The goals varied widely. Many historians point to her as facilitating Arnold's plans to switch sides; he opened secret negotiations with André, and Peggy relayed the messages. Washington refused his offer to resign, and wrote to members of Congress in an attempt to correct this, noting that "two or three other very good officers" might be lost if they persisted in making politically motivated promotions. They bought three trading ships, using the profits from the sale of his homestead, and established a lucrative West Indies trade. At first, he asked for indemnification of his losses and £10,000,[a] an amount that the Continental Congress had given Charles Lee for his services in the Continental Army. Born January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Connecticut, Arnold is viewed as the quintessential traitor, reviled in American history for being the ultimate turncoat who tried to turn over the vital Hudson River New York outpost of West Point to British forces in exchange for money and a commission in the British army. Shippen had met British Major John André during the British occupation and had developed ways of maintaining contact with British soldiers across the battle lines. [27], On 22 February 1767, Arnold married Margaret Mansfield, daughter of Samuel Mansfield, the sheriff of New Haven and a fellow member in the local Masonic Lodge. [7] In December 1780, he led a force of 1,600 troops into Virginia under orders from Clinton, where he captured Richmond by surprise and then went on a rampage through Virginia, destroying supply houses, foundries, and mills. [88], On 3 August 1780, Arnold obtained command of West Point. [1] Only he and his sister Hannah survived to adulthood; his other siblings succumbed to yellow fever in childhood. Samuel Spring carried him to the makeshift hospital at the Hôtel Dieu. Arnold received a commission as a brigadier general in the British Army, commanding the American Legion in the later part of the conflict. He later said in his own defense that he was loyal to his true beliefs, yet he lied at the same time by insisting that Peggy was totally innocent and ignorant of his plans. Then he switched sides. [87], Benedict Arnold next wrote a series of letters to Clinton, even before he might have expected a response to the 7 July letter. Harper's Weekly published an article in 1861 describing Confederate leaders as "a few men directing this colossal treason, by whose side Benedict Arnold shines white as a saint". [10], Arnold's father was a successful businessman, and the family moved in the upper levels of Norwich society. His father was a successful businessman and young Arnold was educated in private schools. [85] When he reached Connecticut, Arnold arranged to sell his home there and began transferring assets to London through intermediaries in New York. Arnold was born in Connecticut and was a merchant operating ships on the Atlantic Ocean when the war began in 1775. [113], Even before Cornwallis's surrender in October, Arnold had requested permission from Clinton to go to England to give Lord George Germain his thoughts on the war in person. Arnold's letters continued to detail Washington's troop movements and provide information about French reinforcements that were being organized. [135], Talleyrand continued, "I must confess that I felt much pity for him, for which political puritans will perhaps blame me, but with which I do not reproach myself, for I witnessed his agony". Arnold soon began openly fighting for the British. Everything happened so fast, seemingly instantaneous. He also provided information on a proposed French-American invasion of Quebec that was to go up the Connecticut River (Arnold did not know that this proposed invasion was a ruse intended to divert British resources). This man's name was Benedict Arnold. In a 11 July letter, he complained that the British did not appear to trust him, and threatened to break off negotiations unless progress was made. Following the fighting at Lexington and Concord, his company marched from Connecticut northeast toward Boston. Four days later, Arnold sent a ciphered letter with similar content into New York through the services of the wife of a prisoner of war. British reinforcements arrived in late March led by William Phillips who served under Burgoyne at Saratoga. He joined the growing army outside Boston and distinguished himself through acts of intelligence and bravery. [106] The anti-war Whigs had gained the upper hand in Parliament, and Germain was forced to resign, with the government of Lord North falling not long after. Arnold planned to surrender the fort to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780 and he fled to the British lines. Or was it a kind of extreme midlife crisis, swerving from radical political beliefs to reactionary ones, a change accelerated by his marriage to the very young, very pretty, very Tory Peggy Shippen? Arnold went on to command British forces against American troops in his native Connecticut, but the war was soon over, and Arnold had made the grave mistake of jumping to the losing side. However, the deaths of his siblings two years later may have contributed to a decline in the family fortunes, since his father took up drinking. She⦠was the conduit for information to the British. Arnold continued to trade with the West Indies during the French Revolution and was imprisoned by French authorities for a short time on suspicion of spying. [30] She is buried in the crypt of the Center Church on New Haven Green. Arnold settled in New Haven, Connecticut, working as a pharmacist and bookseller. He died in 1801 and was buried at St. Mary's Church, Battersea in London, England. When