Wikipedia:Monthfeature/2004September
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The Boot Monument is an American Revolutionary War memorial located in Saratoga National Historical Park in the state of New York. Sculpted by George Edwin Bissell and erected during 1887 by John Watts de Peyster, it commemorates Major General Benedict Arnold's service at the Battles of Saratoga while in the Continental Army, but does not mention him on the monument as Arnold later defected from the Americans to the British. Instead, it commemorates Arnold as the "most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army". While fighting at the Battle of Bemis Heights, the second of the Saratoga engagements, Arnold was shot and severely injured in his left leg. His horse was also hit by gunfire and fell on Arnold, crushing his already injured leg. Arnold was then passed over for promotion and court-martialed. Feeling hard done by, he attempted to help the British capture the fortification of West Point but was discovered and fled to the British army. (Full article...)