Benedict Arnold | |
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 1776 portrait of Arnold by Thomas Hart | |
| Born | (1741-01-14)January 14, 1741 |
| Died | June 14, 1801(1801-06-14) (aged 60) London, England |
| Buried | 51°28′36″N0°10′32″W / 51.47667°N 0.17556°W /51.47667; -0.17556 |
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| Memorials | Boot Monument |
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| Children | 8 |
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| Signature |  |
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 atFort Griswold near this spot on the 6th of Sept. AD 1781, when the British, under the command ofthe Traitor Benedict Arnold, burnt the towns of New London and Groton and spread desolation and woe throughout the region.
Benedict Arnold (January 14, 1741 [O.S. January 3, 1740][1][a] – June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during theAmerican Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the AmericanContinental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British in 1780. GeneralGeorge Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command ofWest Point inNew York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled to the British lines. In the later part of the war, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in theBritish Army and placed in command of theAmerican Legion. He led British forces in battle against the army which he had once commanded, and his name became synonymous withtreason andbetrayal in the United States.[2]
Born inConnecticut, Arnold was a merchant operating ships in the Atlantic when the war began. He joined the growing American army outside ofBoston and distinguished himself by acts that demonstrated intelligence and bravery: In 1775, hecaptured Fort Ticonderoga. In 1776, he employed defensive and delaying tactics at theBattle of Valcour Island onLake Champlain that gave American forces time to prepare New York's defenses. His performance in theBattle of Ridgefield in Connecticut prompted his promotion to major general. He conducted operations that provided the Americans with relief during theSiege of Fort Stanwix, and key actions during the pivotal 1777Battles of Saratoga in which he sustained leg injuries that put him out of combat for several years.
Arnold repeatedly claimed that he was being passed over for promotion by theSecond Continental Congress, and that other officers were being given credit for some of his accomplishments.[3] Some in his military and political circles charged him withcorruption. After formal inquiries, he wasacquitted of all but two minor charges, but Congress investigated his finances and determined that he was indebted to Congress and that he had borrowed money heavily to maintain a lavish lifestyle.
Arnold mingled withLoyalist sympathizers inPhiladelphia and married into the Loyalist family ofPeggy Shippen. She was a close friend of British MajorJohn André and kept in contact with him when he became head of the British espionage system in New York. Many historians see her as having facilitated Arnold's plans to switch sides; he opened secret negotiations with André, and she relayed their messages to each other. The British promised £20,000 (equivalent to £3,353,000 in 2023) for the capture of West Point, a major American stronghold. Washington greatly admired Arnold and gave him command of that fort in July 1780. Arnold planned to surrender the fort to the British, but it was exposed in September 1780 when American militiamen captured André carrying papers which revealed the plot. Arnold escaped, and André washanged.
Arnold received acommission as a brigadier general in the British Army, an annual pension of £360 (equivalent to £60,000 in 2023) and a lump sum of over £6,000 (equivalent to £1,006,000 in 2023).[4] He led British forces in theraid on Richmond and oversaw a raid onNew London, Connecticut, which burned much of it to the ground. Arnold also commanded British forces at theBattle of Blandford and theBattle of Groton Heights, the latter taking place just a few miles downriver from the town where he had grown up. In the winter of 1782, he and Shippen moved toLondon. He was well received by KingGeorge III and theTories but frowned upon by theWhigs and most British Army officers. In 1787, he moved to thecolony of New Brunswick in what is now Canada to run a merchant business with his sons Richard and Henry. He was extremely unpopular there and returned to London permanently in 1791, where he died ten years later.
