Everything about Benedict Arnold totally explained
Benedict Arnold V ( –
June 141801) originally fought for American independence from the
British Empire as a
general in the
Continental Army during the
American Revolutionary War until he obtained command of the American fort at
West Point, New York and, switching sides, plotted unsuccessfully to surrender it to the
British.
Arnold was considered by many to be the best general and most accomplished leader in the Continental Army. In fact, without Arnold's earlier contributions to the American cause, the
American Revolution might well have been lost; but after he switched sides, his name, like those of several other prominent traitors throughout history, has become a byword for treason in the United States.
Arnold distinguished himself early in the war through acts of cunning and bravery. His many successful campaigns included the
Capture of Fort Ticonderoga (1775), victory at the
Battle of Valcour Island on
Lake Champlain in 1776, the battles of
Danbury and
Ridgefield in
Connecticut (after which he was promoted to Major General), and the
Battle of Saratoga in 1777.
In spite of his success, Arnold was passed over for promotion by the
Continental Congress while other general officers took credit for his many accomplishments.
As his personal debts mounted, Congress investigated his accounts, and charges of corruption were brought by political adversaries. Frustrated, bitter, disaffected by the assaults on his honor and strongly opposed to the new American alliance with France, Arnold changed sides. In July 1780, he sought and obtained command of
West Point in order to surrender it to the British. Arnold's scheme was detected when American forces captured British Major
John André carrying papers that revealed Arnold's plan.
Upon learning of André's capture, Benedict Arnold escaped down the
Hudson River to the British
sloop-of-war Vulture, narrowly avoiding capture by the forces of
General Washington who had departed for West Point immediately upon learning of Arnold's plan. Arnold received a commission as a
Brigadier General in the
British Army, a good annual pension of £360, and a lump sum of about 17 times that amount.
In the winter of 1782, Arnold left the army and moved to
London with his second wife,
Margaret "Peggy" Shippen Arnold. He was well received by the King and the
Tories but frowned upon by the
Whigs. In 1787 he entered into mercantile business with his sons Richard and Henry in
Saint John, New Brunswick,
Canada, but returned to London to settle permanently in 1791.
Early life
Arnold was born the last of six children to Benedict Arnold III (1683–1761) and Hannah Waterman King in
Norwich,
Connecticut in 1741. He was named after his great-grandfather
Benedict Arnold, an early governor of the
Colony of Rhode Island and Benedict IV, who died in infancy before Benedict Arnold V was born. Only Benedict and his sister Hannah survived to adulthood; his other siblings succumbed to
yellow fever in childhood. Through his maternal grandmother, Arnold was a descendant of
John Lothropp, an ancestor of at least four
U.S. presidents.
The Arnold family was well off until the future general's father made several bad business deals that plunged the family into debt, and became an
alcoholic, forcing his son to withdraw from school at 14 because the family couldn't afford the expense.
His father's alcoholism and ill-health prevented him from training his son in the family mercantile business, but his mother's family connections secured an apprenticeship for him with two of her cousins, brothers Daniel and Joshua Lathrop, who operated a successful
apothecary and general merchandise trade in Norwich.
French and Indian War
At 15, Arnold enlisted in the Connecticut
militia. The militia marched to
Albany and
Lake George to oppose the
French invasion from
Canada at the
Battle of Fort William Henry. However he never engaged in battle during the war.
The British suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the French under
Montcalm. The British
surrendered on the conditions that they could
evacuate the fort under
safe conduct and could keep their
weapons, but the Indian allies of the French, who had been promised
scalps, arms, and booty, attacked and massacred several hundred of the men, women, and children. The French regulars couldn't or didn't stop the Indians. This event may have created an abiding hatred for the French in a young and impressionable Arnold that influenced his actions later in life.
Parents' deaths
Arnold's mother, to whom he was very close, died in 1759. The youth took on the responsibility of supporting his ailing father and younger sister. His father's alcoholism worsened after the death of his wife; he was arrested on several occasions for public drunkenness and was refused
communion by his church; he died in 1761.
Pre-revolutionary activities
In 1762, with the help of the Lathrops, Arnold established himself in business as a
pharmacist and bookseller in
New Haven, Connecticut.
