Benedict Arnold
On January 14, 1741, Benedict
Arnold
was born in Norwich, Connecticut. (B Arnold) Arnold’s father, also
named
Benedict, had a drinking problem and his mother Hannah often worried.
(B
Arnold) Arnold received his schooling at Canterbury. (B Arnold) While
away at
school, a few of Arnold’s siblings passed away from Yellow Fever. (B
Arnold)
Arnold was a troublesome kid that would try just about anything.
(B Arnold) As a
rebellious 14-year-old boy, he ran away from home to fight in
the French and
Indian War. (B Arnold) Later, Benedict Arnold deserted and
returned home through
the wilderness alone to work with his cousins. (B
Arnold) The army had excused
him without penalty because of his tender, young
age. In 1762, when Benedict was
just twenty-one years old, he went to New
Haven, Connecticut where he managed a
book and drug store and carried on
trade with the West Indies. (B Arnold) In
1767, he married Margaret
Mansfield, a daughter of a sheriff of New Haven
County. (B Arnold) They
had three sons together. (B Arnold) When the
Revolutionary War was just
beginning to break out, Benedict Arnold became a
prosperous ship owner,
merchant, and trader. (Lake Champlain) Within days,
Arnold became very
interested in the war once again and joined the American
Army. All of the
battles Arnold commanded over showed immense courage and
bravery, but he was
soon known as America’s greatest traitor due to his
betrayal of the
American’s. As the Revolutionary War broke out, Benedict
Arnold decided
to volunteer to head over 1,000 men up to Maine. (Lake Champlain)
He
asked for additional men from his companies to join the army. Arnold
then
became a captain in the Connecticut Militia. General George Washington
had his
favorites, which Arnold was among the very few. (Macks 118) So,
Benedict Arnold
was sent on a infernal 500 mile march to Maine by Washington
also known as
"The Rock". (Macks 72, 118) There, he met up with General
Richard
Montgomery. (Macks 72) The relentless Benedict Arnold and only
about fifty
percent of his original soldiers made it to the St. Lawrence
River where they
met up with General Montgomery. (Macks 72) Their plan was to
attack the British
Army by surprise in Quebec City, Canada. (Lake
Champlain and Macks 72) Both
Montgomery and Arnold arranged to start on
the lofty mountain sides of Quebec. (Macks
72) Arnold and his soldiers
found themselves trapped by the British. A member of
the British Army shot a
musket ball directly towards Arnold’s leg. (Macks 73)
His leg was badly
broken and he had to be taken to a hospital bed almost a mile
away from the
attack. (Macks 73) The courageous and brave Arnold relentlessly
hollered
orders from his bed, as his hard working troopers were overthrown by
the
British Army. (Macks 73) The attack had lasted fifty days and the
secret
journey resulted in a catastrophe for the volunteer soldiers who
marched away.
(Lake Champlain) The conditions were horrendous. It was said
that almost fifty
percent of the men froze, starved, and even made broth for
nourishment by
boiling leather from their shoes. (Lake Champlain) Forty, of
the fifty percent
of the worn out men died before returning home. (Lake
Champlain) During this
time, Arnold had tremendous leadership and courage in
those woods. Many people
believed that they would have all perished if it
were not for dauntless and
extraordinary field general-ship. (Lake Champlain)
The Massachusetts Committee
of Safety became suspicious of Arnold’s behavior
and conduct. Benedict was fed
up so he resigned his commission at Crown
Point, New York. (M. Flynn) While
Benedict was on his way back to
Connecticut, he first dropped by Albany, New
York where he talked with
the commander of the Northern Army, Major General
Philip Schuyler. (M.
Flynn) Arnold tried to persuade the General into letting
him invade Quebec.
Arnold understood that he would later face consequences with
the
Massachusetts Committee because of his actions, but he prepared himself.
(M.
Flynn) Benedict came up with a petition and accumulated over 500
signatures from
Northern New Yorkers. (M. Flynn) The petition showed the
American’s
appreciation of his accomplishments and good deeds. (M. Flynn) The
petition soon
became useless. Arnold’s wife had been sick with an illness for
quite some
time. (B Arnold) The news soon made it to him that Margaret had
passed away. (M.
