Encyclopedia
Benedict Arnold was a general in the
Continental Army during the
American Revolutionary War. He is best known for plotting to surrender the American fort at
West Point, New York, to the
British during the
American Revolution. Arnold had distinguished himself as a hero of the revolution early in the war through acts of cunning and bravery at
Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 and at the
Battle of Saratoga in 1777. Arnold strongly opposed the decision by the Continental Congress to form an alliance with
France, having experienced a bitter defeat at the hands of the French and their Indian allies during the
French and Indian War.
Disaffected because of grievances with the Continental Congress and the military, suffering from mounting personal debt, and facing corruption charges filed by the
Pennsylvania civil authorities, Arnold also faced pressure at home from his young second wife, a British Loyalist. In September 1780, he formulated his scheme, which, if successful, would have given British forces control of the
Hudson River valley and split the
colonies in half. The plot was thwarted, but Arnold managed to flee to British forces in New York, where he was rewarded with a commission as a
Brigadier General in the British Army, along with a reduced award of £6,000
sterling. In the
United States, Arnold's name remains synonymous with treason.
Early life
Benedict Arnold V was born the second of six children to
Benedict Arnold III and Hannah Waterman King in Norwich,
Connecticut. He was named after his
great-grandfather, an early colonial governor of Rhode Island. His parents had another son, Benedict Arnold IV, who died in infancy before Benedict Arnold V was born. Only Benedict and his sister Hannah survived to adulthood; the other three siblings succumbed to
yellow fever while children. Through his maternal grandmother, Arnold was a descendent of John Lathrop, an ancestor of at least four
Presidents of the United States.
The Arnold family was financially well-to-do until Arnold's father made several bad business deals that plunged the family into debt. When this happened, the father turned to alcohol for solace. At 14, Benedict was forced to withdraw from school because the family no longer could afford the cost.
His father's alcohol abuse 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, the brothers Daniel and Joshua Lathrop. The two ran a successful
apothecary and general merchandise trade in Norwich.
French and Indian War
At 15, Arnold enlisted in the Connecticut
militia, marching to
Albany and Lake George to oppose the
French invasion from
Canada at the Battle of Fort William Henry. It is not clear if Arnold actually fought in the battle. Some sources claim he deserted and made his way home alone through the wilderness. Another source states his mother used her influence to obtain his discharge because of his youth.
In any case, the British suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the French under the command of
Louis Joseph Marquis de Montcalm. Subsequent to the British surrender, the native allies of the French were outraged by the easy terms offered to the British and Colonial forces. They had been promised scalps, arms and booty, and none was forthcoming. They fell upon the prisoners as they were being escorted away and massacred as many as 180 of them. The French regulars were powerless to stop them
. This event may have created an abiding hatred for the French in a young and impressionable Arnold that influenced his actions later in life.
Parent's deaths
Benedict'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 also was refused
communion by his church. With his father's death in 1761, the 20-year-old Arnold resolved to restore his family name to the elevated status it had once enjoyed.
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. One year later, he re-sold it 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, conducted trade as if the Stamp Act did not 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. The effigies of local crown officials were burned. He and members of his crew roughed up a man suspected of being a smuggling informant. 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 called Arnold a "Darned Yankee, destitute of good manners or those of a gentleman". Arnold was shocked by the rudeness and challenged him to a duel. The captain was wounded and forced to apologize.
Arnold was in the West Indies when the
Boston Massacre occurred on March 15, 1770, but later wrote he was "
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. She died on June 19, 1775.
Wartime career
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.
En route, Arnold met with Colonel Samuel Holden Parsons, a Connecticut legislator. They discussed the shortage of cannons by 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, along with 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 likewise successful, as was another foray to Fort St. Johns . 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 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 subordinate to him. This act by the Continental Congress incensed Arnold, who felt his efforts on behalf of the revolution were not being recognized. Arnold resigned his commission and returned to Massachusetts.
Quebec expedition
Shortly after the formation of the
Continental Army in June 1775, Major General
Philip Schuyler, commander of the Northern Department, developed a plan to invade Canada overland from Fort St. Johns at the northern end of Lake Champlain, down the Richelieu River to Montreal. The objective was to deprive the Loyalists of an important base from which they could attack upper New York. General
Richard Montgomery was given command of this force.
Arnold proposed that a second force, in concert with Schuyler’s, attack by traveling up the
Kennebec River in
Maine and descending the Chaudiere River to
Quebec City. With the capture of both Montreal and Quebec City, he believed the French-speaking colonists of Canada would join the revolution against the British. General
George Washington and the Continental Congress approved this amendment and commissioned Arnold a colonel in the Continental Army to lead the Quebec City attack.
