Thereupon I expressed the desire of seeing that gentleman, and, shortly after, I was introduced to him. [50] There he participated in the first recorded Oath of Allegiance, along with many other soldiers, as a sign of loyalty to the United States.[51]. 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. He also faced financial ruin, falling 16,000[b] in debt with creditors spreading rumors of his insolvency, to the point where he took legal action against them. Although he was unsuccessful, his attempt to betray George Washington and his American forces . [111] He renewed that request when he learned of the surrender, which Clinton then granted. Though the location was used for training cadets in engineering starting in 1794, it officially became the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1802. AD 1781, when the British, under the command of the Traitor Benedict Arnold, burnt the towns of New London and Groton and spread desolation and woe throughout the region. Later Arnold revealed to the British that he expected to receive the command of American forces at West Point, New York, and agreed to surrender that garrison to them for 20,000. Arnold resented this affront, and only Washingtons personal persuasion kept him from resigning. May God forgive me for ever having put on another,"[125] but this story may be apocryphal. Interview with Philbrick in Michael Dolan, "Hero And Villain,", Julie Courtwright, "Whom Can We Trust Now? 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. The September 21 meeting with British Major John Andre was a disaster for both men. 8. . Various translations of Sun Tzu's The Art of War have been published over the past century. The British promised 20,000[b] for the capture of West Point, a major American stronghold; Washington greatly admired Arnold and gave him command of that fort in July 1780. Discussions had not borne fruit between Schuyler and Washington by early June. [80] Many of these documents had been lost during the retreat from Quebec. The fort was finally captured by the British in 1759. [118] The family moved to Saint John in 1787, where Arnold created an uproar with a series of bad business deals and petty lawsuits. [123], In January 1801, Arnold's health began to decline. 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". "Since the fall of Lucifer," General Nathanial Greene judged, "nothing has equaled the fall of Arnold." Yet Arnold's accomplishments for the patriot cause were extraordinary. 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. The house where Arnold lived at 62 Gloucester Place in central London bears a plaque describing him as an "American Patriot". Benedict Arnold was unhappy with his position in the Continental Army by the time he betrayed the cause of the American Revolution to the British. 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 had three sons with Margaret Mansfield:[150][151]. [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? Arnold was rebuffed by Congress and by local authorities in requests for security details for himself and his in-laws. [107], The pursuing American army included the Marquis de Lafayette, who was under orders from Washington to hang Arnold summarily if he was captured. Their friendship became the foundation for the treason for which Peggy's. Unable to obtain a regular commission in the British army, he later pursued various business ventures, including land speculation in Canada. Excited by the prospects, Clinton informed his superiors of his intelligence coup, but failed to respond to Arnold's July 7 letter. That autumn he was appointed by Gen. George Washington to command an expedition to capture Quebec. Unable to find a new military or. As the park's Facebook page explains, the hero's name was left off the monument for a reason. Jul 4, 2020, 05:04 AM EDT | Updated Jul 4, 2020. However, Arnold was a prominent figure in the American Revolution and, for a time, was a distinguished war hero who simply became . Washington was one of the few who genuinely liked and admired him, but Arnold thought that Washington had betrayed him. Again he tried to resign, but in July he accepted a government order to help stem the British advance into upper New York. It is impossible to say when 37-year-old Benedict Arnold first met 18-year-old Peggy Shippen, but we do know that on September 25, 1778, he wrote her a love lettermuch of it an exact copy of . July 27] 1742 - June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.He emerged from the war with a reputation as one of George Washington's most talented and dependable officers, and is known for his successful command in the Southern theater of the conflict. How did Benedict Arnold betray the Continental Army to the British? During the American Revolution, British Major John Andr joined with American General Benedict Arnoldin a scheme to secure British control over the American fortification at West Point, New York. 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. Jameson reluctantly recalled the lieutenant who had been delivering Andr into Arnold's custody, but he then sent the same lieutenant as a messenger to notify Arnold of Andr's arrest. Arnold returned to England in 1791, but he left to spend several years privateering in the West Indies before permanently settling in London. Some theatrical treatments of the 19th century explored his duplicity, seeking to understand rather than demonize it. He followed up that action with a bold raid on Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River north of Lake Champlain. Thereafter his name became an epithet for traitor in the United States. [3] Some among those in his military and political circles charged him with corruption and other bad acts. Why did Benedict Arnold betray the Continental Army to the British? [71], 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. After the usual exchange of greetings I ventured to request from him some letters of introduction to his friends in America. [1] Only he and his sister Hannah survived to adulthood; his other siblings died from yellow fever in childhood. Arnold was born in Connecticut. By the time that he was 14, there was no money for private education. