Benedict Arnold (1740-1801) General. Arnold originally fought for the American Continental Army but defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and planned to surrender it to the British forces. After the plan was exposed in September 1780, he was commissioned into the British Army as a brigadier general. 6†x 2 ½†(exposed) autograph receipt signed in the text, “Received this First Dec 1763 of Benedict Arnold Six pounds Sixteen Shillings in full of all Amounts to this day.†The receipt is then signed by “David Atwater.†The receipt, which shows some shadowing, is double matted with two images and a brief biography to 20†x 16â€.