In the later part of the conflict, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army, and placed in command of the American Legion. Historians have several theories about why Arnold became a traitor: greed; mounting debt; resentment of other officers; a hatred of the Continental Congress; and a desire for the colonies to remain under British rule. 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. 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. With Benedict Arnold, he led the Green Mountain Boys to capture Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775. The Hudson River Chain today They issued him a colonel's commission on May 3, 1775, and he immediately rode off to Castleton in the disputed New Hampshire Grants (Vermont) in time to participate with Ethan Allen and his men in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. [54] Such schemes were not uncommon among American officers, but Arnold's schemes were sometimes frustrated by powerful local politicians such as Joseph Reed, who eventually amassed enough evidence to publicly air charges against him. [22] In a strange twist of fate, "the second most hated British . For his services he was restored to his proper relative rank. His grandfather, after whom he was named, was one of the founders of the Rhode Island colony, but Arnold's father was the opposite of the upstanding Benedict Arnold I. [3] Arnold was buried at St. Mary's Church in Battersea, England. Only a few weeks after learning of Arnold's treason, General George Washington enlisted a Continental Army sergeant major named John Champe in a daring mission to capture him from behind. [52] Historian John Shy states: Arnold began planning to capitalize financially on the change in power in Philadelphia, even before the Americans reoccupied their city. Sage's gravestone indicates that he was born on April 14, 14, 1786, a date roughly confirmed by Arnold's will, which stated that Sage was 14 when Arnold wrote it in 1800. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Letters were to be passed through the women's circle that Peggy Arnold was a part of, but only Peggy would be aware that some letters contained instructions that were to be passed on to Andr, written in both code and invisible ink, using Stansbury as the courier. Andr was captured the next day, near Tarrytown, with those plans tucked inside his boot. [94], Andr was captured near Tarrytown, New York, on Saturday, September 23, by three Westchester militiamen. Arnold resented this affront, and only Washingtons personal persuasion kept him from resigning. Later,. [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. Washington was one of the few who genuinely liked and admired him, but Arnold thought that Washington had betrayed him. [132], Early biographers attempted to describe Arnold's entire life in terms of treacherous or morally questionable behavior. Arnold mingled with Loyalist sympathizers in Philadelphia and married into a Loyalist family when he wedded Peggy Shippen. [3] Some among those in his military and political circles charged him with corruption and other bad acts. He was named after his great-grandfather Benedict Arnold who was once governor of the colony of Connecticut. In 1764, he formed a partnership with Adam Babcock, another young New Haven merchant. Once the former Revolutionary War hero . [24] Arnold initially took no part in any public demonstrations but, like many merchants, continued to do business openly in defiance of the Parliamentary Acts, which legally amounted to smuggling. Scholastica, the founder of the Benedictine sisters, was Benedict's sister. [63][64], Arnold had an extremely ambitious and jealous personality. This long after he lived, it would probably be impossible to know whether Benedict Arnold liked or disliked any particular food. Andr had spies and informers keeping track of Arnold to verify his movements. As a young man, Arnold. [45] He then distinguished himself in both Battles of Saratoga, even though General Gates removed him from field command after the first battle, following a series of escalating disagreements and disputes that culminated in a shouting match. His performance in the Battle of Ridgefield in Connecticut prompted his promotion to major general. Benedict Arnold, despite his bravery on the battlefield, eventually switched sides and became the most infamous traitor in American history. In December 1780, Arnold was given command of British forces sent to raid Virginia. Soon after Ticonderoga, Arnold brought his men on a dangerous trek through the . After the war, he petitioned to have Vermont become a state. However, Arnold was a prominent figure in the American Revolution and, for a time, was a distinguished war hero who simply became . betrayal. [1] [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. [117] After her first voyage, Arnold returned to London in 1786 to bring his family to Saint John. Arnold was born in Norwich, Connecticut, on January 14, 1741. [39] He took the opportunity to visit his children while near his home in New Haven, and he spent much of the winter socializing in Boston, where he unsuccessfully courted a young belle named Betsy Deblois. He also peppered Washington with complaints about the lack of supplies, writing, "Everything is wanting. Phillips led further raids across Virginia, including a defeat of Baron von Steuben at Petersburg, but he died of fever on May 12, 1781. general, has a name that's become synonymous with deceit and. [141] Historian Barry Wilson points out that Arnold's descendants established deep roots in Canada, becoming leading settlers in Upper Canada and Saskatchewan. Some theatrical treatments of the 19th century explored his duplicity, seeking to understand rather than demonize it. He died, age 60, and was buried in London. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. [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 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. [11], Arnold was very close to his mother, who died in 1759. 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. After organizing an assemblage of volunteers, he seized munitions from the New Haven arsenal and led his group northward to fight the British. Odell was a Loyalist working with William Franklin, the last colonial governor of New Jersey and the son of Benjamin Franklin. [62], Arnold had been badly wounded twice in battle and had lost his business in Connecticut, which made him profoundly bitter. [31], Arnold was in the West Indies when the Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. Especially galling was a long feud with the civil authorities in Philadelphia which led to his court-martial. His father's alcoholism worsened after her death, and the youth took on the responsibility of supporting his father and younger sister. Shutterstock Though one might guess that the dish was named for Benedict Arnold, the most famous traitor of the American Revolution, it was not. His mother came from a wealthy family, but his alcoholic father squandered their estate. Clinton was concerned that Washington's army and the French fleet would join in Rhode Island, and he again fixed on West Point as a strategic point to capture. He 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. 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 . Benedict Arnold was an American Senior Officer during the Revolutionary War. [95] They found the papers exposing the plot to capture West Point and passed them on to their superiors,[96] but Andr convinced the unsuspecting Colonel John Jameson, to whom he was delivered, to send him back to Arnold at West Pointbut he never reached West Point. Answer (1 of 2): In the United States, Benedict Arnold has the dubious distinction of being one of the primary figures responsible for the Revolutionary War's losing cause. [126] 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. 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. Peggy Shippen, or Margaret Shippen (July 11, 1760 - August 24, 1804), was the second wife of General Benedict Arnold (following Margaret Mansfield, who died in 1775). May God forgive me for ever having put on another,"[125] but this story may be apocryphal. After Arnold was forced to drop out of private school for lack of money, he entered into an apprenticeship with Daniel and Joshua Lathrop, two of his mother's cousins. "[65] A few days later, Arnold wrote to Greene and lamented over the "deplorable" and "horrid" situation of the country at that particular moment, citing the depreciating currency, disaffection of the army, and internal fighting in Congress, while predicting "impending ruin" if things did not change soon. -Benedict Arnold, January, 1780. He was again severely wounded in the left leg late in the fighting. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point in New York. Washington refused his resignation and ordered him north to assist with the defense there. Mo talks with author Nathaniel Philbrick about the now . 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 . Understand why Benedict Arnold spied for the British during the American Revolutionary War. (Benedict Cumberbatch doesn't count; he's British.) See the fact file below for more information on . Arnold immediately hastened to the shore and ordered bargemen to row him downriver to where HMS Vulture was anchored, fleeing on it to New York City. [a][133] Historical markers in Danvers, Massachusetts, and Newburyport, MA commemorate Arnold's 1775 expedition to Quebec. Benedict Arnold, shown on the left concealing his plans in John Andr's boot, has become synonymous with treason but before he betrayed America, he saved it. It just doesn't respect it", "Letter, Benedict Arnold to George Washington pleading for mercy for his wife", "Benedict Arnold: The Aftermath of Treason", "Saratoga National Historical Park Activities", "Saratoga National Historical Park Tour Stop 7", links to primary sources about Benedict Arnold before and after his treason, Arnold, Benedict (17411801), army officer | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, African Americans in the Revolutionary War, Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benedict_Arnold&oldid=1139478021, 18th-century American non-fiction writers, American expatriates in the United Kingdom, British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War, British people of the French Revolutionary Wars, British spies during the American Revolution, Businesspeople from New Haven, Connecticut, Connecticut militiamen in the American Revolution, Continental Army officers from Connecticut, Continental Army personnel who were court-martialed, Military personnel from Norwich, Connecticut, People of Connecticut in the French and Indian War, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2019, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020, All articles with broken links to citations, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Benedict Arnold (17681795) (Captain, British Army in Jamaica), Henry Arnold (17721826) (Lieutenant, American Legion cavalry), Edward Shippen Arnold (17801813) (Lieutenant, British Army in India; see, James Robertson Arnold (17811854) (Lieutenant General, Royal Engineers), George Arnold (17871828) (Lieutenant Colonel, 2nd (or 7th) Bengal Cavalry). 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