Arnold was ambitious and aggressive, quickly expanding his business. In 1763 he repurchased the family homestead that his father had sold when deeply in debt, and re-sold it a year later for a substantial profit. In 1764 he formed a partnership with
Adam Babcock, another young New Haven merchant. Using the profits from the sale of his homestead they bought three trading ships and established a lucrative
West Indies trade. During this time he brought his sister Hannah to New Haven and established her in his apothecary to manage the business in his absence. He traveled extensively in the course of his business, throughout
New England and from
Quebec to the West Indies, often in command of one of his own ships.
The
Stamp Act of 1765 severely curtailed
mercantile trade in the colonies. Arnold initially took no part in any public demonstrations but, like many merchants, continued to trade as if the Stamp Act didn't exist, in effect becoming a smuggler in defiance of the act.
On the night of
January 31,
1767 Arnold took part in a demonstration denouncing the acts of the
British Parliament and their oppressive colonial policy in which the effigies of local crown officials were burned. He and members of his crew roughed up a man suspected of informing on smugglers. Arnold was arrested and fined 50 shillings for disturbing the peace.
The oppressive taxes levied by Parliament forced many New England merchants out of business. Arnold himself came near to personal ruin, falling £15,000 in debt.
Arnold fought a duel in
Honduras with a British sea captain who had called him a "d--d Yankee, destitute of good manners or those of a gentleman".
The captain was wounded, and apologized.
Arnold was in the West Indies when the
Boston Massacre occurred on
March 5,
1770, but later he wrote "
very much shocked" and wondered "
good God; are the Americans all asleep and tamely giving up their liberties, or are they all turned philosophers, that they don't take immediate vengeance on such miscreants".
On
February 22,
1767 he married Margaret, daughter of
Samuel Mansfield. They had three sons, Benedict, Richard and Henry. Margaret died during the revolution, on
June 19,
1775, while Arnold was away following the Battle of Ticonderoga. Arnold's sister Hannah took the children in.
Revolutionary War
In March 1775, a group of 65 New Haven residents formed the Governor’s Second Company of Connecticut Guards. Arnold was chosen as their captain, and he organized training and exercises in preparation for war.
On
April 21,
1775, when news reached New Haven of the opening battles of the revolution at
Lexington and Concord, a few
Yale College student volunteers were admitted into the guard to boost their numbers, and they began a march to
Massachusetts to join the revolution. During the march Arnold met with Connecticut legislator Colonel
Samuel Holden Parsons. They discussed the shortage of cannons in the revolutionary forces and, knowing of the large number of cannons at
Fort Ticonderoga on
Lake Champlain, agreed that an expedition should be sent to capture the fort. Parsons continued on to
Hartford, where he raised funds to establish a force under the command of Captain
Edward Mott. Mott was instructed to link up with
Ethan Allen and Allen's
Green Mountain Boys at
Bennington,
Vermont. Meanwhile, Arnold and his Connecticut militia continued on to
Cambridge, where Arnold convinced the Massachusetts Committee of Safety to fund an expedition to take the fort. They appointed him a colonel in the Massachusetts militia and dispatched him, and several captains under his command, to raise an army in Massachusetts. As his captains mustered troops Arnold rode north to rendezvous with Allen and take command of the operation.
Battle of Ticonderoga
By early May the army was assembled; on
May 10,
1775 Fort Ticonderoga was assaulted in a dawn attack and taken without a battle, the colonial forces having surprised the outnumbered British garrison. Expeditions to
Crown Point and
Fort George were also successful, as was another foray to Fort St. Johns (now named
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec), but this fort had to be abandoned when British troops arrived from
Montreal. Throughout the campaign Arnold and Allen disputed who was in overall command; Allen, the leader of the Green Mountain Boys, eventually withdrew his troops, leaving Arnold in sole command of the garrisons of the three forts. However, a Connecticut force of 1,000 men under Colonel
Benjamin Hinman arrived with orders placing him in command with Arnold as his subordinate. This act by the Continental Congress incensed Arnold, who felt his efforts on behalf of the revolution were not being recognized; he resigned his commission and returned to Massachusetts.
