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Benedict Arnold V


Benedict Arnold V was born the second of six children to Benedict Arnold III (1683–1761) and Hannah Waterman Arnold (1708-1759) in Norwich, Connecticut, on January 14, 1741.  He was named after his great-grandfather Benedict Arnold, an early governor of the Colony of Rhode Island, and his brother Benedict IV, who died in infancy. Only Benedict and his sister Hannah survived to adulthood; his other siblings succumbed to yellow fever in childhood.  Through his maternal grandmother, Benedict Arnold V was a descendant of John Lothropp, an ancestor of at least four United States presidents.

Benedicts's father was a successful businessman, and the family moved in the upper levels of Norwich society. When he was ten years old, Benedict Arnold was enrolled in a private school in nearby Canterbury, with the expectation that he would eventually attend Yale. However, the deaths of his siblings two years later may have contributed to a decline in the family fortunes, since his father took up drinking. By the time Benedict Arnold was fourteen, there was no money for private education.

His father's alcoholism and ill health kept him from training Benedict Arnold in the family mercantile business, but his mother's family connections secured an apprenticeship for him with two of her cousins, brothers Daniel and Joshua Lathrop, who operated a successful apothecary and general merchandise trade in Norwich.  His apprenticeship with the Lathrops lasted seven years.

In 1755, Benedict Arnold attempted to enlist in the provincial militia for service against the French, but his mother refused permission.  In 1757, when he was sixteen, he did enlist in the militia, which marched off toward Albany and Lake George. The French had besieged Fort William Henry, and their Indian allies had committed atrocities after their victory.  Word of the siege's disastrous outcome led the company to turn around; Benedict Arnold served for 13 days. 

Benedict Arnold's mother, to whom he was very close, died in 1759. His father's alcoholism worsened after the death of his wife, and the youth took on the responsibility of supporting his father and younger sister. His father was arrested on several occasions for public drunkenness. He was also refused communion by his church. Benedict Arnold III died in 1761.


























In 1762, with the help of Daniel and Joshua Lathrop, Benedict Arnold established himself in business as a pharmacist and bookseller in New Haven, Connecticut. He was hardworking and successful, and was able to rapidly expand his business. In 1763 he repaid money borrowed from the Lathrops, repurchased the family homestead that his father had sold when deeply in debt, and re-sold it a year later for a substantial profit.

In 1764, he formed a partnership with Adam Babcock, another young New Haven merchant. Using the profits from the sale of his homestead they bought three trading ships and established a lucrative West Indies trade. During this time he 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, throughout New England and from Quebec to the West Indies, often in command of one of his own ships.  On one of his voyages, Benedict Arnold fought a duel in Honduras with a British sea captain who had called him a "damned Yankee, destitute of good manners or those of a gentleman".  The captain was wounded after the first exchange of gunfire, and apologized after Arnold threatened to aim to kill on the second.

























The Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765 severely curtailed mercantile trade in the colonies.[20] The latter act prompted Arnold to join the chorus of voices in opposition to those taxes, and also led to his entry into the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization that was not afraid to use violence to oppose implementation of those and other unpopular Parliamentary measures.  Benedict Arnold initially took no part in any public demonstrations but, like many merchants, continued to trade as if the Stamp Act did not exist, in effect becoming a smuggler in defiance of the act. Benedict Arnold also faced financial ruin, falling £16,000 in debt, with creditors spreading rumors of his insolvency to the point where he took legal action against them.  On the night of January 28, 1767, Benedict Arnold and members of his crew, watched by a crowd of Sons, roughed up a man suspected of attempting to inform authorities of Benedict Arnold's smuggling. He was convicted of a disorderly conduct charge and fined the relatively small amount of 50 shillings; publicity of the case and widespread sympathy for his view probably contributed to the light sentence.

On February 22, 1767, he married Margaret Mansfield, daughter of Samuel Mansfield, the sheriff of New Haven, an acquaintance that may have been made through the membership of both Samuel Mansfield and Benedict Arnold in the local Masonic Lodge.  Their first son, Benedict VI, was born the following year, and was followed by brothers Richard in 1769, and Henry in 1772.




















Benedict Arnold was in the West Indies when the Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. He wrote 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".

He entered the fight for independence as a captain when he heard of the battles of Lexington and Concord. Eager for battle, he proposed an attack on Fort Ticonderoga.