Benedict Arnold was born the second of six children of his father Benedict Arnold III (1683–1761) andHannah Waterman King inNorwich,Connecticut Colony, on January 14, 1741.[1][5] Arnold was the fourth member of his family named after his great-grandfatherBenedict Arnold I, an early governor of theColony 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.[1] Only he and his sister Hannah survived to adulthood; his other siblings died fromyellow fever in childhood.[6] Arnold's siblings were, in order of birth: Benedict (1738–1739), Hannah (1742–1803), Mary (1745–1753), Absolom (1747–1750) and Elizabeth (1749–1755). Through his maternal grandmother, Arnold was a descendant ofJohn Lothropp, an ancestor of six presidents.[7]
Arnold's father was a successful businessman, and the family moved in the upper levels of Norwich society. He was enrolled in a private school in nearbyCanterbury when he was aged 10, with the expectation that he would eventually attendYale College. However, the deaths of his siblings two years later may have contributed to a decline in the family's fortunes, since his father took up drinking. By the time Arnold was 14, there was no money for private education. His father'salcoholism and ill health kept him from training Arnold in the family mercantile business, but his mother's family connections secured anapprenticeship for him with her cousins Daniel and Joshua Lathrop, who operated a successfulapothecary and general merchandise trade in Norwich.[8] His apprenticeship with the Lathrops lasted seven years.[9]
Arnold was very close to his mother, who died in 1759. His father's alcoholism worsened after her death, and the youth took on the responsibility of supporting his father and younger sister. The elder Arnold was arrested on several occasions for public drunkenness, was refusedcommunion by his church, and died in 1761.[9]
In 1755, Arnold was attracted by the sound of a drummer and attempted to enlist in theConnecticut provincial militia for service in theFrench and Indian War, (known in Canada as a part of the more globalSeven Years' War) but his mother refused permission.[10] In 1757, when he was aged 16, Arnold did enlist in the Connecticut militia, which marched off towardAlbany,New York, andLake George. The French hadbesieged Fort William Henry in northeastern New York, and their Indian allies had committed atrocities after their victory. Word of the siege's disastrous outcome led the company to turn around, and Arnold served for only thirteen days.[11] A commonly accepted story that he deserted from militia service in 1758[12] is based on uncertain documentary evidence.[13]
Arnold established himself in business in 1762 as a pharmacist and bookseller inNew Haven, Connecticut, with the help of the Lathrops.[14] He was hardworking and successful, and was able to rapidly expand his business. In 1763, he repaid money that he had borrowed from the Lathrops,[15] repurchased the family homestead that his father had sold when deeply in debt, and resold it a year later for a substantial profit. In 1764, he formed a partnership with Adam Babcock, another young New Haven merchant. They bought three trading ships, using the profits from the sale of their homestead, and established a lucrativeWest Indies trade.[citation needed]
During this time, Arnold 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 throughoutNew England and fromQuebec to the West Indies, often in command of one of his own ships.[16] Some sources allege that on one of his voyages he fought aduel in Honduras with a British sea captain who had called him a "damnedYankee, destitute of good manners or those of a gentleman."[17][18] The captain was wounded in the first exchange of gunfire, and he apologized when Arnold threatened to aim to kill on the second.[19] However, it is unknown whether this encounter actually happened or not, and some historians characterize the alleged duel as a fabrication.[20]
TheSugar Act 1764 and theStamp Act 1765 severely curtailed mercantile trade in the colonies.[21] The Stamp Act prompted Arnold to join the chorus of voices in opposition, and also led to his joining theSons of Liberty, a secret organization which advocated resistance to those and other restrictiveParliamentary measures.[22] Arnold initially took no part in any public demonstrations but, like many merchants, continued to do business openly in defiance of the acts, which legally amounted tosmuggling. He also faced financial ruin, falling £16,000 (equivalent to £2,762,000 in 2023) in debt with creditors spreading rumors of hisinsolvency, to the point where he took legal action against them.[23] On the night of January 28, 1767, Arnold and members of his crew roughed up a man suspected of attempting to inform authorities of their smuggling. He was convicted ofdisorderly conduct and fined the relatively small amount of 50shillings; publicity of the case and widespread sympathy for his views probably contributed to the light sentence.[24]
On February 22, 1767, Arnold married Margaret Mansfield, daughter of Samuel Mansfield, the sheriff of New Haven and a fellow member in the localMasoniclodge.[25] Their son Benedict was born the following year[26] and was followed by brothers Richard in 1769 and Henry in 1772.[25] Margaret died on June 19, 1775, while Arnold was atFort Ticonderoga following its capture.[27] She is buried in the crypt of theCenter Church on New Haven Green.[28] The household was dominated by Arnold's sister Hannah, even while Margaret was alive. 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.[29]
Arnold was in the West Indies when theBoston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. 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?"[30]
