 Notable descendants of Benedict Arnold , through his son Benedict , include his 2nd great @-@ grandson , also named Benedict Arnold , one of the great generals of the American Revolutionary War who was best known for his treason to the American cause when he switched sides to fight with the British . Descendants through his son Caleb Arnold include Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry , American hero of the Great Lakes during the War of 1812 and his younger brother Commodore Matthew C. Perry , who compelled the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854 ; and Senator Stephen Arnold Douglas who debated Abraham Lincoln in 1858 before a senate race and later lost to him in the 1860 presidential election . Rhode Island colonial Deputy Governor George Hazard is another descendant . The rodeo champion , western artist and inventor Earl W. Bascom is also a descendant . 