Flynn) Arnold proceeded back to New Haven to bury his
wife and sort through her
belongings. (M. Flynn) He soon returned to the same
spot, but this time he had a
new method of taking control of Quebec. (M.
Flynn) Arnold met with General
Washington once again and informed him of
his plan to invade Quebec City for the
second time. Both Arnold and General
Philip Schuyler, a well-educated man from
the upper class, would take
different routes up to Canada. (M. Flynn) Arnold
would go up the Kennebec
River into northwest Maine and would then travel
through the woods, while
Schuyler would head directly north. (M. Flynn)
Washington thought
Arnold’s plan was brilliant and told him to go ahead with
it but under two
conditions. (M. Flynn) First, Arnold had to talk to the
Massachusetts
Committee of Safety in regards to previous accusations. Second,
Benedict
had to obtain General Schuyler’s permission to accompany him on the
invasion.
(M. Flynn) Once these two circumstances were met, Arnold would become
a
colonel and serve in the Continental Army. (M. Flynn) After meeting with
the
Massachusetts Committee of Safety, Arnold was dismissed of any
errors. (M.
Flynn) While patiently waiting for Schuylers decision,
Washington ordered Arnold
to stay on campus until the word came through.
Arnold didn’t bother to listen
to anything Washington had to say so he left
for a close-by journey to
Watertown. (M. Flynn) He soon found out that
General Philip Schuyler would be
setting out to attack Montreal on August 30.
(M. Flynn) Arnold was overjoyed
with the news. Colonel Arnold and General
Washington validated sixteen thousand
men on September 2, 1775 before heading
off to Canada. (M. Flynn) Arnold ended
up choosing a little under one
thousand men to take with him on the attack. (M.
Flynn) Washington had
additionally added three hundred more soldiers from
Pennsylvania and
Virginia to proceed with Arnold. (M. Flynn) Arnold carefully
followed a map
to the mouth of the Kennebec River. He soon realized that the map
had been
altered by British authorities before it had been printed. (M.
Flynn)
Arnold also found out that the man he chose to replicate the map
was an
undercover Tory. (M. Flynn) The man had changed the map around even
more and
handed them out to all of Arnold’s men. (M. Flynn) Now, Arnold was
facing an
extra two hundred and twenty miles to march. The weather soon
became horrendous.
There were raging rainstorms and strong winds, almost
like a hurricane. (M.
Flynn) Part of Arnold’s men backed out and returned
home with most of the
Army’s food. (M. Flynn) The left over men were
subdued to eating tree bark,
leather from their shoes, Newfoundlander dogs,
and anything that could be
digested. (M. Flynn) The men were spread out and
it was difficult for Arnold to
keep count. (M. Flynn) The first men to arrive
at the St. Lawrence River in
Quebec were only a week and a half late,
even with the extra miles added on. (M.
Flynn) Montreal ended up
surrendering to General Richard Montgomery on November
13th. (M. Flynn)
Montgomery had replaced Schuyler for an unknown reason. (M.
Flynn) The
British were completely aware of Arnold’s plan to attack Quebec
once again.
(M. Flynn) Arnold had written General Schuyler a letter updating
about the
soldiers advancements. (M. Flynn) Benedict gave the letter to a well
trusted
Indian so he could bring it to Schuyler. (M. Flynn) The Indian
betrayed
Arnold and Schuyler’s trust by handing over the letter to the
British.
That’s how Arnold’s plan was discovered by the enemies. (M.
Flynn) On New
Year’s Eve, in the middle of a snowstorm, Montgomery and
Arnold started their
attack on Quebec City. (M. Flynn) Within minutes, the
British were alerted. (M.
Flynn) Montgomery was killed by a cannon ball.
(M. Flynn) Without a leader,
Montgomery’s forces headed off. Arnold was
quickly made Brigadier General by
Congress and Washington’s approval. (M.