Just before leaving for Maine, Arnold learned of the death of his wife Margaret. He stopped in New Haven to see to the welfare of his children. His sister Hannah took over the role of surrogate mother at his request.
The force of 1,100 recruits embarked from
Newburyport, Massachusetts, on September 19, 1775, arriving at
Gardinerston, Maine, on September 22, where Arnold had made prior arrangements with Major Reuben Colburn to construct 200 . These were to be used to transport the troops up the Kennebec and Dead rivers, then down the Chaudiere to Quebec City. A lengthy portage was required over the
Appalachian range between the upper Dead and Chaudiere rivers.
The British were aware of Arnold’s approach and destroyed most of the serviceable watercraft on the southern shore. Two warships, the
frigate Lizard and the sloop-of-war
Hunter , kept up a constant patrol to prevent a river crossing. Even so, Arnold was able to procure sufficient watercraft, crossing to the Quebec City side on November 11. He then realized his force was not strong enough to capture the city and sent dispatches to Montgomery requesting reinforcements.
Meanwhile, Brigadier General Richard Montgomery marched north from Fort Ticonderoga with about 1,700 militiamen on September 16, 1775. He captured Montreal on November 13. Montgomery joined Arnold in early December and, with their combined force of about 1,325 soldiers, attacked the city on December 31, 1775. The colonial forces suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of General
Guy Carleton, governor of Canada and commander of the British forces. Montgomery was killed, Arnold was wounded, many others were killed or wounded, and hundreds more were taken prisoner.
The remnants, reduced to some 350 volunteers and now under the command of Colonel Arnold, continued an ineffectual siege of the city until the spring of 1776, when reinforcements under Brigadier General
David Wooster arrived. Upon being relieved of command, Arnold retreated to Montreal with what remained of his forces.
Promotion
Arnold received a promotion to
Brigadier General after the Quebec invasion and was given the job of preventing a British
invasion from the north.
Around this time, Arnold met and courted Betsy Deblois, the daughter of a well known loyalist of Boston. She was described at the time as the belle of Boston. Arnold tried to woo Deblois to marry him. However, she rebuffed him at all points even after the presentation of an engagement ring .
Eastern Department
Late in 1776, Arnold received orders to report to Major General Joseph Spencer, newly appointed commander of the Eastern Department of the Continental Army. On December 8, 1776, a sizeable British force under Lt. Gen. Henry Clinton captured
Newport, Rhode Island. Arnold spent a week with his family in New Haven, Connecticut, and arrived at
Providence, Rhode Island, on January 12, 1777, to take up his duties in the defense of Rhode Island as Deputy Commander of the Eastern Department. The ranks of the Rhode Island force had been depleted to about 2,000 troops in order to support Washington’s assault on
Trenton, New Jersey. Since Arnold was facing 15,000 redcoats, he was forced to go 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 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 and 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 skirmishes 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 Congress preferred Pennsylvania's newly promoted Major General
Thomas Mifflin. Arnold earlier had been passed over for promotion. This caused further resentment. Consequently, Arnold resigned his commission on July 11, 1777. Shortly afterwards, General Washington urgently requested Benedict be posted to the Northern Department because Fort Ticonderoga had fallen to the British. This demonstrated Washington's faith in Arnold as a military commander, and Congress complied with his request.
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 that culminated in the American victory at the
Battle of Saratoga and the capture of a large contingent of the British army led by Lieutenant General
John Burgoyne on October 17, 1777. Arnold played a decisive role in several of these battles.
The
Battle of Bemis Heights was the final battle of the
Saratoga Campaign. Outnumbered, out of supplies, and cut off from retreat , Burgoyne was forced to surrender on October 17, 1777.
Arnold suffered a wound to the same leg as he had at Quebec during the fray.
Historians agree Arnold played an instrumental role in the outcome of the Saratoga campaign, showing courage, initiative and military brilliance. He is said to have almost single-handedly cut off Burgoyne's attempt to escape in the decisive
Battle of Bemis Heights. But because of bad feelings between him and General
Horatio Gates, Arnold received no credit. Gates had deliberately left him out of the command structure of the final battle plan. Instead, he was vilified 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.