his traitorous plans came to light, Arnold escaped capture and eventually made his way to England. Benedict Arnold was an American Revolutionary War general best known for his defection from the Continental Army to the British side of the conflict in 1780. On 25 August, Peggy finally delivered to him Clinton's agreement to the terms. After the usual exchange of greetings ⦠I ventured to request from him some letters of introduction to his friends in America. He arrived before Quebec City in November, after a difficult passage in which 300 men turned back and another 200 died en route. [84], Early in April, Philip Schuyler had approached Arnold with the possibility of giving him the command at West Point. [44], Arnold arrived in Schuyler's camp at Fort Edward, New York on 24 July. He dared not tell me his name. According to W. D. Wetherell, he was: [A]mong the hardest human beings to understand in American history. In the House of Commons, Edmund Burke expressed the hope that the government would not put Arnold "at the head of a part of a British army" lest "the sentiments of true honour, which every British officer [holds] dearer than life, should be afflicted". [39], General Washington assigned Arnold to the defense of Rhode Island following the British seizure of Newport in December 1776, where the militia were too poorly equipped to even consider an attack on the British. The marriage brought him the social status he craved, but not the wealth to match it. [11] His apprenticeship with the Lathrops lasted seven years. Arnold demanded a court martial to clear the charges, writing to Washington in May 1779: "Having become a cripple in the service of my country, I little expected to meet ungrateful returns". In January 1801, Arnold's health began to decline. [64], Arnold had been badly wounded twice in battle and had lost his business in Connecticut, which made him profoundly bitter. However, British casualties were high; nearly one quarter of the force was killed or wounded, and Clinton declared that he could ill afford any more such victories. She met Arnold during his tenure as military commander of the city following the British withdrawal in 1778.They were married in ⦠From psychological wounds received in his Connecticut childhood when his alcoholic father squandered the family's fortunes? General Washington gave him a light reprimand, but it merely heightened Arnold's sense of betrayal; nonetheless, he had already opened negotiations with the British before his court martial even began. Arnold was notorious for his quick temper, and there is evidence that he participated in more than one ⦠On the morning of 22 September, from their position at Teller's Point, two American rebels, John "Jack" Peterson and Moses Sherwood, under the command of Col. James Livingston fired on HMS Vulture, the ship that was intended to carry André back to New York. [60] Shippen and her circle of friends had found methods of staying in contact with paramours across the battle lines, despite military bans on communication with the enemy. [116], Arnold then applied to accompany General Carleton, who was going to New York to replace Clinton as commander-in-chief, but the request went nowhere. It was General Arnold. [142] However, not all depictions of Arnold were so negative. [143], Canadian historians have treated Arnold as a relatively minor figure. [136] George Canning Hill authored a series of moralistic biographies in the mid-19th century and began his 1865 biography of Arnold: "Benedict, the Traitor, was bornâ¦". Benedict Arnold was an American Revolutionary War general best known for his defection from the Continental Army to the British side of the conflict in 1780. He sent an Indian messenger into the camp of British Brigadier General Barry St. Leger with news that the approaching force was much larger and closer than it actually was; this convinced St. Leger's Indian allies to abandon him, forcing him to give up the effort. [116] George Johnstone turned him down for a position in the East India Company and explained: "Although I am satisfied with the purity of your conduct, the generality do not think so. [101], Arnold learned of André's capture the morning of 24 September while waiting for Washington, with whom he was going to have breakfast at his headquarters in British Col. Beverley Robinson's former summer house on the east bank of the Hudson. Benedict Arnold was descended from Rhode Island's first colonial governor. [2][136] A historical marker in Danvers, Massachusetts commemorates Arnold's 1775 expedition to Quebec. Word of the siege's disastrous outcome led the company to turn around, and Arnold served for only 13 days. Swallowing his pride, he asked Gates for permission to ride to the front to see what was happening. He was convicted of disorderly conduct and fined the relatively small amount of 50 shillings; publicity of the case and widespread sympathy for his views probably contributed to the light sentence. The Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act the following year restricted mercantile trade and ignited Colonists’ claims of taxation without representation. He did, however, investigate its extent, and suggested that he was willing to exchange André for Arnold during negotiations with General Clinton concerning André's fate. The couple had three sons over the following five years. Benedict Arnold (14 January 1741 [O.S. He proposed a second invasion of Canada to General George Washington to lead a second expedition to attack via a wilderness route. [7][106] Among his bequests were considerable gifts to one John Sage, perhaps an illegitimate son or grandson. Arnold’s treason actually helped serve the floundering