who fought on both sides of the revolutionary war
American Revolutionary War In 1780, Clinton launched an attempt to retake New Jersey. On June 7, 6,000 men invaded under Hessian general Wilhelm von Knyphausen, but they met stiff resistance from the local militia. The British held the field, but Knyphausen feared a general engagement with Washington's main army and withdrew.[293] Knyphausen and Clinton decided upon a second attempt two weeks later which was soundly defeated at Springfield, effectively ending British ambitions in New Jersey.[294] Meanwhile, American general Benedict Arnold had defected to the British, and he conspired to betray the key American fortress of West Point by surrendering it to the enemy.[295] The plot was foiled when British spy master John André was captured, so Arnold fled to British lines in New York. He attempted to justify his betrayal by appealing to Loyalist public opinion, but the Patriots strongly condemned him as a coward and turncoat.[296]