Arnold began the war as a captain in the Connecticut militia, a position to which he was elected in March 1775. His company marched northeast the following month to assist in theSiege of Boston that followed theBattles of Lexington and Concord. He proposed an action to theMassachusettsCommittee of Safety to seize Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York, which he knew was poorly defended. They issued him a colonel's commission on May 3, 1775, and he immediately rode off toCastleton in the disputedNew Hampshire Grants (Vermont) in time to participate withEthan Allen and his men in thecapture of Fort Ticonderoga. He followed up that action with a bold raid onFort Saint-Jean on theRichelieu River north ofLake Champlain. 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. He was on his way home from Ticonderoga when he learned that his wife had died earlier in June.[31]
TheSecond Continental Congress authorized aninvasion of Quebec, in part on the urging of Arnold, but he was passed over for command of the expedition. He then went toCambridge, Massachusetts, and suggested toGeorge Washington a second expedition to attackQuebec City via a wilderness route through present-dayMaine. He received a colonel's commission in the Continental Army forthis expedition and left Cambridge in September 1775 with 1,100 men. He arrived before Quebec City in November, after a difficult passage in which 300 men turned back and another 200 died en route. Arnold's forces were joined byRichard Montgomery's small army and participated in the December 31assault on Quebec City in which Montgomery was killed and Arnold's leg was shattered. Arnold's chaplain, Rev.Samuel Spring, carried him to the makeshift hospital at the Hôtel Dieu. Arnold was promoted to brigadier general for his role in reaching Quebec, and he maintained an ineffectual siege of the city until he was replaced by Major GeneralDavid Wooster in April 1776.[32]
Arnold then traveled toMontreal, where he served as military commander of the city until forced to retreat by an advancing British army that had arrived at Quebec in May. He presided over the rear of the Continental Army during its retreat from Saint-Jean, where he was reported byJames Wilkinson to be the last person to leave before the British arrived. He then directed the construction of a fleet to defend Lake Champlain, which was overmatched and defeated in theBattle of Valcour Island in October 1776. However, his actions at Saint-Jean and Valcour Island played a notable role in delaying the British advance against Fort Ticonderoga until 1777.[33]
During these actions, Arnold made several friends and a larger number of enemies within the army power structure and in Congress. He had established a decent relationship with Washington, as well asPhilip Schuyler andHoratio Gates, both of whom had command of the army's Northern Department during 1775 and 1776.[34] However, an acrimonious dispute withMoses Hazen, commander of the2nd Canadian Regiment, boiled into Hazen'scourt martial at Fort Ticonderoga during the summer of 1776. Only action by Arnold's superior at Ticonderoga prevented his own arrest on countercharges leveled by Hazen.[35] Arnold also had disagreements withJohn Brown and James Easton, two lower-level officers with political connections that resulted in ongoing suggestions of improprieties on his part. Brown was particularly vicious, publishing ahandbill which claimed of Arnold, "Money is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country."[36]
Washington assigned Arnold to the defense ofRhode Island following the British capture ofNewport in December 1776, where the local militia was too poorly equipped to even consider a counterattack.[37] 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.[38] In February 1777, Arnold learned that he had been passed over by Congress for promotion to major general. 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.[39]
Arnold was on his way toPhiladelphia to discuss his future when he was alerted that a British force was marching toward a supply depot inDanbury, Connecticut.[40] He organized the militia response, along with Wooster and Connecticut militia GeneralGold Selleck Silliman.[41] He then led a small contingent of militia attempting to stop or slow the British return to the coast in theBattle of Ridgefield,[42][43] and was again wounded in his left leg.[44]
Arnold then continued to Philadelphia, where he met with members of Congress about his rank. His action at Ridgefield, coupled with the death of Wooster due to wounds sustained in the action, resulted in his promotion to major general, although his seniority was not restored over those who had been promoted before him.[45] Amid negotiations over that issue, Arnold wrote out a letter of resignation on July 11, the same day that word arrived in Philadelphia thatFort Ticonderoga had fallen to the British. Washington refused his resignation and ordered him north to assist with the defense there.[46]
Arnold arrived in Schuyler's camp atFort Edward, New York, on July 24. On August 13, Schuyler dispatched him with a force of 900 to relieve theSiege of Fort Stanwix, where he succeeded in a ruse to lift the siege. Arnold sent an Indian messenger into the camp of British Brigadier-GeneralBarry 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.[47]
Arnold returned to theHudson River, where General Gates had taken over command of the American army after they had retreated to a camp south ofStillwater.[48] He then distinguished himself in bothBattles of Saratoga, even though Gates removed him from field command after the first battle, following a series of escalating disagreements that culminated in a shouting match.[49] During the fighting in the second battle, Arnold disobeyed Gates' orders and took to the battlefield to lead attacks on the British defenses. He was again severely wounded in the left leg late in the fighting. Arnold later said that it would have been better had it been in the chest instead of the leg.[50] Burgoyne surrendered ten days after the second battle on October 17, 1777. Congress restored Arnold's command seniority in response to his valor at Saratoga.[51] However, he interpreted the manner in which they did so as an act of sympathy for his wounds, and not an apology or recognition that they were righting a wrong.[52][citation not found]