American war effort by re-energizing the Patriot’s declining morale. He helped organize militia forces on British-held islands, receiving praise from the landowners for his efforts on their behalf. [48] Burgoyne surrendered ten days after the second battle on 17 October 1777. Benedict Arnold was a hero of the American invasion of Canada and the Battle of Saratoga.He was once viewed as one of the Continental Army's best and brightest and had the personal favor of George Washington.The reason for Arnold's turning is uncertain, but he was known for having frequent disputes with his superiors and was overlooked for promotion several times. He was enrolled in a private school in nearby Canterbury, Connecticut, when he was 10, with the expectation that he would eventually attend Yale College. Congress restored Arnold's command seniority in response to his valor at Saratoga. The British gave Arnold a brigadier general's commission with an annual income of several hundred pounds, but they paid him only £6,315 plus an annual pension of £360[a] for his defection because his plot had failed. [50], Arnold spent several months recovering from his injuries. With battle about to begin anew, Benedict Arnold itched to join in. While commanding in Philadelphia, Arnold met and married Peggy Shippen, 20 years his junior, the daughter of a Loyalist sympathizer. It was invoked again as sectional conflicts increased in the years before the American Civil War. On May 10, 1775, Arnold partnered with frontiersman Ethan Allen to seize New York’s Fort Ticonderoga. Angry and frustrated, Arnold resigned his military command of Philadelphia in late April. Clinton was concerned that Washington's army and the French fleet would join in Rhode Island, and he again fixed on West Point as a strategic point to capture. [76] By October 1779, the negotiations had ground to a halt. [71] Stansbury ignored instructions from Arnold to involve no one else in the plot, and he crossed the British lines and went to see Jonathan Odell in New York. Phillips led further raids across Virginia, including a defeat of Baron von Steuben at Petersburg, but he died of fever on 12 May 1781. He had established a decent relationship with George Washington, as well as Philip Schuyler and Horatio Gates, both of whom had command of the army's Northern Department during 1775 and 1776. Clinton refused this suggestion; after a military tribunal, André was hanged at Tappan, New York on 2 October. [144] Historian Barry Wilson points out that Arnold's descendants established deep roots in Canada, becoming leading settlers in Upper Canada and Saskatchewan. On June 27, 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the invasion of Quebec partly at the urging of Arnold. He was again severely wounded in the left leg late in the fighting. [137] Social historian Brian Carso notes that, as the 19th century progressed, the story of Arnold's betrayal was portrayed with near-mythical proportions as a part of the national history. [68] Biographer Nathaniel Philbrick argues: Peggy Shippen⦠did have a significant role in the plot. Benedict Arnold saw in Peggy Shippen the same desire for the good things of this world that burned at the core of his own restless being. He died on June 14, 1801, at the age of 60, and was buried at St. Mary’s Church in Battersea, London. He then directed the construction of a fleet to defend Lake Champlain, which was overmatched and defeated in the October 1776 Battle of Valcour Island. The family tree listed here should not be considered exhaustive or authoritative. This monument was erected under the patronage of the State of Connecticut in the 55th year of the Independence of the U.S.A. in memory of the brave patriots massacred at Fort Griswold near this spot on the 6th of Sept. It was donated by Civil War General John Watts DePeyster, and its 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. [119] Delivery of his first ship the Lord Sheffield was accompanied by accusations from the builder that Arnold had cheated him; Arnold claimed that he had merely deducted the contractually agreed amount when the ship was delivered late. in George Athan Billias, ed., This page was last edited on 16 February 2021, at 18:24. How perplexed Benedict Arnold would have been when confronted with American treason, circa 2021. He turned his back on the president and, as some see it, the country itselfâ¦much like Benedict Arnold did. "[111] Cornwallis ignored Arnold's advice to locate a permanent base away from the coast, advice that might have averted his surrender at Yorktown. Nathan Hale was an American soldier during the Revolutionary War and was hanged by the British for espionage in 1776. 3 January 1740][1][2] – 14 June 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought in multiple duels. The ill-fated mission ran into problems from the outset—discovered plans, inclement weather and poor timing caused the battle to fail. [124], In July 1792, Arnold fought a bloodless duel with the Earl of Lauderdale after the Earl impugned his honor in the House of Lords. "[118], In 1785, Arnold and his son Richard moved to Saint John, New Brunswick, where they speculated in land and established a business doing trade with the West Indies. This plan very nearly succeeded, but Arnold changed living quarters prior to sailing for Virginia in December and thus avoided capture. [63], Wetherell says that the shortest explanation for his treason is that he "married the wrong person". His scheme was to surrender the fort to the British, but it was exposed in September 1780 when Patriot militia captured André carrying papers which revealed the plot.
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