Benedict Arnold began the war as a captain in Connecticut's militia, a position to which he was elected in March 1775. Following the outbreak of hostilities at Lexington and Concord the following month, his company marched northeast to assist in the siege of Boston that followed.  Benedict Arnold proposed to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety an action to seize Fort Ticonderoga in New York, which he knew was poorly defended.  They issued him a colonel's commission on May 3, 1775, and he immediately rode off to the west.


























Ethan Allen


On his march he encountered Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, a group of rough, free booting rangers. As a commissioned soldier Benedict Arnold felt that Ethan Allen should be subordinate to him, but he had no way to enforce it, the rangers simply went about as they liked including celebrating the taking of the fort with the British stock of rum.

His wife Margaret died on June 19, 1775, while Benedict Arnold was at Fort Ticonderoga following its capture. The household, even while she lived, was dominated by Arnold's sister Hannah. Arnold benefited from his relationship with Samuel Mansfield, who became a partner in his business and used his position as sheriff to shield Arnold from creditors.




















He followed up that action with a bold raid on Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River north of Lake Champlain. When a Connecticut militia force arrived at Ticonderoga in June, he 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 died earlier in June.

The leader of the raid on Fort Ticonderoga was John Brown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, who was the person who first realized Ticonderoga’s weakness back in 1775, and who encouraged Ethan Allen to make his famous attack.  Benedict Arnold was furious with John Brown for not sharing the  same information with him. The two men fell out and John Brown became one of the many enemies Benedict Arnold was accumulating.

When the Second Continental Congress authorized an invasion of Quebec, in part on the urging of Benedict Arnold, he was passed over for command of the expedition.


























Quebec Governor Guy Carleton opposed Benedict Arnold at Quebec and Valcour Island.


Benedict Arnold went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and suggested to George Washington a second expedition to attack Quebec City via a wilderness route through present-day Maine.  This expedition, for which Benedict Arnold received a colonel's commission in the Continental Army,  left Cambridge in September 1775 with 1,100 men.  After a difficult passage, in which 300 men turned back and another 200 died en route, Benedict Arnold arrived near Quebec City in November.  Joined by Richard Montgomery's small army, he participated in the December 31 assault on Quebec City in which Richard Montgomery was killed and Benedict Arnold's leg was shattered.  Rev. Samuel Spring, his chaplain, carried him to the makeshift hospital at the Hotel Dieu. Benedict Arnold, who was promoted to brigadier general for his role in reaching Quebec, maintaining a siege of the city until he was replaced by Major General David Wooster in April 1776.



















Battle of Valcour Island.


Benedict Arnold then traveled to Montreal, 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 by James 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 defeated in the October 1776 Battle of Valcour Island.  Benedict Arnold's actions at Saint-Jean and Valcour Island played an important part in delaying the British army's advance against Ticonderoga until the following year.

During these actions, Benedict Arnold made many new friends and a larger number of new enemies within the army power structure and in Congress.  He was on good terms with George Washington, commander of the army, as well as with General Philip Schuyler and General Horatio Gates, both of whom had command of the army's Northern Department during 1775 and 1776.  But, his dispute with General Moses Hazen, commander of the 2nd Canadian Regiment, boiled over into a court martial of Moses Hazen at Ticonderoga during the summer of 1776.  It was General Gates, who was then his superior at Ticonderoga, that prevented Benedict Arnold's arrest on counter charges leveled by Moses Hazen.  He also had disagreements with General John Brown and General James Easton, two lower-level officers with political connections that resulted in ongoing suggestions of improprieties on his part.   General John Brown was particularly vicious.  He printed a handbill that said of Benedict Arnold,  "Money is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country".
 
 General Washington assigned Benedict Arnold to the defense of Rhode Island following the British seizure of Newport in December 1776. The Rhode Island militia were too poorly equipped to even consider an attack on the British.  Benedict Arnold took the opportunity while near his home in New Haven to visit his children, and he spent much of the winter socializing in Boston,  where he unsuccessfully courted a young belle named Betsy Deblois.   In February of 1777,  Benedict Arnold learned that he had been passed over for promotion by Congress, to major general.

General George 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. General Benedict Arnold was on his way to Philadelphia to discuss his future when he was alerted that British troops were marching toward a supply depot in Danbury, Connecticut.


























