[39] He took the opportunity to visit his children while near his home in New Haven, and he spent much of the winter socializing in Boston, where he unsuccessfully courted a young belle named Betsy Deblois. Only action by Arnold's superior at Ticonderoga prevented his own arrest on countercharges leveled by Hazen. Some could even argue that, patriotism aside, it might have seemed insane for him not to turn traitor. Arnold purchased large tracts of land in the Maugerville area, and acquired city lots in Saint John and Fredericton. He also began to insist on a face-to-face meeting, and suggested to Arnold that he pursue another high-level command. . Yet as every elementary school student knows, Benedict reneged on his original commitment and defected to England. It is what happened after 1775 that began to wear him down and bring on his disillusionment. [58] She married Arnold on April 8, 1779. [123], In January 1801, Arnold's health began to decline. Early in May he made secret overtures to British headquarters, and a year later he informed the British of a proposed American invasion of Canada. Meanwhile, in April 1779, Arnold married Margaret (Peggy) Shippen, a young woman of loyalist sympathies. But despite all the financial and political reasons he had for his betrayal, it's possible it was actually about love. The Portrayal of Benedict Arnold in American History", Shy, John. [11], Arnold was very close to his mother, who died in 1759. In an ironic twist, Heron went into New York unaware of the significance of the letter and offered his own services to the British as a spy. Benedict Arnold led the attack at the British Fort of Ticonderoga. Among others, he shared the name with his father and. Together, they won the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga, America's first victory in the Revolutionary War. [74] Furthermore, revolutionary mobs were scouring Philadelphia for Loyalists, and Arnold and the Shippen family were being threatened. Andr was captured the next day, near Tarrytown, with those plans tucked inside his boot. "Arnold, Benedict (17411801)". The first man was a British major named John Andre. According to W. D. Wetherell, he was: [A]mong the hardest human beings to understand in American history. [77] Arnold worked over the next few months to publicize this fact; however, Washington published a formal rebuke of his behavior in early April, just one week after he had congratulated Arnold on the birth of his son Edward Shippen Arnold on March 19:[78], The Commander-in-Chief would have been much happier in an occasion of bestowing commendations on an officer who had rendered such distinguished services to his country as Major General Arnold; but in the present case, a sense of duty and a regard to candor oblige him to declare that he considers his conduct [in the convicted actions] as imprudent and improper. For a time, he was a successful businessman, but after yellow fever took the lives of three of the Arnold children, the patriarch was devastated. [149] The faculty club at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton has a Benedict Arnold Room in which letters written by Arnold hang on the walls. Answer (1 of 54): Go up to most British people and ask who Benedict Arnold was, and you will get a resounding "who?" back. Benedict Arnold passed away on 3 March 1849. "[32], Arnold began the war as a captain in the Connecticut militia, a position to which he was elected in March 1775. [127] His funeral procession boasted "seven mourning coaches and four state carriages";[103] the funeral was without military honors. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Odell was a Loyalist working with William Franklin, the last colonial governor of New Jersey and the son of Benjamin Franklin. Nor was it named after Pope Benedict XIII, the leader of the Catholic Church from 1724 to 1730 (or any of the 15 other popes who took the name Benedict). He hoped that this work would earn him wider respect and a new command; instead, it earned him and his sons a land-grant of 15,000 acres (6,100ha) in Upper Canada,[122] near present-day Renfrew, Ontario. On August 13, Schuyler dispatched him with a force of 900 to relieve the siege of Fort Stanwix, where he succeeded in a ruse to lift the siege. The fort was finally captured by the British in 1759. [3] Some among those in his military and political circles charged him with corruption and other bad acts. Peggy Shippen had barely turned eighteen when in June of 1778, following the evacuation of Philadelphia by a British army, Major General Benedict . [83], Andr returned victorious from the Siege of Charleston on June 18, and both he and Clinton were immediately caught up in this news. [70] This initial letter opened a discussion on the types of assistance and intelligence that Arnold might provide, and included instructions for how to communicate in the future. General Parsons laid it aside, seeing a letter written as a coded business discussion. [24] Arnold initially took no part in any public demonstrations but, like many merchants, continued to do business openly in defiance of the Parliamentary Acts, which legally amounted to smuggling. With Benedict Arnold, he led the Green Mountain Boys to capture Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775. May God forgive me for ever having put on another,"[125] but this story may be apocryphal. Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Connecticut. [22] In a strange twist of fate, "the second most hated British . As the park's Facebook page explains, the hero's name was left off the monument for a reason. betrayal. "[102], 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[b] for his defection because his plot had failed. 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. 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. He led a force of more than 1,700 men which burned most of New London to the ground on September 4, causing damage estimated at $500,000. Arnold never received all of the 20,000 pounds he was promised by the British for becoming a traitor. As a teenager, Arnold's family faced financial hardship. [128], Arnold left a small estate, reduced in size by his debts, which Peggy undertook to clear. The band played a funeral march. He led the British army in battle against the soldiers whom he had once commanded, after which his name became, and has remained, synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.[2]. After Arnold was wounded in 1777, George Washington named him military governor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, recently abandoned by the British. Arnold had three sons with Margaret Mansfield:[150][151]. He was extremely unpopular there and returned to London permanently in 1791, where he died ten years later. 1:38. In the later part of the conflict, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army, and placed in command of the American Legion. A historical marker in Danvers, Massachusetts commemorates Benedict Arnold's 1775 expedition to Quebec Bayley Seton Hospital in the Clifton section of Staten Island was named in part for Richard Bayley, father of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton [118] The family moved to Saint John in 1787, where Arnold created an uproar with a series of bad business deals and petty lawsuits. A Connecticut militia force arrived at Ticonderoga in June; Arnold had a dispute with its commander over control of the fort, and resigned his Massachusetts commission. Soon after Ticonderoga, Arnold brought his men on a dangerous trek through the . Stansbury's testimony before a British commission erroneously placed his meeting with Arnold in June. By the time that he was 14, there was no money for private education. [95] They found the papers exposing the plot to capture West Point and passed them on to their superiors,[96] but Andr convinced the unsuspecting Colonel John Jameson, to whom he was delivered, to send him back to Arnold at West Pointbut he never reached West Point. [42] Amid negotiations over that issue, Arnold wrote out a letter of resignation on July 11, the same day that word arrived in Philadelphia that Fort Ticonderoga had fallen to the British. He began to drink heavily, and . How did Benedict Arnold betray the Continental Army to the British? [119] The most serious of these was a slander suit which he won against a former business partner; and following this, townspeople burned him in effigy in front of his house, as Peggy and the children watched. His company marched northeast the following month to assist in the siege of Boston that followed the Battles of Lexington and Concord. He joined the growing American army outside of Boston, and distinguished himself by acts that demonstrated intelligence and bravery: In 1775, he captured Fort Ticonderoga. She was the conduit for information to the British. He returned to the army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in May 1778 to the applause of men who had served under him at Saratoga. Unable to obtain a regular commission in the British army after the war, Arnold pursued various business ventures like land speculation and privateering before permanently settling in London. Benedict Arnold Is America's Most Famous Traitor. Troops were liberally distributed within Arnold's command area (but only minimally at West Point itself) or furnished to Washington on request. [68] 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. [111] He renewed that request when he learned of the surrender, which Clinton then granted. He knew that he was distrusted and disliked by senior military officers on both sides. Two months later he repelled a British attack on Danbury, Connecticut, and was made a major general, but his seniority was not restored and Arnold felt his honour impugned. In a July 11 letter, he complained that the British did not appear to trust him, and threatened to break off negotiations unless progress was made. Arnold didn't die a heroic death, or even a cowardly death. While there, he disentangled himself from a lawsuit over an unpaid debt that Peggy had been fighting while he was away, paying 900[b] to settle a 12,000[b] loan that he had taken while living in Philadelphia. They bought three trading ships, using the profits from the sale of his homestead, and established a lucrative West Indies trade. [62], Wetherell says that the shortest explanation for his treason is that he "married the wrong person". He wrote that 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? In his martial success, he became the target of jealous mediocrities. At critical moments Arnold inspired the Patriots with his grit and determination and earned the admiration of George Washington. He had requested to resign multiple times after being refused promotions and, from December 1779 to January 1780, was court-martialed because of multiple charges of misconduct. 