Flynn) An additional two thousand and
five hundred soldiers were sent up due
to the low number of men left. (M. Flynn)
About two hundred and ninety
men were taken hostage as prisoners, thirty-five
were hurt, and fifty had
died. (M. Flynn) A new British Army from England
disembarked and ended the
invasion. (M. Flynn) The war was successful. Arnold
was the head of the
evacuation of Montreal. Arnold was the last person to leave
the Canadian
border to head down south. (M. Flynn) Benedict’s return back to
the colonies
with his soldiers started in June of 1776. (M. Flynn) Arnold
discovered
exactly how much his home country had changed since he was away. For
example,
Virginia became independent and his church had been arrested because
they
were British spies. (M. Flynn) The war has ended. American’s
said,
"Arnold showed himself as the most enterprising man among the
rebels". (M.
Flynn) Arnold was determined to fight near Valcour Island,
which is comfortably
up against the shoreline of New York. (Lake Champlain)
In June of 1776, while
the Battle of Valcour Island just began, Arnold had
hurt himself badly. (Lake
Champlain) Despite his pain, Arnold managed to
lead his soldiers the rest of the
way to Lake Champlain. (Lake Champlain)
July 7, 1776, Benedict and his men
headed to Lake Champlain. (Lake Champlain)
They found refuge at the southern end
of the lake. It turned out that Arnold
led his men into the exact spot they
wanted to be in, which was Fort Amherst
on Crown Point. (Lake Champlain) They
were all glad that the their travels
were over. Benedict and his soldiers rowed
just about one hundred miles to
reach their destination. (Lake Champlain) It was
a long and stressful
journey. While Arnold had previously fought in Canada, he
picked up
strategies to win wars just by watching every little move of the
British
soldiers. (Lake Champlain) The British were powerful and
compelling.
Arnold knew there was no possible way to defeat the Northern
Army, at least not
in 1776. He told his fellow officers that the only thing
America could hope for
was to delay the Northern Army. (Lake Champlain)
Arnold’s ongoing energy and
positive enthusiasm kept his men on their toes.
(Lake Champlain) A tiny group of
fifteen boats finally formed by late
September. Arnold urged, prayed, badgered,
and pleaded to Washington to put
together a navy of about five hundred men.
(Lake Champlain) Arnold did not
care whether the men were unskilled or
half-naked, he was desperate. (Lake
Champlain) Washington approved Arnold’s
needs, he sent the boats up north.
Arnold sailed the boats on the Richelieu
River, which was near a British
preparation site. (Lake Champlain) Arnold
ordered his men to fire the cannons
to let the British know they were there.
(Lake Champlain) Although Arnold
lost the Lake Champlain battle, he never gave
up. He alone created a far
reaching "victory" for his country. (Lake
Champlain) In 1776, Benedict
Arnold was associated with a number of different
summer battles. (B Arnold)
These battles were involving any kinds of war, they
were legal matters. (B
Arnold) Arnold was taken to court for stealing goods from
numerous stores in
Montreal after a battle. (B Arnold) In Arnold’s defense, he
accused Officer
Hazen of not taking command. After that, Arnold felt as if he
was the one who
had to take control. (B Arnold) Hazen was brought into the
court. Arnold and
Hazen started a vicious argument that became hot. (B Arnold)
The court
was in favor of the officer and they demanded Arnold to apologize
to
Hazen. Arnold was furious and refused to apologize to anybody. (B
Arnold) To get
revenge, Arnold decided to challenge the court. In
retaliation, the court
demanded to arrest Arnold. (B Arnold) On Lake
Champlain in New York State, was
an important place during the Revolutionary
War. (Kenneth 65) It was an easy
access route by water for the invasion of
Canada. (Kenneth 65) A group of
Americans put together an expedition to
take over Fort Ticonderoga. (Kenneth 65)
The group included Ethan Allen,
a Vermont colonial leader and Benedict Arnold, a
colonel from Connecticut.
(Kenneth 65) Arnold trained his own militia force for
the capture of the
fort. (Kenneth 65) Arnold and Allen met up in Bennington. (B
Arnold)
Arnold accompanied Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, also known
as
Vermont soldiers, before heading off to Fort Ticonderoga on May 10,
1775.