David Wooster


Along with David Wooster and Connecticut militia General Gold S. Silliman he organized the militia response. In the Battle of Ridgefield, he led a small contingent of militia attempting to stop or slow the British return to the coast, and was again wounded in his left leg. Benedict Arnold continued on to Philadelphia, where he met with members of Congress about his rank. His action at Ridgefield, coupled with the death of David Wooster due to his wounds that were sustained in the action, resulted in Benedict Arnold's promotion to major general, although his seniority was not restored over those who had been promoted before him.  Amid negotiations over that issue, Benedict Arnold wrote out a letter of resignation on July 11, the same day word arrived in Philadelphia that Fort Ticonderoga had fallen to the British. George Washington refused his resignation and ordered him north to assist with the defense there.



























General Benedict Arnold 


General Benedict Arnold arrived in General Schuyler's camp at Fort Edward, New York on July 24.  On August 13, General Philip Schuyler dispatched him with a force of 900 to relieve the siege of Fort Stanwix, where he succeeded in the use of a ruse to lift the siege.



























British Brigadier General Barry St. Leger.


Benedict Arnold had an Indian messenger sent 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 General St. Leger's Indian support to abandon him, forcing him to give up the effort.


















Battle of Saratoga.


The Battle of Saratoga in the fall of 1777 showed once again Benedict Arnold's importance as a leader of men and a  general that was so essential to the American revolution.  When Benedict Arnold returned to the Hudson River, he discovered that General Horatio Gates had taken over command of the American army, which had then retreated to a camp south of Stillwater, New York.  General Benedict Arnold was eager for battle, but General Gates held him back.  He relieved Benedict Arnold of his command for his insubordination.

Benedict Arnold then distinguished himself in both Battles of Saratoga, even though General Gates, following a series of escalating disagreements and disputes that culminated in a shouting match, removed him from field command after the first battle. 


























General Horatio Gates of the American Continental Army.


Relations between General Horatio Gates and General Benedict Arnold was rapidly deteriorating.  The senior general was openly goading his quick temper rival to resign.  Not only did General Gates fail to mention General Arnold in his report to Congress about the battle at Freeman’s farm, but he also removed General Arnold from command of the army’s left flank. General Benedict Arnold almost took the bait and was even writing a letter to that effect.   Fortunately, other officers intervened and persuaded General Arnold  not to do anything irrevocable.  Reluctantly, he decided to stay on as a junior officer and serve in whatever capacity.

During their noon mess, the American officers heard shots being fired off to the left.  General Horatio Gates immediately ordered some regiments forward to see what was going on. Benedict Arnold  realized that something more serious might be happening and, somewhat insolently, demanded that Gates send a larger contingent. For General Gates, that was the last straw.

General Arnold was ordered to stay out of the army’s affairs and stay off the battlefield altogether.  General Benedict Arnold retired  to sulk.  He began to drink  and curse General Gates, as he paced back and forth and watched through  the window of the Neilson House.  He saw his former troops were beginning to move into action.



















The Battle of Saratoga.


The lead brigade of the British General Burgoyne’s 1,500 man force under the command of Brigadier General Simon Fraser had advanced west and south toward the Barber farm. There they found a wheat field  that was ready for harvesting.  The troops began immediately to gather in the sheaves of wheat.  They soon  encountered some American pickets shooting from the nearby woods.  These were the shots General Gates heard at lunch, and it wasn’t long before the troops that General Gates had sent to find what was going on, ran headlong into the whole British reconnaissance force.

A fierce battle broke out in the wheat field.  In the begining, the British fell back in some disorder. Confusion and carnage reigned as the British abandoned their forage and scattered in all directions.  Finally General Fraser rallied his troops, pulling them into the Balcarre redoubt, which now became the strong point stabilizing the British battle line.  The American assault was beginning to weaken.






General Horatio Gates.


From his window in the Neilson house, General Benedict Arnold could see how both of the British positions were frustrating the American attackers.  In fact, if they succeeded, the whole British army might rally and turn the tide of battle on the American left.  He suddenly bolted out the door and leaped on a horse just outside and galloped toward the fighting.  General Gates, seeing General Arnold rush by, immediately dispatched a courier to order him back.