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benedict-Arnold, American Battlefield Trust - Biography of Benedict Arnold, Dictionary of Canadian Biography - Biography of Benedict Arnold, The Washington Library Center for Digital History - Biography of Benedict Arnold, United States History - Biography of Benedict Arnold, Benedict Arnold - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Benedict Arnold - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Benedict Arnold: meeting with Maj. John Andr. "[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. -Benedict Arnold, January, 1780. [60] Some of this communication was effected through the services of Joseph Stansbury, a Philadelphia merchant.[61]. 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. 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. [110], Even before Cornwallis's surrender in October, Arnold had requested permission from Clinton to go to England to give Lord George Germain his thoughts on the war in person. On November 10, 1778, General Nathanael Greene wrote to General John Cadwalader, "I am told General Arnold is become very unpopular among you oweing to his associateing too much with the Tories. "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." The band played a funeral march. Donald Trump has taken over from Benedict Arnold as "America's number one traitor," according to a group of veterans seeking to vote the president out of office this November. Clinton refused this suggestion; after a military tribunal, Andr was hanged at Tappan, New York, on October 2. He is also believed to have built the first U.S. telescope. [135] Jefferson Davis and other southern secessionist leaders were unfavorably compared to Arnold, implicitly and explicitly likening the idea of secession to treason. Arnold died in London at the age of 60. He could not cope with failure and disgrace. Arnold reopened the secret channels with the British, informing them of Schuyler's proposals and including Schuyler's assessment of conditions at West Point. January 14, 1741, in Norwich Connecticut. These letters were delivered by Samuel Wallis, another Philadelphia businessman who spied for the British, rather than by Stansbury. [13] A commonly accepted story that he deserted from militia service in 1758[14] is based on uncertain documentary evidence.[15]. After trying and failing to hand the fort at West Point over to the British, he joined the Royal Army and took . Among others, he shared the name with his father and. 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. In April of 1775, after learning about the conflicts at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, Arnold organized his men in preparation for a march to Cambridge to aid in the fight against the British . [6] With the outbreak of the French Revolution, Arnold outfitted a privateer, while continuing to do business in the West Indies, even though the hostilities increased the risk. 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. In the winter of 1782, he and Peggy moved to London, England. [11], Arnold was very close to his mother, who died in 1759. [23] The Stamp Act prompted Arnold to join the chorus of voices in opposition, and also led to his joining the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization which advocated resistance to those and other restrictive Parliamentary measures. [10] His apprenticeship with the Lathrops lasted seven years. Background. Wallace, Willard M. "Benedict Arnold: Traitorous Patriot." Yet as every elementary school student knows, Benedict reneged on his original commitment and defected to England. Together, they won the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga, America's first victory in the Revolutionary War. Thereafter his name became an epithet for traitor in the United States. At critical moments Arnold inspired the Patriots with his grit and determination and earned the admiration of George Washington. [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. Samuel Spring carried him to the makeshift hospital at the Htel Dieu. Brown was particularly vicious, publishing a handbill which claimed of Arnold, "Money is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country". [117] After her first voyage, Arnold returned to London in 1786 to bring his family to Saint John. Benedict Arnold is an American Revolutionary War General who is known for being the best American Strategist during the war. Arnold never received all of the 20,000 pounds he was promised by the British for becoming a traitor. 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 . [49][citation not found], Arnold spent several months recovering from his injuries. It was donated by Civil War General John Watts DePeyster, and its inscription reads: "In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental army, who was desperately wounded on this spot, winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution, and for himself the rank of Major General. Clinton was uninterested in most of his aggressive ideas, but finally authorized him to raid the port of New London, Connecticut. [132], 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". 3. Arnold eventually moved to England where he became a merchant. [citation needed]. [19][20] The captain was wounded in the first exchange of gunfire, and he apologized when Arnold threatened to aim to kill on the second. Promoted to the rank of brigadier general, Arnold constructed a flotilla on Lake Champlain and inflicted severe losses on a greatly superior enemy fleet near Valcour Island, New York (October 11, 1776). Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Peggy came from a loyalist family in Philadelphia; she had many ties to the British. The most famous of these occurred on May 10, 1775, when Ethan Allen and his band of Green Mountain Boys, accompanied by Benedict Arnold, who held a commission from . Benedict Arnold High School Gallery Official Name Benedict Arnold High School Location Details Universe Earth-Twelve Country United States of America First Appearance Adventures of Bob Hope #95 ( November, 1965) Contents 1 History 2 Residents 2.1 Students and Alumni 2.2 Faculty 3 Notes 4 See Also History This article is a stub. 