Benedict Arnold Signs Oath of Allegiance
- When
- 1778
- Where
- Valley Forge encampment, Pennsylvania
- Episodes
- 1
Benedict Arnold, a Continental Army major general recovering from leg wounds sustained at Saratoga, returned to the Valley Forge encampment in May 1778. The supplied passages confirm his return to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, that month but do not confirm a May 30 signing of the U.S. Oath of Allegiance, so the specific date and act remain unverified.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. Arnold had distinguished himself in the American cause, capturing Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 and fighting at Saratoga in 1777, where leg injuries removed him from combat for several years. The Continental Army had encamped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778.
Return to Valley Forge. In May 1778 Arnold returned to the army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where men who had served under him at Saratoga received him with applause. The encampment along the Schuylkill River was nearing its end, and the army would march out in June 1778.
Evidence Limitations. The supplied passages do not mention Arnold signing the U.S. Oath of Allegiance, nor do they state a May 30, 1778 date. They confirm only his May 1778 return to Valley Forge. The oath-signing claim therefore rests on the legacy hint alone and cannot be corroborated here.
People involved
- Benedict Arnold · Continental Army major general who returned to Valley Forge in May 1778; alleged oath signer (unverified)
- George Washington · Commander of the Continental Army at the Valley Forge encampment
Sources
- Benedict Arnold Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-02
- Valley Forge Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-25
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.