(Kenneth 65) Benedict Arnold shared the command with Allen. Allen and
Arnold led
the Green Mountain Boys in a surprise attack. (Kenneth 65) The
capture was
successful. Not a single person from Arnold and Allen’s troops
had died while
taking over the fort. The Green Mountain Boys celebrated their
victory by
breaking into rum stores and getting drunk. (B Arnold) The Green
Mountain Boys
and Allen basically ignored Arnold during and after the capture
of Fort
Ticonderoga. (B Arnold) Benedict went to Colonel Easton to
complain about the
way he was treated. The two ended up in an argument and
nothing was ever solved.
(B Arnold) Arnold was even spotted spending time
with the officers from the
other side instead of his fellow soldiers. (B
Arnold) Soon enough, Arnold
eventually gained some status by his knowledge
about sailing ships. (B Arnold)
Easton returned from Massachusetts where
he went to announce the capture of Fort
Ticonderoga. (B Arnold) At this
time, Allen and Benedict were making a plan to
invade Quebec City, Canada. (B
Arnold) While in Massachusetts, Colonel Easton
had just about destroyed any
knowledge about Arnold’s participation in the
capture. (B Arnold) Arnold was
furious and once again the two engaged in an
argument which further resulted
in a physical fight. (B Arnold) The British
recaptured the fort in 1777, but
abandoned it in 1780. The fort was left behind
because the British gave up
hope of using the invasion route in later years.
(Kenneth 65) At Saratoga
National Historic Park in Stillwater, New York, rests a
monument to Benedict
Arnold’s leg. (BA’s Leg) The monument sits on the exact
spot of where
Benedict was knocked down and wounded when the Battle of
Freeman’s Farm
was in progress. (BA’s Leg) Benedict Arnold’s leg was
pinned beneath his own
horse. His leg was extremely wounded and bled immensely.
(BA’s Leg) Although
Arnold’s leg was badly broken, it survived the battle.
(BA’s Leg) While being
appointed to command over the city of Philadelphia in
1778, Arnold met a
young woman named Peggy Shippen. (B Arnold and Macks 118)
Peggy was a
society girl and the daughter of an important Tory. (Macks 118) She
had three
daughters by her husband Edward Shippen who was a judge. (B Arnold)
Soon
enough, Arnold and Peggy began to have a close relationship. (B Arnold)
The
two were inseparable and Arnold asked Peggy for her hand in marriage.
Peggy was
only eighteen years old and Benedict was thirty-eight years old
when they tied
the knot. (B Arnold) Both were beginning their second
marriage. (Macks 118)
Arnold began to receive high social status after
marrying into the Shippen
family. (B Arnold) That’s what Arnold had longed
for his entire life. He and
his wife lived generously and extravagantly, and
Arnold drew criticism for
living beyond his means. (Macks 118) Benedict found
himself in debt most of the
time and was on the look out for scams that would
entitle him money to spoil his
wife. (Macks 118) Only Arnold knew the two
lived beyond what they could afford
and Benedict soon realized that his new
social status was too difficult to pay
for. (B Arnold) Arnold was involved in
some risky business involving him using
government supplies for his own
needs. (B Arnold) Congress always kept a close
eye on Arnold because he had
been accused of numerous accusations previous to
his marriage. (B Arnold) The
executive council of Pennsylvania accused Benedict
of Tory leanings and of
using military soldiers as his own personal servants. (Macks
118) He was
soon brought to a marital court where he was found guilty on two
different
charges. (B Arnold) He was guilty of issuing a pass to a ship he
later
invested money in and for using government owned wagons for his own
personal
use. (B Arnold) The court ended up dismissing him without any
wrongdoing, but he
was scolded for using poor judgment by General Washington.