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". Far fewer know . 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [36] However, an acrimonious dispute with Moses Hazen, commander of the 2nd Canadian Regiment, boiled into Hazen's court martial at Ticonderoga during the summer of 1776. [9], Arnold's father was a successful businessman, and the family moved in the upper levels of Norwich society. [1] [46] During the fighting in the second battle, Arnold disobeyed Gates' orders and took to the battlefield to lead attacks on the British defenses. Wikipedia Sign up to our newsletter. When in February 1777 Congress created five new major generalships, Arnold was passed over in favour of his juniors. Arnold's friend, George Washington, was heartbroken over the news, but was forced to deal with the treacherous act. [55], Arnold lived extravagantly in Philadelphia and was a prominent figure on the social scene. The Arnold residence attained the reputation as one of early Amsterdam's finer homes. The other leg ached constantly, and he walked only with a cane. [76] 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. 4. The first man was a British major named John Andre. This monument was erected under the patronage of the State of Connecticut in the 55th year of the Independence of the U.S.A. in memory of the brave patriots massacred at Fort Griswold near this spot on the 6th of Sept. The combined assault (December 31, 1775) failed, Montgomery was killed, and Arnold was severely wounded. "[32], Arnold began the war as a captain in the Connecticut militia, a position to which he was elected in March 1775. 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. According to W. D. Wetherell, he was: [A]mong the hardest human beings to understand in American history. 1:38. It is what happened after 1775 that began to wear him down and bring on his disillusionment. Major-General Nathanael Greene (August 7 [O.S. 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. Historians have identified many possible factors contributing to Arnold's treason, while some debate their relative importance. Arnold lost most of his siblings to yellow fever, calamitous events that triggered alcoholism in his father. [47] Burgoyne surrendered ten days after the second battle on October 17, 1777. After Benedict Arnold betrayed the Continental Army, his British contact, Major John Andr, was captured by the Americans and hanged as a spy while Arnold escaped on a British ship. Benedict Arnold was born to a prominent businessman in Norwich, Connecticut, on January 14, 1741. In real life: Arnold left for England in late 1781, before the official surrender, in an unsuccessful bid to persuade the Crown to keep the war going in America. Things to remember while reading excerpts from Americans' reactions to Benedict Arnold's treason: Before his betrayal (discovered in 1780), Benedict Arnold was a major American hero. He performed operations that provided the Americans with relief during the Siege of Fort Stanwix, and key actions during the pivotal 1777 Battles of Saratoga, in which he sustained leg injuries that put him out of combat career for several years. [90], Arnold and Andr finally met on September 21 at the Joshua Hett Smith House. 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. Arnold established himself in business in 1762 as a pharmacist and bookseller in New Haven, Connecticut, with the help of the Lathrops. By. BENEDICT ARNOLD REMAINS the most notorious man in American history, his name a synonym for traitor. 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. Saint Benedict once lived in a hermit cave. [89] Eventually, a meeting was set for September 11 near Dobb's Ferry. [103] 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. He had his leg crudely set, rather than allowing it to be amputated, leaving it 2 inches (5cm) shorter than the right. In 1775, when the war began, he was a merchant operating ships in the Atlantic Ocean. The prisoner seemed suprised to see the gallows, but walked calmy toward it. It was General Arnold. Before it could be carried out, however, minutemen captured John Andr and informed General George Washingtonof the plot. [63][64], Arnold had an extremely ambitious and jealous personality. 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. He dared not tell me his name. Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich, Connecticut and named after his His mother was Hannah Waterman King, a rich widow. [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. [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. He had established a decent relationship with George Washington, as well as Philip Schuyler and Horatio Gates, both of whom had command of the army's Northern Department during 1775 and 1776. Arnold was born on January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Connecticutthe fifth person in his family to be named Benedict Arnold. Benedict died of natural causes, maybe a fever. "[115], In 1785, Arnold and his son Richard moved to Saint John, New Brunswick, where they speculated in land and established a business doing trade with the West Indies. 1.Saint Benedict was a teenager when he became a monk. He later revealed that he expected to obtain the command of West Point, New York, and asked the British for 20,000 for betraying this post. [99][100] Upon receiving Jameson's message, however, he learned that Jameson had sent Washington the papers which Andr was carrying. Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Colony of Connecticut, British America. His subordinates, some long-time associates, grumbled about Arnold's unnecessary distribution of supplies and eventually concluded that he was selling them on the black market for personal gain. During the American War for Independence, several engagements were fought at the five-pointed star-shaped Fort Ticonderoga. One thing that we can set aside is any notion that the dish was named after Benedict Arnold, the Revolutionary War general who became the most famous American traitor in history after he defected to the British army and became a general for the other side, leading troops against those he once commanded. Once the former Revolutionary War hero . He was also convicted of two minor charges of using his authority to make a profit. Washington refused his resignation and ordered him north to assist with the defense there. 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). [83], Andr returned victorious from the Siege of Charleston on June 18, and both he and Clinton were immediately caught up in this news. Born in 1867 in Hanley, Staffordshire (part of the famous 'Potteries' and now a district of Stoke-on-Trent), Enoch Arnold Bennett was named after his father, a solicitor. Updates? With Benedict Arnold, he led the Green Mountain Boys to capture Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775. His fellow conspirator, Major Andre, was hanged by the Continental army for being a spy. Angry and frustrated, Arnold resigned his military command of Philadelphia in late April. He then went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and suggested to George Washington a second expedition to attack Quebec City via a wilderness route through Maine. 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. [139] However, not all depictions of Arnold were so negative. [29] She is buried in the crypt of the Center Church on New Haven Green. She exerted 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. 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. Benedict Arnold served in the Connecticut militia and participated in the Siege of Boston. Arnold was born in Norwich, Connecticut, on January 14, 1741. [130] In Arnold's home town of Norwich, Connecticut, someone scrawled "the traitor" next to his record of birth at city hall, and all of his family's gravestones have been destroyed except his mother's.[131]. Before anyone spouts off about me being a 'libtard' I am a conservative. The second was Benedict Arnold. [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. Arnold was made a brigadier general in the British army. At the age of sixteen, Arnold enlisted in a militia and served in the French and Indian War in upstate New York . [148] He was buried at St Mary's Church, Battersea, England which has a commemorative stained glass window. [142] His descendants are spread across Canada, most of all those of John Sage, who adopted the Arnold surname. 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. Troops were liberally distributed within Arnold's command area (but only minimally at West Point itself) or furnished to Washington on request. Arnold wrote out passes for Andr so that he would be able to pass through the lines, and he also gave him plans for West Point. But despite all the financial and political reasons he had for his betrayal, it's possible it was actually about love. Later he became infamous for being a traitor, fighting for the British. [75], Arnold's court martial on charges of profiteering began meeting on June 1, 1779, but it was delayed until December 1779 by Clinton's capture of Stony Point, New York, throwing the army into a flurry of activity to react. Arnold was let off with just a slap on the wrist, but again his pride had been wounded. Benedict's exploits and continuous wins caught the eye of George Washington, who . He was named after his great-grandfather Benedict Arnold who was once governor of the colony of Connecticut. Arnold and his men went towards Boston. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. On August 25, Peggy finally delivered to him Clinton's agreement to the terms. The Portrayal of Benedict Arnold in American History", Shy, John. Arnold's name had become synonymous with the word traitor. 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. On December 8, 1781, Arnold and his family left New York for England. [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. [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. [103] He had suffered from gout since 1775,[124] and the condition attacked his unwounded leg to the point where he was unable to go to sea. He later said in his own defense that he was loyal to his true beliefs, yet he lied at the same time by insisting that Peggy was totally innocent and ignorant of his plans. [87], Once Arnold established himself at West Point, he began systematically weakening its defenses and military strength. We largely don't even know who he is. 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 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. Especially galling was a long feud with the civil authorities in Philadelphia which led to his court-martial. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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'S father was a prominent figure on the social scene in requests for security details for himself and his forces! Us know if you have suggestions to improve this article ( requires login ) for becoming a traitor at five-pointed! Eventually, a Philadelphia merchant. [ 61 ] and his sister Hannah survived to ;! That request when he learned of the 19th century explored his duplicity, seeking to understand in American,... To command an expedition to capture Fort Ticonderoga, America & # things named after benedict arnold ; first. [ 60 ] some of this communication was effected through the services Joseph. Understand rather than demonize it largely don & # x27 ; s exploits and continuous wins caught the eye George! Don & # x27 ; I AM a conservative been wounded 62 Gloucester Place in central London bears plaque. ; s family faced financial hardship Arnold spent several months recovering from his injuries a businessman. September 11 near Dobb 's Ferry Arnold: Traitorous Patriot. Spring him. History '', Shy, John toward it delivered to him Clinton 's to...