Military command of Philadelphia
By mid-October 1777, Arnold lay in an Albany hospital, convalescing from the wound he had received at Saratoga. His left leg was ruined, but Arnold would not allow it to be amputated. Several agonizing months of recovery left it 2 inches shorter than the right. He spent the winter of 1777-78 with the army at
Valley Forge, recovering from the injury.
After the evacuation of the British from Philadelphia in June 1778, Washington appointed Arnold military commander of the city. In June, he learned of the Franco-American alliance; Arnold was strongly opposed to the alliance because of his earlier experieces in the French and Indian War. Ironically, it was the victory at Saratoga, in which Arnold had 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 not approving his wartime expenses and bypassing him for promotion. He threw himself into the social life of the city, hosting grand parties and falling deeply into debt. Arnold's extravagance drew him into shady financial schemes and into further disrepute with Congress, which investigated his accounts. On June 1, 1779, he was court-martialed for malfeasance. "Having ... become a cripple in the service of my country, I little expected to meet ungrateful returns," he complained to Washington.
At the end of March 1779 he met Peggy Shippen, the boisterous 18-year-old daughter of Judge Edward Shippen. She and Arnold wed quickly on April 8, 1779. Peggy had previously been courted by British Major
John André during the British occupation of Philadelphia.
West Point
In July 1780, Arnold sought and obtained command of the fort at West Point. He already had begun correspondence with General Sir Henry Clinton in New York City through Major André. Arnold offered to hand the fort over to the British for £20,000 and a brigadier's commission. His plans were thwarted when André was captured with a pass signed by Benedict Arnold, and he was in possession of documents that disclosed the plot and incriminated Arnold. André later was denied his request of death by a firing squad and instead was convicted of being a spy and hanged.
Arnold learned of André's capture and fled to the British. They made him a brigadier general but only paid him some £ 6,000 because his plot had failed.
Fighting for Britain
The British never really trusted Arnold, although he saw some action in the American theater. 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 had taken captive about what the Americans would do if they captured Arnold, 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 capture the town of
New London, Connecticut, in hopes it would divert Washington away from Cornwallis. While in Connecticut, Arnold's force captured
Fort Griswold on September 8. In December, Arnold was recalled to England with various other officers as the Crown de-emphasized the American Theater over others in which victories were more likely.
Later life
While in London, he met with various cabinet officers and
King George III, trying to convince them to continue fighting in spite of the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown. He was too late. Distraught, Arnold moved to
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, with Peggy in an attempt to reestablish his earlier maritime successes. Although he loaned out great amounts of money to various Loyalist families that had relocated from the colonies, but when he ran into financial hardship, no one would pay him back. He was forced to move back to London with Peggy and their four sons in 1792. Arnold spent his time in London attempting to make money in the West Indies trade. With the coming of the
French Revolution, he tried to obtain a command, but despite the backing of Clinton and Cornwallis, Arnold lacked the necessary social connections to get a command. He died in London on June 14, 1801, in poverty. He was buried in a crypt of St. Mary's Church, Battersea, which at that time was located in
Surrey. According to some reports, while on his deathbed he asked God for forgiveness for betraying the Patriot cause and requested to be buried in the uniform of a Continental Army soldier.
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."
Benedict Arnold is a paradoxical figure in American history. While there can be no doubt as to his eventual loyalty to the Crown, neither can there be any doubt as to his role as a hero in the Battle of Saratoga. It was Saratoga which persuaded the French, who had been skeptical of the colonists' chances, to intervene in the war on the American side. This alliance tipped the balance and ensured the ultimate American victory.
On the battlefield at Saratoga, a lone monument stands in memorial to this man, but there is 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, a contribution indelibly tarnished by an infamous act of betrayal.
"Benedict Arnold" has become an American expression used to describe traitors and remains widely recognized as such even in 21st century America. From a British perspective, he is considered a patriot, though according to many sources the British never fully trusted him.
Family
During his marriage to Margaret Mansfield, Arnold had the following children:
- Benedict Arnold VI
- Richard Arnold
- Henry Arnold
and with Peggy Shippen, he raised:
- Edward Shippen Arnold
- James Robertson Arnold
- George Arnold
- William Fitch Arnold
Literature
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 Saratoga and subsequently the entire war, keeping their rule over 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" ,
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".
See also
References
Further reading
- Barry K. Wilson, 2001, Benedict Arnold: A Traitor in Our Midst, McGill Queens Press. ISBN 0-7735-250-X
- James L. Nelson, 2006, Benedict Arnold's Navy: The Ragtag Fleet that Lost the Battle of Lake Champlain but Won the American Revolution, McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-146806-4
External links