General Benedict Arnold,  waving his sword in the air, yelled for the troops in the field to follow him.  Cheers went up as General Benedict Arnold headed for the fighting.  His former command, General Ebenezer Learned’s brigade, eagerly joined behind him.

As the freshly energized Americans renewed their charge against Balcarre’s troops,  General Arnold noticed that one mounted redcoat leader seemed to be inspiring the men in the fort to  greater resistance. General Benedict Arnold quickly ordered a near-by New Hampshire marksmen to shoot the officer, which turned out to be the Hussein Brigadier General Fraser.  General Fraser fell from his horse, mortally wounded.  Seeing their commander fallen, the soldiers began to falter.



















General Benedict Arnold charging on his horse at the Battle of Saratoga.


General Arnold  turned his horse and raced between the lines of American attackers and British defenders. With bullets flying from both directions and American troopsy following him, Benedict Arnold charged into the Breymann redoubt from the backside, and attacked the shocked Germans. Those who could, tried to escape by leaping over the crest of the redoubt, only to  tumble down upon the spiked fence and onto the bayonets of the American troops attacking from the front. British Colonel Breymann was also killed, some say by one of his own men. The rest of the survivors fled in total disorder.

A bullet struck Benedict Arnold in his left leg (the same one that had been wounded during the battle at Quebec). At the same time, his horse was also hit and  fell sideward,  falling upon and shattering the bone in the leg as well.  The rest of the British force, seeing the soldiers running from the Braymann’s redoubt, and realizing that their whole right wing had been flanked,  retreated to the last of their strongholds,  the "Great Redoubt" which General Burgoyne had built at the Hudson River’s edge, on his left, to protect the one retreat route along the  river.  There was no other course left for General Burgoyne, but to withdraw from the battle with  the remainder of his army, and, to find a river crossing and escape.


























Albany hospital.


The surgeons attending Benedict Arnold insisted on amputating his leg. General Arnold adamantly refused permission.   He was sent to a hospital in Albany where he was to lay in bed recuperating for seven months.  Benedict Arnold himself said it would have been better had it been in the chest instead of the leg.




General Horatio Gates


The American forces did not immediately follow up on their victory.  Cautious as ever, General Gates never left his own headquarters. He directed the American army from well behind its own lines.  General Burgoyne was allowed to leave the field of battle without any further damage.  Burgoyne did so. the following evening, beginning a slow labored march up the river road toward the village of Saratoga (which is now called Schuylerville New York).

On October 12, General John Burgoyne had reached the original village of Saratoga where he decided to dig in just above Fish Creek and send scouts north to probe for the nearest fording place. The report came back that American General John Stark with a thousand of his New Hampshire/Vermont volunteers had just occupied the only viable crossing a mile above  where the Battenkill river joins the Hudson river. General  Burgoyne now realized that he was surrounded on three sides by an American army that outnumbered them more than two to one.



















Surrender of General Burgoyne.


The next day,  British General John Burgoyne reluctantly decided to contact General Horatio Gates.  For the next three days a de facto truce  was recognized while the two sides exchanged messages regarding the terms of what for all intents and purposes, was the surrender of the British army.  General Burgoyne would not admit to the word, and insisted that what was taking place was a “convention” of understanding and not a capitulation as such.  On October 16,  his own general officers demanded that he accept the generous American terms of surrender, considering the impossible circumstances of of his army.  That evening, the surrender was settled.  General Burgoyne surrendered and signed ten days after the second battle, on October 17, 1777.


























General John Burgoyne of the British Army.


On the morning of October 17, the remains of General Burgoyne’s fighting force  began their long trek as prisoners of  war to internment camps near Boston  three-hundred miles away. Of  the 10,000  soldiers who had started out from Canada that previous June in such high expectations of glory, only 5,895 now remained – including 3,018 British regulars, 2,412 Germans , and 465 auxilaries (plus 393 British and German women). 

General John Burgoyne was politely invited to dine that evening with General Horatio Lloyd Gates, and then went on to Albany where, in spite of being of the enemy’s side, was again treated with all the respect due his rank and noble caste. Under the generous terms of the Saratoga Articles of Convention, General Burgoyne was allowed to march out of camp "with the Honors of War",  which included retaining his colors and the return of his men to England.  His 6,000 men marched out of their camp,  surrendered their weapons and began their march west.  However, when they reached New England, General Gates' terms were not honored and the British soldiers spent many months in sparce guarded prison camps.


