Arnold spent several months recovering from his injuries. He had his leg crudely set rather than allowing it to beamputated, leaving it 2 inches (5 cm) shorter than the right. He returned to the army atValley Forge,Pennsylvania, in May 1778 to the applause of men who had served under him at Saratoga.[53] There he participated in the first recordedoath of allegiance, along with many other soldiers, as a sign of loyalty to the United States.[54]
When the British withdrew from Philadelphia in June 1778, Washington appointed Arnold military commander of the city.[55] Historian John Shy states: Washington then made one of the worst decisions of his career, appointing Arnold as military governor of the rich, politically divided city. No one could have been less qualified for the position. Arnold had amply demonstrated his tendency to become embroiled in disputes, as well as his lack of political sense. Above all, he needed tact, patience, and fairness in dealing with a people deeply marked by months of enemy occupation.[56]
Arnold began planning to capitalize financially on the change in power in Philadelphia, even before the Americans reoccupied their city. He engaged in a variety of business deals designed to profit from war-related supply movements and benefiting from the protection of his authority.[57] Such schemes were not uncommon among American officers, but Arnold's schemes were sometimes frustrated by local politicians such asJoseph Reed, who eventually amassed enough evidence to publicly air charges ofcorruption against him. 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."[58]
Arnold lived extravagantly in Philadelphia and was a prominent figure on the social scene. During the summer of 1778 he metPeggy Shippen, the 18-year-old daughter of JudgeEdward Shippen IV, aLoyalist sympathizer who had done business with the British while they occupied the city;[60] Peggy had been courted by MajorJohn André during the occupation.[61] She married Arnold on April 8, 1779.[62] 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.[63] Some of this communication was effected through the services of Joseph Stansbury, a Philadelphia merchant.[64]
Historians have identified many possible factors contributing to Arnold'streason, while some debate their relative importance. According toW. D. Wetherell, Arnold was:
[A]mong the hardest human beings to understand in American history. Did he become a traitor because of all the injustice he suffered, real and imagined, at the hands of the Continental Congress and his jealous fellow generals? Because of the constant agony of two battlefield wounds in an alreadygout-ridden leg? From psychological wounds received in his Connecticut childhood when his alcoholic father squandered the family's fortunes? Or was it a kind of extreme midlife crisis, swerving from radical political beliefs toreactionary ones, a change accelerated by his marriage to the very young, very pretty, veryTory Peggy Shippen?[65]
Wetherell says that the shortest explanation for Arnold's treason is that he "married the wrong person."[65]
Arnold had been badly wounded twice in battle and had lost his business in Connecticut, which made him profoundly bitter. He grew resentful of several rival and younger generals who had been promoted ahead of him and given honors which he thought he deserved. Especially galling was a long feud with the civil authorities in Philadelphia, which led to his court-martial. He was also convicted of two minor charges of using his authority to make a profit. 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 had even begun. Arnold later said in his own defense that he was loyal to his true beliefs, yet he lied at the same time by insisting that Shippen was totally innocent and ignorant of his plans.[66][67]
As early as 1778, there were signs that Arnold was unhappy with his situation and pessimistic about the country's future. On November 10, 1778, Major GeneralNathanael Greene wrote to Brigadier GeneralJohn Cadwalader, "I am told General Arnold is become very unpopular among you owing to his associating too much with the Tories."[68] A few days later, Arnold wrote to Greene and lamented over the "deplorable" and "horrid" situation of the country at that particular moment, citing thedepreciating currency, disaffection of the army and internal fighting in Congress, while predicting "impending ruin" if things did not change soon.[69] BiographerNathaniel Philbrick argues:
Peggy Shippen… did have a significant role in the plot. She exerted a powerful influence on her husband, who is said to have been his own man but who actually was swayed by his staff and certainly by his wife. Peggy came from a loyalist family in Philadelphia; she had many ties to the British. She… was the conduit for information to the British.[70]
Early in May 1779, Arnold met with Philadelphia merchant Joseph Stansbury,[b] who then "went secretly to New York with a tender of [Arnold's] services to Sir Henry Clinton."[71] Stansbury ignored instructions from Arnold to involve no one else in the plot, and he crossed the British lines and visitedJonathan Odell in New York. Odell was a Loyalist working withWilliam Franklin, the last colonial governor ofNew Jersey and the son ofBenjamin Franklin. On May 10, Franklin introduced Stansbury to André, who had just been named the British spy chief.[72] This was the beginning of a secret correspondence between Arnold and André, sometimes using Shippen as a willing intermediary, which culminated more than a year later with Arnold's change of sides.[58]
