Home › Forums › Revolutionary War History › General Discussion › George Washington and the Efforts to Replace Him as General › George Washington and the Efforts to Replace Him as General
True and agreed. Also, the ways and methods he used to discredit Washington in attempt to take his place show a significant lack of ethics that would not have measured up to that which Washington offered. Had he been in charge, Gates would likely have lost battles, blamed others, and by the time Congress realized a change was needed, the war could have already been lost.
Arnold seemed to be a capable officer, from some things I’ve heard it appears he got a raw deal several times from his officer. Not that spying for the British was good, though in a climate where he was fighting for the “underdog” and not getting any credit for his significant efforts, he decided to provide his services for the likely winner at the time. Maybe Gates was a small influence in that by his treatment of Arnold.