He was a general that preferred to lead in the front then the back, always riding his horse into battle alongside his men. By. 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 [81], Early in April, Philip Schuyler had approached Arnold with the possibility of giving him the command at West Point. [86], Arnold's command at West Point also gave him authority over the entire American-controlled Hudson River, from Albany down to the British lines outside New York City. At the age of sixteen, Arnold enlisted in a militia and served in the French and Indian War in upstate New York . [140], Canadian historians have treated Arnold as a relatively minor figure. [8] His siblings were, in order of birth: Benedict (17381739), Hannah (17421803), Mary (17451753), Absolom (17471750), and Elizabeth (17491755). Arnold eventually moved to England where he became a merchant. Upon the outbreak of hostilities at Lexington, Massachusetts (April 1775), Arnold volunteered for service and participated with Ethan Allen in the successful colonial attack on British-held Fort Ticonderoga, New York, the following month. [62], Arnold had been badly wounded twice in battle and had lost his business in Connecticut, which made him profoundly bitter. He began to drink heavily, and . Arnold didn't die a heroic death, or even a cowardly death. When the British took control of Philadelphia in 1777, Peggy met John Andr, a charming, well-educated British officer. [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. General Parsons laid it aside, seeing a letter written as a coded business discussion. On May 9, Franklin introduced Stansbury to Major Andr, who had just been named the British spy chief. Benedict Arnold Is America's Most Famous Traitor. [21] However, it is unknown whether this encounter actually happened or not. [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". 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. The second was Benedict Arnold. [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. Bettmann / Corbis "You have five. 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. [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. [135] Jefferson Davis and other southern secessionist leaders were unfavorably compared to Arnold, implicitly and explicitly likening the idea of secession to treason. 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. 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. 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. Later he became infamous for being a traitor, fighting for the British. [9], Arnold's father was a successful businessman, and the family moved in the upper levels of Norwich society. Arnold had the power to act, to defy the stresses of business and the dangers of the battlefield; but Peggy had the power to endure. Arnold received a commission as a brigadier general in the British Army, an annual pension of 360,[b] and a lump sum of over 6,000. His company marched northeast the following month to assist in the siege of Boston that followed the Battles of Lexington and Concord. 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. [73] By October 1779, the negotiations had ground to a halt. attended Canterbury for a while, but when the family's money was lost in some bad business dealings, he had to leave school. Arnold had three sons with Margaret Mansfield:[150][151]. Arnold arrived in New Brunswick in December 1785, so Sage's mother could not have been from there. [12] In 1757 when he was 16, he did enlist in the Connecticut militia, which marched off toward Albany, New York, and Lake George. [3] Arnold was buried at St. Mary's Church in Battersea, England. [116] Delivery of his first ship the Lord Sheffield was accompanied by accusations from the builder that Arnold had cheated him; Arnold claimed that he had merely deducted the contractually agreed amount when the ship was delivered late. [44], Arnold returned to the Hudson where General Gates had taken over command of the American army, which had retreated to a camp south of Stillwater. British reinforcements arrived in late March led by William Phillips who served under Burgoyne at Saratoga. Two months later he repelled a British attack on Danbury, Connecticut, and was made a major general, but his seniority was not restored and Arnold felt his honour impugned. Arnold lost most of his siblings to yellow fever, calamitous events that triggered alcoholism in his father. Arnold's early life consisted of study at some of the Continent's best private schools. Unlike his accomplishments in the battlefield, Arnold was not a good Governor. [128], Arnold left a small estate, reduced in size by his debts, which Peggy undertook to clear. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. 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". Meanwhile, in April 1779, Arnold married Margaret (Peggy) Shippen, a young woman of loyalist sympathies. [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. The house where Arnold lived at 62 Gloucester Place in central London bears a plaque describing him as an "American Patriot". Only action by Arnold's superior at Ticonderoga prevented his own arrest on countercharges leveled by Hazen. He was also convicted of two minor charges of using his authority to make a profit. He did, however, investigate its extent, and suggested that he was willing to exchange Andr for Arnold during negotiations with Clinton concerning Andr's fate. How did Benedict Arnold betray the Continental Army to the British? [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. Benedict Arnold was a patriot officer who served the cause of the American Revolution until 1779, when he shifted his allegiance to the British. When American leaders discovered the plot, Arnold fled. [146] There are also historical markers bearing his name at Wyman Lake Rest Area on US-201 north of Moscow, Maine, on the western bank of Lake Champlain, New York, and two in Skowhegan, Maine.[147]. Arnold commanded the army only until May 20, when Lord Cornwallis arrived with the southern army and took over. 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). 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). For several years before he . Arnold's name had become synonymous with the word traitor. From there, he was ordered to Vermont where he met with Ethan Allen. Washington was one of the few who genuinely liked and admired him, but Arnold thought that Washington had betrayed him. His father was a successful businessman and young Benedict had a comfortable childhood. He died after four days of delirium on June 14, 1801, at the age of 60. [114] His reputation also came under criticism in the British press, especially when compared to Major Andr who was celebrated for his patriotism. [149] The faculty club at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton has a Benedict Arnold Room in which letters written by Arnold hang on the walls. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Odell was a Loyalist working with William Franklin, the last colonial governor of New Jersey and the son of Benjamin Franklin. It was invoked again as sectional conflicts increased in the years before the American Civil War. Some theatrical treatments of the 19th century explored his duplicity, seeking to understand rather than demonize it. [46] During the fighting in the second battle, Arnold disobeyed Gates' orders and took to the battlefield to lead attacks on the British defenses. Congress restored Arnold's command seniority in response to his valor at Saratoga. Corrections? My family have voted conservative in most elections. They had no reason to suspect that Gen. Benedict Arnold, the new commander of the post, would be less than a gracious host. His health simply declined, partly as a result of his war wounds, partly as a result of what used to be called dropsy edema, the dramatic retention of fluid in limbs. 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