André conferred with Clinton, who gave him broad authority to pursue Arnold's offer. André then drafted instructions to Stansbury and Arnold.[73] 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. Letters were to be passed through the women's circle that Arnold's wife was a part of, but only she would be aware that some letters contained instructions that were to be passed on to André, written in bothcode andinvisible ink, using Stansbury as the courier.[74]
By July 1779, Arnold was providing the British with troop locations and strengths, as well as the locations of supply depots, all the while negotiating over compensation. At first, he asked forindemnification of his losses and £10,000 (equivalent to £1,698,000 in 2023), an amount that Congress had givenCharles Lee for his services in the Continental Army.[75] Clinton was pursuing a campaign to gain control of theHudson River Valley, and was interested in plans and information on the defenses ofWest Point and other installations on the Hudson River. He also began to insist on a face-to-face meeting and suggested to Arnold that he pursue another high-level command.[76] By October 1779, the negotiations had ground to a halt.[77] Furthermore, revolutionary mobs were scouring Philadelphia for Loyalists, and Arnold and the Shippen family were being threatened. Arnold was rebuffed by Congress and by local authorities in requests for security details for himself and his in-laws.[78]
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Arnold's court-martial on charges of profiteering began meeting on June 1, 1779, but it was delayed until December by Clinton's capture ofStony Point, New York, throwing the army into a flurry of activity to react.[79] Several members on the panel of judges were ill-disposed toward Arnold over actions and disputes earlier in the war, yet Arnold was cleared of all but two minor charges on January 26, 1780.[80] 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:[81]
The Commander-in-Chief would have been much happier on 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.[82]
Shortly after Washington's rebuke, a Congressional inquiry concluded that Arnold had failed to account fully for his expenditures incurred during the Quebec invasion, and that he owed the Congress some £1,000 (equivalent to £168,000 in 2023) largely because he was unable to document them.[83] Many of these documents had been lost during the retreat from Quebec. Angry and frustrated, Arnold resigned his military command of Philadelphia in late April.[84]
Early in April 1780, Schuyler had approached Arnold with the possibility of giving him the command at West Point. Discussions had not borne fruit between Schuyler and Washington by early June. Arnold reopened the secret channels with the British, informing them of Schuyler's proposals and including Schuyler's assessment of conditions at West Point. He also provided information on a proposed French-American invasion of Quebec that was to go up theConnecticut River (Arnold did not know that this proposed invasion was a ruse intended to divert British resources). On June 16, Arnold inspected West Point while on his way home to Connecticut to take care of personal business, and he sent a highly detailed report through the secret channel.[85] When he reached Connecticut, Arnold arranged to sell his home there and began transferring assets toLondon through intermediaries in New York. 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."[86]
André returned victorious from theSiege of Charleston on June 18, and both he and Clinton were immediately caught up in this news. 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. André had spies and informers keeping track of Arnold to verify his movements. Excited by the prospects, Clinton informed his superiors of his intelligence coup but failed to respond to Arnold's July 7 letter.[87]
Arnold next wrote a series of letters to Clinton, even before he might have expected a response to the July 7 letter. 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. On July 12 he wrote again, making explicit the offer to surrender West Point, although his price rose to £20,000 (equivalent to £3,353,000 in 2023) (in addition to indemnification for his losses), with a £1,000 (equivalent to £168,000 in 2023)down payment to be delivered with the response. These letters were delivered by Samuel Wallis, another Philadelphia businessman who spied for the British, rather than by Stansbury.[88]
On August 3, 1780, Arnold obtained command of West Point. On August 15, he received a coded letter from André with Clinton's final offer: £20,000 (equivalent to £3,353,000 in 2023) and no indemnification for his losses. Neither side knew for some days that the other was in agreement with that offer, due to difficulties in getting the messages across the lines. Arnold's letters continued to detail Washington's troop movements and provide information about French reinforcements that were being organized. On August 25, Shippen finally delivered to him Clinton's agreement to the terms.[89]
Arnold's command at West Point also gave him authority over the entire American-controlled Hudson River, from Albany down to the British lines outsideNew York City. While en route to West Point, Arnold renewed an acquaintance withJoshua Hett Smith, who had spied for both sides and who owned a house near the western bank of the Hudson about fifteen miles south of West Point.[90]
Once Arnold established himself at West Point, he began systematically weakening its defenses and military strength. Needed repairs of thechain across the Hudson were never ordered. Troops were liberally distributed within Arnold's command area (but only minimally at West Point itself) or furnished to Washington on request. Arnold also peppered Washington with complaints about the lack of supplies, writing, "Everything is wanting."[91] At the same time, he tried to drain West Point's supplies so that a siege would be more likely to succeed. His subordinates, some long-time associates, grumbled about Arnold's unnecessary distribution of supplies and eventually concluded that he was selling them on theblack market for personal gain.[91]