(Macks 118) Soon,
Arnold became enraged and irritated with his own
country. He thought he deserved
to be recognized for his money, rank, and
glory. (Macks 118) Only a year and a
half after Arnold’s heroic courage at
Saratoga, he offered his services to the
British Army. (BA’s Leg) Arnold
convinced General George Washington to give
him command over West Point, a
fierce American fort in which he was soon to take
over. (Macks 118 and BA’s
Leg) The West Point fort guards the Hudson River,
which is north of New York
City. (Macks 118 and BA’s Leg) In May of 1779,
Arnold became in command
of West Point, but he worked out a plan to surrender
the fort to the British
general, Sir Henry Clinton. Benedict had arranged to
hand over the keys to
West Point. (BA’s Leg) He had been corresponding with
the British for almost
sixteen months. In September of 1780, a group of thieves
trapped a traveler
in the woods right outside of West Point. (Macks 119)
American forces
captured the man. He was turned over to the American Army where
his true
identity was revealed. (Macks 119) The "traveler" turned out to be
Major
John Andr?,
who was part of the British Army. (Macks 119) He was Benedict
Arnold’s
connection with the British. (BA’s Leg) The scandalous scheme was
quickly
detected. (BA’s Leg) The American’s found a map and many letters in
his
boot. (Macks 119 and BA’s Leg) The letters that were found,
implicated
Benedict. (BA’s Leg) Arnold’s scheme to surrender West Point
was fully
uncovered. (Macks 119) Before General Washington could arrest, then
later
capture and kill Arnold for being a traitor, he escaped from the
American’s
and went to New York City where he became a Brigadier general in
the British
Army. (Macks 119 and BA’s Leg) The British sent a frigate
called "Vulture"
so he could disappear without harm. (BA’s Leg) A frigate is
a fast, medium
sized sailing war ship of the eighteenth century. Soon after
his escape, Arnold
began to conquer British forces. Arnold demanded 20,000
pounds from the British
for the losses he suffered in joining them. He
received only 6,315 pounds. Now a
British officer, he led his new men on
expeditions that burned Richmond,
Virginia and New London, Connecticut,
his native state. (BA’s Leg) Thankfully,
West Point was saved. The
British agent, Major John Andr?, was soon hanged by the
American Army.
(Macks 120 and BA’s Leg) The British lost the battle and Arnold
became
dismayed at the mistake of switching sides. (BA’s Leg) The once
great
Benedict Arnold, was referred to as a "businessman turned ruthless,
ambitious
soldier". (Macks 70) Arnold was recognized kindly by King George
III when he
went to England in 1781, but others there looked down upon him.
In 1797, the
British government granted him 13,400 acres in Canada. The
land was of little
use to him. Benedict spent most of his remaining years as
a merchant in the West
India trade, just like he had once done. His
second wife Peggy was faithful to
him through all of his troubles. Arnold’s
wife was considered an innocent
person throughout Arnold’s betrayal. (B
Arnold) People believed that Peggy
indeed played an extremely important role
in knowing what was going on with her
husband and the British. (B Arnold)
Peggy had been close friends with Major John
Andr? before she met Arnold.
(B Arnold) It was said that during the winter of
1777 and 1778, the young
woman held many parties in her Philadelphia home. (B
Arnold) By this
time, Peggy had made many friends. Her parties and balls were
strictly for
people of high status. Lots of British officers and Tories
attended. (B
Arnold) It was thought that she may have encouraged him to become a
traitor
but it is not a proven fact. In Benedict Arnold’s last days he was
burdened
with debt, became discouraged, and was basically distrusted by most
people.
Arnold soon passed away in England in 1801. (BA’s Leg) He left behind
a total
of eight children. (B Arnold) Five of the children were from Peggy’s
first
marriage and the other three were from his first marriage to Margaret.
(B
Arnold) His four sons then became members of the British military.
America now
has their first despicable traitor! (Macks
120)
Bibliography
"The
Connecticut Society of the Sons of
the American Revolution." Online. May 1775.
28 Feb. 2000. . ~"Benedict
Arnold." Online. 19 March 2000. . ~"Benedict
Arnold’s Leg." Online. 7
March 2000. . ~"Benedict Arnold on Lake
Champlain. The Battle of Valcour
Island." Online. 7 March 2000. . ~Flynn, J.
Michael. "Benedict Arnold:
The Traitor Who Saved America." Online. 18 March
2000. . ~Kenneth, Dave
C. "Say You Want a Revolution." Don’t Know Much
About History. U.S.A:
Avon Books, 1995. ~Mack, Stan. "Redcoats and
Guerrillas." Real Life
American Revolution. USA: Avon Books,
1994.