price, drawing the ire of a new nation, losing a legacy of greatness, and never fully gaining the trust or respect of the British. He died as a far lesser man.

It’s a lesson worth considering in a world that places increasing emphasis on short-term gain and personal interests, and less on loyalty and honor.  A lesson indeed.