On August 30, Arnold sent a letter accepting Clinton's terms and proposing a meeting to André through yet another intermediary: William Heron, a member of theConnecticut Assembly whom he thought he could trust. 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. He then took the letter back to Connecticut, suspicious of Arnold's actions, where he delivered it to the head of the Connecticut militia. GeneralSamuel Holden Parsons laid it aside, seeing a letter written as a coded business discussion. Four days later, Arnold sent a coded letter with similar content to New York through the services of the wife of aprisoner of war.[92] Eventually, a meeting was set for September 11 nearDobbs Ferry. This meeting was thwarted when British gunboats in the river fired on Arnold's boat, not being informed of his impending arrival.[93]
Arnold and André finally met on September 21 at theJoshua Hett Smith House. On the morning of September 22, from their position at Teller's Point, two American rebels (under the command of ColonelJames Livingston),John "Jack" Peterson and Moses Sherwood, fired onHMS Vulture, the ship that was intended to carry André back to New York.[94][95] This action did little damage besides giving the captain, Andrew Sutherland, a splinter in his nose—but the splinter promptedVulture to retreat,[96] forcing André to return to New York overland. Arnold wrote out passes for André so that he would be able to pass through the lines, and he also gave him plans for West Point.[97]
André was captured nearTarrytown, New York, on Saturday, September 23, by threeWestchester militiamen.[98] They found the papers exposing the plot to capture West Point and passed them on to their superiors,[99] but André convinced the unsuspecting ColonelJohn Jameson, to whom he was delivered, to send him back to Arnold at West Point—but he never reached his destination. MajorBenjamin Tallmadge, a member of theCulper Ring and thus a senior Continental Armycounterintelligence officer,[100] insisted that Jameson order the prisoner to be intercepted and brought back. In a key move, Jameson reluctantly recalled the lieutenant who had been delivering André into Arnold's custody, but he then sent the same lieutenant as a messenger to notify Arnold of André's arrest.[101]
Arnold learned of André's capture on the morning of September 24 while waiting for Washington, with whom he was going to have breakfast at his headquarters in British ColonelBeverley Robinson's former summer house on the east bank of the Hudson.[102][103] Upon receiving Jameson's message, however, he learned that Jameson had sent Washington the papers which André was carrying. Arnold immediately hastened to the shore and ordered bargemen to row him downriver to whereVulture was anchored, fleeing on it to New York City.[104] From the ship, he wrote a letter to Washington[105] requesting that his wife be given safe passage to her family in Philadelphia—which Washington granted.[106]
When Washington was presented with proof of Arnold's treason, he said, "Arnold has betrayed me. Whom can we trust now?" He remained calm when presented with the evidence, and was reportedly "the only one at West Point that day to act calmly."[107] He did, however, investigate its extent, and suggested that he was willing to exchange André for Arnold during negotiations with Clinton concerning André's fate. Clinton refused this suggestion; after a military tribunal, André washanged atTappan, New York, on October 2. Washington also sent men to infiltrate New York City in an attempt to capture Arnold, which included Sergeant MajorJohn Champe.[108] This plan very nearly succeeded, but Arnold changed living quarters before sailing forVirginia in December and thus avoided capture.[109] He justified his actions in an open letter titled "To the Inhabitants of America," published in newspapers in October 1780.[110] He also wrote in the letter to Washington requesting safe passage for Shippen: "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."[105]
The British gave Arnold a brigadier general's commission with an annual income of several hundred pounds, but they paid him only £6,315 (equivalent to £1,059,000 in 2023) plus an annualpension of £360 (equivalent to £60,000 in 2023) for his defection because his plot had failed.[4] In December 1780, Arnold led a force of 1,600 troops into Virginia under orders from Clinton, where hecaptured Richmond by surprise and then went on a rampage through the colony, destroying supply houses, foundries, and mills.[111] This activity brought out Virginia's militia led by ColonelSampson Mathews, and Arnold eventually retreated toPortsmouth to be reinforced or to evacuate.[112]
The pursuing American army included theMarquis de Lafayette, who was under orders from Washington to hang Arnold summarily if he was captured. British reinforcements arrived in late March, led by Major GeneralWilliam Phillips, who served under Burgoyne at Saratoga. Phillips led further raids across Virginia, including a defeat ofBaron von Steuben atPetersburg, but he died of fever on May 12, 1781. Arnold commanded the army only until May 20, when Lieutenant GeneralCharles Cornwallis arrived with the southern army and took over. One colonel wrote to Clinton concerning Arnold: "There are many officers who must wish some other general in command."[113] Cornwallis ignored Arnold's advice to locate a permanent base away from the coast, advice that might have averted hissurrender at Yorktown.[113]