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. [79], Shortly after Washington's rebuke, a Congressional inquiry into Arnold's expenditures concluded that he had failed to account fully for his expenditures incurred during the Quebec invasion, and that he owed the Congress some 1,000,[b] largely because he was unable to document them. When in February 1777 Congress created five new major generalships, Arnold was passed over in favour of his juniors. At the age of sixteen, Arnold enlisted in a militia and served in the French and Indian War in upstate New York . His father was a successful businessman and young Benedict had a comfortable childhood. This plan very nearly succeeded, but Arnold changed living quarters prior to sailing for Virginia in December and thus avoided capture. Arnold's childhood was marred by tragedy; by age 20, he was an orphan struggling to make his way in the world as an apothecary. The French had besieged Fort William Henry in northeastern New York, and their Indian allies had committed atrocities after their victory. "[65] A few days later, Arnold wrote to Greene and lamented over the "deplorable" and "horrid" situation of the country at that particular moment, citing the depreciating currency, disaffection of the army, and internal fighting in Congress, while predicting "impending ruin" if things did not change soon. Benedict Arnold was an American Senior Officer during the Revolutionary War. Therefore, the answer to your question is no, we do not commemorate Benedict Arnold. [99][100] Upon receiving Jameson's message, however, he learned that Jameson had sent Washington the papers which Andr was carrying. [112], In London, Arnold aligned himself with the Tories, advising Germain and King George III to renew the fight against the Americans. The crowd of hundreds of people was quiet. [101] From the ship, he wrote a letter to Washington[102] requesting that Peggy be given safe passage to her family in Philadelphiawhich Washington granted. He was again severely wounded in the left leg late in the fighting. 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. Clinton was uninterested in most of his aggressive ideas, but finally authorized him to raid the port of New London, Connecticut. Historians have several theories about why Arnold became a traitor: greed; mounting debt; resentment of other officers; a hatred of the Continental Congress; and a desire for the colonies to remain under British rule. He was a war hero who persistently fought for America's independence. Benedict Arnold was born a British subject, the second of six children of his father Benedict Arnold III (16831761) and Hannah Waterman King in Norwich, Connecticut, on January 14, 1741. [103] 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. Before his betrayal Benedict Arnold was a legitimate hero and a competent officer. Later,. She couldand did. [11], In 1755, Arnold was attracted by the sound of a drummer and attempted to enlist in the provincial militia for service in the French and Indian War, but his mother refused permission. Arnold lost most of his siblings to yellow fever, calamitous events that triggered alcoholism in his father. She was a close friend of British major John Andr and kept in contact with him when he became head of the British espionage system in New York. Arnold's letters continued to detail Washington's troop movements and provide information about French reinforcements that were being organized. [55], Andr conferred with Clinton, who gave him broad authority to pursue Arnold's offer. At first, he asked for indemnification of his losses and 10,000,[b] an amount that the Continental Congress had given Charles Lee for his services in the Continental Army. Peggy's Childhood Peggy was the daughter of Edward Shippen and born into a prominent Philadelphia family. After the war, he petitioned to have Vermont become a state. [135] Jefferson Davis and other southern secessionist leaders were unfavorably compared to Arnold, implicitly and explicitly likening the idea of secession to treason. 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. Needed repairs were never ordered on the chain across the Hudson. Answer (1 of 2): In the United States, Benedict Arnold has the dubious distinction of being one of the primary figures responsible for the Revolutionary War's losing cause. 2. [45] He then distinguished himself in both Battles of Saratoga, even though General Gates removed him from field command after the first battle, following a series of escalating disagreements and disputes that culminated in a shouting match. The Arnold residence attained the reputation as one of early Amsterdam's finer homes. For additional information about Arnold's amazing career as a Continental officer, consult James Kirby Martin, Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered (New York, 1997). His father was a successful businessman and young Arnold was educated in private schools. He is also believed to have built the first U.S. telescope. [33], The Second Continental Congress authorized an invasion of Quebec, in part on the urging of Arnoldbut he was passed over for command of the expedition. American, then British officer after defecting during the US Revolutionary War (17401801), For other people named Benedict Arnold, see, Raids in Virginia and Connecticut colonies, Arnold's birth records indicate that he was born January 3, 1740 (, One British pound in 1776 would be worth about 160 in 2019. Through his maternal grandmother, Arnold was a descendant of John Lothropp, an ancestor of six presidents. He proposed