Promotion
Arnold was promoted to
Brigadier General after the Quebec invasion, and was given the job of blocking British invasion of the
Hudson River valley from
Canada via
Lake Champlain. During the summer of 1776 Arnold constructed at Skenesborough (now Whitehall), New York, a flotilla of small warships and gunboats which controlled the lake from Fort Ticonderoga, New York. The British responded by building a much larger lake flotilla at Saint John's, Québec. The British destroyed Arnold's flotilla at the
Battle of Valcour Island, New York, in October but by that time the winter had begun. So the British invasion was called off and Arnold's defensive strategy had succeeded.
In the same year Arnold met and seriously courted the daughter of a well known Boston loyalist, Betsy Deblois, described as the belle of Boston, but she didn't accept his repeated proposals.
Eastern Department
Late in 1776, Arnold was made Deputy Commander of the
Eastern Department of the Continental Army under Major General
Joseph Spencer. On
December 8,
1776, a sizeable British force under
Lt. Gen. Henry Clinton captured
Newport, Rhode Island. Arnold, who hadn't seen his family for over a year, spent a week with them in
New Haven, and arrived at
Providence, on
January 12,
1777, to command the defense of
Rhode Island. The Continental forces in Rhode Island had been depleted to about 2,000 troops by detachments sent to Washington for his attack at
Trenton, New Jersey. Since Arnold was facing 15,000
redcoats, he stayed on the defensive.
On
April 26,
1777, Arnold was on his way to
Philadelphia to meet with the Continental Congress, and stopped in New Haven to visit his family once again. A courier notified him that a British force 2,000 strong under Major General
William Tryon, the British Military Governor of New York, had landed at
Norwalk, Connecticut. Tryon marched his force to
Fairfield on Long Island Sound and inland to
Danbury, a major supply depot for the Continental Army, destroying both towns by fire. He also torched the seaport of
Norwalk as his forces retreated by sea.
Arnold hurriedly recruited about 100 volunteers locally. He was joined by Major General
Gold S. Silliman and Major General
David Wooster of the Connecticut militia, who together had mustered a force of 500 volunteers from eastern Connecticut.
Arnold and his fellow officers moved their small force near Danbury so they could intercept and harass the British retreat. By 11 a.m. on
April 27, Wooster’s column had caught up with and engaged Tryon’s rear guard. Arnold moved his force to a farm outside
Ridgefield, Connecticut, in an attempt to block the British retreat. During the
Battle of Ridgefield that followed, Wooster was killed. Arnold injured his leg when his horse was shot and fell on him.
Philadelphia
After the Danbury raid, Arnold continued his journey to Philadelphia to meet with congressional members, arriving on
May 16. General Schuyler also was in Philadelphia at that time but soon left for his headquarters at
Albany, New York. This left Arnold as the ranking officer in the Philadelphia region, so he assumed command of the forces there. But the Continental Congress, once again, due to political ties, preferred Pennsylvania's newly promoted Major General
Thomas Mifflin. Arnold had earlier been passed over for promotion in favour of less experienced generals junior to him and of lower grade. He resigned his commission on
July 11,
1777, but shortly afterwards General Washington asked Congress to post him to the
Northern Department because
Fort Ticonderoga had fallen to the British.
Saratoga
The summer of 1777 marked a turning point in the war. The Saratoga campaign was a series of battles fought in upper New York near Albany that culminated in the American victory at the
Battle of Saratoga and the surrender of the British army led by Lieutenant General
John Burgoyne on
October 17,
1777. Arnold played a decisive role in several of these battles. For example, in August, 1777 he led a force which relieved the siege of
Fort Stanwix.
The
Battle of Bemis Heights was the final battle of the
Saratoga Campaign. Outnumbered, out of supplies, and cut off from retreat largely by Arnold's doing, Burgoyne was forced to surrender on
October 17,
1777.
During the fighting, Arnold was wounded in the same leg as at Quebec and below the buttock. The
television History Channel commented that if his wound had been mortal he'd be remembered as a hero, not a traitor.