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. Clinton was uninterested in most of his aggressive ideas, but finally authorized him to raid the port ofNew London, Connecticut. 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.[114] They also attacked and capturedFort Griswold across the river inGroton, slaughtering the Americans after they surrendered following theBattle of Groton Heights—and all these deeds were done just a few miles down theThames River from Norwich, where Arnold grew up. 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.[115]
Even before Cornwallis' surrender in October, Arnold had requested permission from Clinton to go to England to giveLord George Germain his thoughts on the war in person.[116] He renewed that request when he learned of the surrender, which Clinton then granted. On December 8, 1781, Arnold and his family left New York for England, Arnold never to set foot again in the United States.[117]
In London, Arnold aligned himself with the Tories, advising Germain and KingGeorge III to renew the fight against the Americans. In theHouse 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."[106] The anti-warWhigs had gained the upper hand in Parliament, and Germain was forced to resign, with the government ofLord North falling not long after.[118]
Arnold then applied to accompany Lieutenant GeneralGuy Carleton, who was going to New York to replace Clinton as commander-in-chief, but the request went nowhere.[118] Other attempts by Arnold to gain positions within the government or theBritish East India Company all failed over the next few years, and he was forced to subsist on the reduced pay of non-wartime service.[119] His reputation also came under criticism in the British press, especially when compared to André, who was celebrated for his patriotism. One critic said that he was a "mean mercenary, who, having adopted a cause for the sake of plunder, quits it when convicted of that charge."[118]George Johnstone turned Arnold 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. While this is the case, no power in this country could suddenly place you in the situation you aim at under the East India Company."[120]
In 1785, Arnold and his son Richard moved toSaint John,New Brunswick, where theyspeculated in land and established a business doing trade with the West Indies. Arnold purchased large tracts of land in theMaugerville area, and acquired city lots in Saint John andFredericton.[121] Delivery of his first ship, theLord Sheffield, was accompanied by accusations from the builder that Arnold had cheated him; Arnold replied that he had merely deducted the contractually agreed amount when the ship was delivered late.[122] After her first voyage, Arnold returned to London in 1786 to bring his family to Saint John. While there, he disentangled himself from a lawsuit over an unpaid debt that Shippen had been fighting while he was away, paying £900 (equivalent to £147,000 in 2023) to settle a £12,000 (equivalent to £1,961,000 in 2023) loan that he had taken while living in Philadelphia.[123]
The family moved to Saint John in 1787, where Arnold created an uproar with a series of bad business deals and petty lawsuits.[124] The most serious of these was aslander suit which Arnold won against a former business partner; and following this, townspeople burned him ineffigy in front of his house, as Shippen and the children watched.[125] The family left Saint John to return to London in December 1791.[126]
In July 1792, Arnold fought a bloodless duel with theEarl of Lauderdale after the Earl impugned his honor in theHouse of Lords.[4] With the outbreak of theFrench Revolutionary Wars, Arnold outfitted aprivateer, while continuing to do business in the West Indies, even though the hostilities increased the risk. He was imprisoned by the French colonial authorities in Guadeloupe amid accusations of spying for the British, and narrowly eluded hanging by escaping to theblockading British fleet after bribing his guards. He helped organize militia forces in theBritish West Indies, receiving praise from the landowners for his efforts on their behalf. Arnold 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 (6,100 ha) inUpper Canada,[127] near present-dayRenfrew, Ontario.[128]
In January 1801, Arnold's health began to decline.[106] He had suffered from gout since 1775,[129] and the condition attacked his unwounded leg to the point where he was unable to go to sea. The other leg ached constantly, and he walked only with a cane. Physicians diagnosed Arnold as havingdropsy, and a visit to the countryside only temporarily improved his condition. He died after four days ofdelirium on June 14, 1801, at the age of 60.[106] Legend has it that, when he was on his deathbed, he said, "Let me die in this old uniform in which I fought my battles. May God forgive me for ever having put on another,"[130] but this story may be apocryphal.[3] Arnold was buried atSt. Mary's Church inBattersea, England.[131] As a result of a clerical error in the parish records, his remains were removed to an unmarked mass grave during church renovations a century later.[132] His funeral procession boasted "seven mourning coaches and four state carriages";[106] the funeral was without military honors.[133]
Arnold left a small estate, reduced in size by his debts, which Shippen undertook to clear.[4][106] Among his bequests were considerable gifts to one John Sage, perhaps an illegitimate son or grandson.[133][c]
Benedict Arnold became permanently synonymous with "traitor" soon after his betrayal became public.[135][136] Biblical themes were often invoked; one 1794 textbook stated that "Satan entered into the heart of Benedict."[137] Benjamin Franklin wrote that "Judas sold only one man, Arnold three millions," andAlexander Scammell described Arnold's actions as "black as hell."[138] In his hometown of Norwich, Connecticut, someone scrawled "the traitor" next to Arnold's record of birth at city hall, and all of his family's gravestones have been destroyed except his mother's.[139]