an action to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety to seize Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York, which he knew was poorly defended. To raise money, he violated several state and military regulations, arousing the suspicions and, finally, the denunciations of Pennsylvanias supreme executive council. Working as a spy, Armistead gained the trust of General Cornwallis and Benedict Arnold,. It was General Arnold. [1] [7] Arnold was the fourth surviving member of his family named after his great-grandfather Benedict Arnold I, an early governor of the Colony of Rhode Island; his grandfather (Benedict Arnold II) and father, as well as an older brother who died in infancy, were also named for the colonial governor. After the usual exchange of greetings I ventured to request from him some letters of introduction to his friends in America. Benedict Arnold is an American Revolutionary War General who is known for being the best American Strategist during the war. [105] He also wrote in the letter to Washington requesting safe passage for Peggy: "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. Arnold was made a brigadier general in the British army. Once the former Revolutionary War hero . He helped organize militia forces on British-held islands, receiving praise from the landowners for his efforts on their behalf. (Benedict Cumberbatch doesn't count; he's British.) Benedict Arnold, despite his bravery on the battlefield, eventually switched sides and became the most infamous traitor in American history. He also peppered Washington with complaints about the lack of supplies, writing, "Everything is wanting. [86], Arnold's command at West Point also gave him authority over the entire American-controlled Hudson River, from Albany down to the British lines outside New York City. He was well received by King George III and the Tories but frowned upon by the Whigs and most Army officers. [41], Arnold was on his way to Philadelphia to discuss his future when he was alerted that a British force was marching toward a supply depot in Danbury, Connecticut. [120] The family left Saint John to return to London in December 1791. [80] Many of these documents had been lost during the retreat from Quebec. 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. [113] Other attempts all failed to gain positions within the government or the British East India Company over the next few years, and he was forced to subsist on the reduced pay of non-wartime service. [1] Only he and his sister Hannah survived to adulthood; his other siblings died from yellow fever in childhood. He won a victory at Fort Stanwix (now Rome) in August 1777 and commanded advance battalions at the Battle of Saratoga that autumn, fighting brilliantly until seriously wounded. Before his name became synonymous with treason, Benedict Arnold was a bonafide hero of the American Revolutionary War. Before anyone spouts off about me being a 'libtard' I am a conservative. He claimed that Arnold was guilty of all kinds of treasonous acts and preferred the company of the British loyalists, all without offering any proof. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort there to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled to the British lines. [91][92] This action did little damage besides giving the captain, Andrew Sutherland, a splinter in his nosebut the splinter prompted the Vulture to retreat,[93] forcing Andr to return to New York overland. [108], On his return to New York in June, Arnold made a variety of proposals for attacks on economic targets to force the Americans to end the war. One month after taking command, Arnold slipped the plans to British Major John Andr in exchange for 20,000 pounds of sterling, the equivalent of more than $4 million today. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British side of the conflict in 1780. Various translations of Sun Tzu's The Art of War have been published over the past century. The other leg ached constantly, and he walked only with a cane. Things Trump will never be. He presided over the rear of the Continental Army during its retreat from Saint-Jean, where he was reported by James Wilkinson to be the last person to leave before the British arrived. [60] Some of this communication was effected through the services of Joseph Stansbury, a Philadelphia merchant.[61]. Why did Benedict Arnold betray the Continental Army to the British? [1][7] Arnold was the fourth surviving member of his family named after his great-grandfather Benedict Arnold I, an early governor of the Colony of Rhode Island; his grandfather (Benedict Arnold II) and father, as well as an older brother who died in infancy, were also named for the colonial governor. Before it could be carried out, however, minutemen captured John Andr and informed General George Washingtonof the plot. His father's alcoholism and ill health kept him from training Arnold in the family mercantile business, but his mother's family connections secured an apprenticeship for him with her cousins Daniel and Joshua Lathrop, who operated a successful apothecary and general merchandise trade in Norwich. It just doesn't respect it", "Letter, Benedict Arnold to George Washington pleading for mercy for his wife", "Benedict Arnold: The Aftermath of Treason", "Saratoga National Historical Park Activities", "Saratoga National Historical Park Tour Stop 7", links to primary sources about Benedict Arnold before and after his treason, Arnold, Benedict (17411801), army officer | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, African Americans in the Revolutionary War, Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benedict_Arnold&oldid=1139478021, 18th-century American non-fiction writers, American expatriates in the United Kingdom, British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War, British people of the French Revolutionary Wars, British spies during the American Revolution, Businesspeople from New Haven, Connecticut, Connecticut militiamen in the American Revolution, Continental Army officers from Connecticut, Continental Army personnel who were court-martialed, Military personnel from Norwich, Connecticut, People of Connecticut in the French and Indian War, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2019, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020, All articles with broken links to citations, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Benedict Arnold (17681795) (Captain, British Army in Jamaica), Henry Arnold (17721826) (Lieutenant, American Legion cavalry), Edward Shippen Arnold (17801813) (Lieutenant, British Army in India; see, James Robertson Arnold (17811854) (Lieutenant General, Royal Engineers), George Arnold (17871828) (Lieutenant Colonel, 2nd (or 7th) Bengal Cavalry). Arnold established himself in business in 1762 as a pharmacist and bookseller in New Haven, Connecticut, with the help of the Lathrops. Arnold benefited from his relationship with Mansfield, who became a partner in his business and used his position as sheriff to shield him from creditors. [73] By October 1779, the negotiations had ground to a halt. He and his men were joined by Richard Montgomery's small army and participated in the December 31 assault on Quebec City in which Montgomery was killed and Arnold's leg was shattered. When his British contact, Maj. John Andr, was captured by the Americans, Arnold escaped on a British ship, leaving Andr to be hanged as a spy. 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. [40] In February 1777, he learned that he had been passed over by Congress for promotion to major general. And those of us with long memories can take some comfort that things didn't go much better for Arnold once he left the colonies to live in . [117] After her first voyage, Arnold returned to London in 1786 to bring his family to Saint John. Arnold's friend, George Washington, was heartbroken over the news, but was forced to deal with the treacherous act. Benedict died of natural causes, maybe a fever. [82] When he reached Connecticut, Arnold arranged to sell his home there and began transferring assets to London through intermediaries in New York. 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). Apparently, Arnold also had self-confidence issues and his new wife Peggy wasn't helping the situation. Phillips led further raids across Virginia, including a defeat of Baron von Steuben at Petersburg, but he died of fever on May 12, 1781. [94], Andr was captured near Tarrytown, New York, on Saturday, September 23, by three Westchester militiamen. [134] 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. Though Trump has checked off the betray the USA box quite well. [109] They also attacked and captured Fort Griswold across the river in Groton, Connecticut, slaughtering the Americans after they surrendered following the Battle of Groton Heightsand all these deeds were done just a few miles down the Thames River from Norwich, where Arnold grew up. [citation needed], He then continued on to Philadelphia where he met with members of Congress about his rank. A figure climbed down from the larger sloop, into the boat and quietly made his way up the Hudson River. He led a small contingent of militia attempting to stop or slow the British return to the coast in the Battle of Ridgefield, and was again wounded in his left leg. Washington was one of the few who genuinely liked and admired him, but Arnold thought that Washington had betrayed him. During the summer of 1778, he met Peggy Shippen, the 18-year-old daughter of Judge Edward Shippen (III), a Loyalist sympathizer who had done business with the British while they occupied the city;[57] Peggy had been courted by British Major John Andr during the British occupation of Philadelphia. It described a boy who stole eggs from birds' nests, pulled wings off insects, and engaged in other sorts of wanton cruelty, who then grew up to become a traitor to his country. He received a colonel's commission in the Continental Army for this expedition and left Cambridge in September 1775 with 1,100 men. Andr had spies and informers keeping track of Arnold to verify his movements. He was on his way home from Ticonderoga when he learned that his wife had died earlier in June. By early July, he was back in Philadelphia, where he wrote another secret message to Clinton on July 7 which implied that his appointment to West Point was assured and that he might even provide a "drawing of the works by which you might take [West Point] without loss". [citation needed]. 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". The first major biography of his life was The Life and Treason of Benedict Arnold, published in 1832 by historian Jared Sparks; it was particularly harsh in showing how Arnold's treacherous character was formed out of childhood experiences. Faced financial hardship 94 ], in Norwich, Connecticut American history most British! 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