Historians agree that Arnold was instrumental to the successful outcome of the Saratoga campaign, showing courage, initiative, and military brilliance. He is said to have single-handedly cut off Burgoyne's attempt to escape in the decisive Battle of Bemis Heights. But Arnold received no credit because of bad feelings between him and General
Horatio Gates. Even though Arnold was vital in winning the final battle of Saratoga, Gates vilified him for exceeding his authority and disobeying orders. Arnold made no secret of his contempt for Gates' military tactics, which he considered too cautious and conventional. Many of the Continental Army's senior officers agreed on Arnold's assessment of General Gates.
A
monument in
Saratoga National Historical Park was erected in recognition of Arnold's victory, heroism and for the injury he sustained during the campaign. However, due to his later treachery, it doesn't bear his name, only a cryptic dedication to "the most brilliant soldier of the Continental army... winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution and for himself the rank of Major General." It is the only war memorial in the United States that doesn't bear the name of the man commemorated
(External Link
).
Military command of Philadelphia
In mid-October 1777 Arnold lay in an Albany hospital convalescing from the wound he'd received at Saratoga. His left leg was ruined, but Arnold wouldn't allow it to be amputated. Several agonizing months of recovery left it 2 inches (5 cm) shorter than the right. He spent the winter of 1777-78 with the army at
Valley Forge, recovering from the injury.
After the British withdrew from Philadelphia in June 1778, Washington appointed Arnold military commander of that city. In June he learned of the Franco-American alliance, which he strongly opposed because of his earlier experiences in the French and Indian War. Ironically, it was the victory at Saratoga, in which Arnold played a decisive part, that convinced France's
King Louis XVI to agree to the alliance and aid the Americans in their war.
By then, Arnold was embittered and resentful toward Congress for passing him over for promotion and not approving or refunding his wartime expenses; Arnold himself had paid nearly all of the expenses of his force's campaigns in Canada. Arnold threw himself into the social life of Philadelphia, hosting grand parties and falling deeply into debt. His extravagance drew him into shady financial schemes and into further disrepute with Congress, which investigated his accounts. He also faced corruption charges filed by the Pennsylvania civil authorities at the instigation of a man politically connected to the Continental Congress, whom Arnold had stripped of command at Ticonderoga.
On
June 1,
1779 he faced a court martial for
malfeasance
(and was convicted of two
misdemeanors).
"Having become a cripple in the service of my country, I little expected to meet [such] ungrateful returns," he complained to General George Washington.
On
March 26,
1779 he met
Peggy Shippen, the 18-year-old daughter of Judge
Edward Shippen, who had been courted by British Major
John André during the British occupation of Philadelphia. They married on
April 8,
1779.
Betrayal at West Point
In July 1780, Arnold sought and obtained command of the fort at
West Point. He already had begun a year-long correspondence with General
Sir Henry Clinton in
New York City through
Major André and was closely involved with
Beverley Robinson, a prominent loyalist in command of a loyalist regiment. Arnold offered to hand the fort over to the British for
£20,300 and a brigadier's commission.
He chose West Point for its strategic importance. The Americans had been using its position to prevent British ships from moving northward from New York City up the Hudson and connecting with British forces in Canada - a move that would have split the north from the south.
His plans were thwarted when André was captured
September 23,
1780 with a pass signed by Arnold. André was carrying documents that disclosed the plot and which incriminated Arnold; André was later hanged as a spy.
Arnold learned of André's capture and fled to
Vulture, a British ship waiting for him on the Hudson River, with the help of John Borns. Arnold wrote a letter to Washington, requesting that Peggy be given safe passage to her family in Philadelphia, a request Washington ensured. At the time the full pay of a colonel in active service was 24 shillings per day (£438/annum), of which 18 shillings were deducted for subsistence (£328/annum)
(External Link).
Had the plot succeeded, British forces would have been in position to divide the northern and southern American forces, and potentially end up defeating the revolution.
Reportedly when presented with evidence of Arnold's betrayal Washington was calm.