Arnold was aware of his reputation in his home country, and French statesmanTalleyrand described meeting him inFalmouth, Cornwall, in 1794:
The innkeeper at whose place I had my meals informed me that one of his lodgers was an American general. Thereupon I expressed the desire of seeing that gentleman, and, shortly after, I was introduced to him. After the usual exchange of greetings … I ventured to request from him some letters of introduction to his friends in America. "No", he replied, and after a few moments of silence, noticing my surprise, he added, "I am perhaps the only American who cannot give you letters for his own country … all the relations I had there are now broken … I must never return to the States." He dared not tell me his name. It was General Arnold.[140]
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."[140]
Early biographers attempted to describe Arnold's entire life in terms of treacherous or morally questionable behavior. The first major biography of his life wasThe Life and Treason of Benedict Arnold, published in 1832 by historianJared Sparks; it was particularly harsh in showing how Arnold's treacherous character was formed out of childhood experiences.[141] 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 born…".[142] 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. It was invoked again as sectional conflicts increased in the years before theAmerican Civil War.Washington Irving used it as part of an argument against dismemberment of the union in his 1857Life of George Washington, pointing out that the unity of New England and the southern states, which led to independence, was made possible in part by holding West Point.[143]Jefferson Davis and other southern secessionist leaders were unfavorably compared to Arnold, implicitly and explicitly likening the idea of secession to treason.Harper's Weekly published an article in 1861 describingConfederate leaders as "a few men directing this colossal treason, by whose side Benedict Arnold shines white as a saint."[144]
Fictional invocations of Arnold's name carry strongly negative overtones.[145] A moralistic children's tale entitled "The Cruel Boy" was widely circulated in the 19th century. 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.[146] The boy is not identified until the end of the story, when his place of birth is given as Norwich, Connecticut, and his name is given as Benedict Arnold.[147] However, not all depictions of Arnold were so negative. Some theatrical treatments of the 19th century explored his duplicity, seeking to understand rather than demonize it.[148]
Canadian historians have treated Arnold as a relatively minor figure. His difficult time in New Brunswick led historians to summarize it as full of "controversy, resentment, and legal entanglements" and to conclude that he was disliked by both Americans and Loyalists living there.[149] Historian Barry Wilson points out that Arnold's descendants established deep roots in Canada, becoming leading settlers in Upper Canada andSaskatchewan.[150] His descendants are spread across Canada, most of all those of John Sage, who adopted the Arnold surname.[151]
TheBoot Monument atSaratoga National Historical Park pays tribute to Arnold but does not mention his name. It was donated by Civil War GeneralJohn 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."[152][153] Thevictory monument at Saratoga has four niches, three of which are occupied by statues of Generals Gates, Schuyler and Morgan. The fourth niche is pointedly empty.[154][155]
There are plaques in an old cadet chapel in theUnited States Military Academy at West Point commemorating all of the generals who served in the Revolution. One plaque bears only a rank and a date but no name: "major general… born 1740."[a][141][155] Historical markers inDanvers, Massachusetts, andNewburyport, Massachusetts, commemorate Arnold's 1775 expedition to Quebec.[156] There are also historical markers bearing his name at Wyman Lake Rest Area on US-201 north ofMoscow, Maine, on the western bank of Lake Champlain, and two inSkowhegan, Maine.[157]
The house where Arnold lived at 62Gloucester Place in London bears a plaque describing him as an "American Patriot,"[158] in the sense that he "felt that what he was doing was in the interest of America."[159] He was buried atSt Mary's Church, Battersea, which has a commemorative stained glass window. The window's devices commingle the flags of the United States and the United Kingdom.[160]
Arnold had three sons with Margaret Mansfield:[161][162]
He had five children with Peggy Shippen:
Arnold left significant bequests in his will to John Sage (born 1786), who has been identified by some historians as a possible illegitimate son but may also have been a grandchild.[133][c]
"Many others struck the sails, rigging, and boats on deck", said a British officer aboard theVulture. "Captain Sutherland is the only person hurt, and he is very slightly on the nose by a splinter." But it was a splinter that changed the course of history. The captain ordered theVulture to drop back out of range of American guns.
However, Arnold created an uproar within the small community of Saint John when his firm launched several suits against its debtors, and Arnold himself sued Edward Winslow in 1789.
St Mary's Modern Stained Glass
Benedict Arnold Hill.
Benedict Arnold Todd.; Old and outdated
| External videos | |
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 Booknotes interview with Clare Brandt onThe Man in the Mirror: Benedict Arnold, March 20, 1994,C-SPAN |
"Arnold, Benedict (soldier)".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. 1906. pp. 140–143.| Military offices | ||
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| New command | Commanding Officer of theAmerican Legion 1780–1783 | Command disbanded |
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