Life after switching sides
Arnold saw further action, fighting on the British side. In December, under orders from Clinton, Arnold led a force of 1,600 troops into
Virginia and captured
Richmond, cutting off the major artery of material to the southern colonial effort. It is said that Arnold asked an officer he'd taken captive about what the Americans would do if they captured him, and the captain is said to have replied "Cut off your right leg, bury it with full military honors, and then hang the rest of you on a
gibbet." In the Southern Theater,
Lord Cornwallis marched north to
Yorktown, which he reached in May 1781. Arnold, meanwhile, had been sent north to attack the town of
New London, Connecticut, in the hope that it would divert Washington from Cornwallis. On
8 September 1781 Benedict Arnold's force raided and burned the port of New London and captured
Fort Griswold.
In December Arnold was recalled to England with various other officers as the Crown de-emphasized the American theater for others which were deemed more important. In London he aligned himself with the
Tory Party, advising
King George III to renew the fight against the Americans. In the
House of Commons Edmund Burke expressed the hope that the government wouldn't put Arnold "at the head of a part of a British army" lest "the sentiments of true honor, which every British officer [holds] dearer than life, should be afflicted."
On his death bed in Gloucester Place,
legend has it that Arnold said "Let me die in this old uniform (Colonial) in which I fought my battles. May God forgive me for ever having put on another";
but this may be fictitious, as James Martin notes.
Arnold was buried at
St. Mary's Church, Battersea in London, England.
Some American sources maintain that he died poor, in bad health, and essentially unknown, though one obituary in the
Gentleman's Magazine records that his funeral procession boasted "seven mourning coaches and four state carriages".
He left a small estate, reduced in size by his debts, which Peggy undertook to clear.
[
The house on Gloucester Place where Arnold lived in central London still stands, bearing a plaque which describes Arnold as an "American Patriot".
]Legacy
Arnold attempted to justify his actions in an open letter titled To the Inhabitants of America. In a letter to his former friend Washington, he stated, "Love to my country actuates my present conduct, however it may appear inconsistent to the world, who very seldom judge right of any man's actions."
On the battlefield at Saratoga, a lone monument stands in memorial to this man, but there's no mention of his name on the engraving. The inscription reads: "In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental army, who was desperately wounded on this spot, winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution, and for himself the rank of Major General."
Another memorial to Arnold resides at the United States Military Academy. It bears only a rank, "major general," and a date, "born 1740." The name has been left out. That the plaque exists at all is tribute to the undeniable contribution he made to American independence before changing sides.
==="Benedict Arnold" = "traitor"===
"Benedict Arnold" has become an American expression used to describe a traitor, an American equivalent to calling someone a Quisling, a term known to few in America. From a British perspective he's considered a patriot, though the British never fully trusted him.
Family
During his marriage to Margaret Mansfield, Arnold had the following children: » Benedict Arnold VI (1768–1795)
Richard Arnold (1769–1847) » Henry Arnold (1772–1826)
and with Peggy Shippen, he raised: » Edward Shippen Arnold (1782–1813)
James Robertson (Lieutenant General) Arnold (1783–1852) » George (Lieutenant Colonel) Arnold (1784–1828)
William Fitch Arnold (born 1786, date of death unknown)
Literature
Benedict Arnold appears in several of Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Kenneth Roberts' best selling books. Arnold features prominently in Arundel, which takes place during the campaign to capture Quebec early in the American Revolution, and again in its sequel, Rabble in Arms. He also appears briefly in Oliver Wiswell, which tells the story of the American Revolution from the viewpoint of a young Loyalist.
Science fiction writer H. Beam Piper paid tribute to Arnold's crucial role in his story He Walked Around the Horses, an alternative history in which Arnold was killed during the attack on Quebec in 1776, and as a result of his absence the British won at Saratoga and subsequently the entire war, retaining their control of the 13 colonies.
Author Gary Blackwood included Arnold in The Year of the Hangman, also an alternative history in which Washington was killed and the Patriots lost the Revolution.
In his story/essay "I Remember Babylon" (1962), Arthur C. Clarke remarks: "I have always had a sneaking sympathy for Benedict Arnold, as must anyone who knows the full facts of the case".
Arnold appears in the 1979 John Barth novel, LETTERS.
Further Information
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