Eventually, General John Burgoyne was returned to England where he received far less gentle treatment than he had in America,  There was trial before Parliament and a lifelong coolness from those who were former admiring friends and colleagues.

During the hearing in London when General Burgoyne was called on the carpet to explain his loss at Saratoga, he made the following statement  about the leader of the Indians who had abandoned him in his hour of need:

“Sir, a gentleman has been in London the great part of the winter, who I wish had been called to your bar It is for the sake of truth only I wish it, for he is certainly no friend of mine His name is St. Luc La Corne, a distinguished partisan of the French in the last war, and now in the British service as a leader of the Indians. He owes us indeed some service, having been formerly instrumental in scalping many hundred British soldiers upon the very ground where, though with a different sort of latitude, he was this year employed. He is by nature, education, and practice, artful, ambitious and a courtier,”

The result of the American victory convinced France to throw its full support behind the fledgling nation. General Horatio Gates, who had been hesitant and arguable an overly cautious if not out and out bad general, took credit for what was really Benedict Arnold's victory.


























 General Horatio Gates led the forces at Saratoga .


General Gates was attempting to take General George Washington's position as Commander and Chief of the Army, and went so far as to send his reports directly to Congress rather than to George Washington as commander of the army.



















In response to General Benedict Arnold's valor at Saratoga, the Continental Congress restored his command seniority.  However, Benedict Arnold 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 their previous wrong.
















General Benedict Arnold who was now crippled, joined George Washington at Valley Forge for the infamous winter.

Among the patriots encamped at Valley Forge with Benedict Arnold, were Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the future Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall.

















While he was serving in the Continental Army, James Monroe crossed the Delaware with George Washington, fought at the Battle of Trenton, as well as enduring the harsh winter at Valley Forge.


















The winter of 1777-1778 brought the soldiers to Valley Forge. Conditions were so horrendous that 2,000 soldiers died of starvation, typhoid, jaundice, dysentery, and pneumonia. Many others deserted to return home without pay or question. Witnessing the deplorable conditions, General George Washington knew that something would have to change to improve the livelihoods and morale of his loyal men.





















He brought in Baron von Steuben to run the men though drills and military training, and General Washington also had the men inoculated for smallpox. This medical action by George Washington helped change the tide of the war as they marched out of Valley Forge in June of 1778.

























Even though Benedict Arnold's seniority was restored by the Continental Congress, the damage had been done and the stage set for disaster.

General George Washington appointed General Benedict Arnold as the commandant of Philadelphia after the British army abandoned it.  It was there that Benedict Arnold met his second wife Peggy Shippen.

Peggy Shippen, who was twenty years younger than Benedict Arnold. She came from an affluent family, which would give Benedict Arnold the status that he craved, but his income could not afford it.  He began engaging in inappropriate shipping practices, using his position as commandant.  He was court-maritaled on the charges, and was convicted of improperly using government property and speculation.

During the Revolutionary War, just as it is during most wars, there was an atmosphere of "do as I say not as I do".  Many members of Congress were speculators in their own fight for freedom.  They made back room deals for supplies and bankrolled their own privateer fleets, which put them at odds with the young United States Navy.  Their attacks on Benedict Arnold were politically motivated, The attacks were more than likely aimed at General George Washington since he was Benedict Arnold's friend.

Benedict Arnold did not fight with the Continental Congress. He was  defending his "good name", seeking redress for financial losses, and protesting the slights that he was given in promotion and responsibility. Many times he had been hailed a hero, but those who were junior to him would be promoted over him.  Many of them was because of patronage within the Continental Congress.


























Peggy Shippen and Major Andre. - by Joanne Renaud


General Benedict Arnold, through his wife, who was a Tory from her time with the occupying British in Philadelphia, offered to switch sides to them.  During the negotiations Major John Andre served as the go between (a former friend of Peggy Shippen and possibly a former lover).























Fairmount Park - Home of Benedict Arnold.


After the Redcoats had left Philadelphia, in 1779,  Benedict Arnold purchased a mansion along the Schuylkill River as a wedding present for his bride,  Peggy Shippen.   The house was originally built for John Macpherson, a privateer who lost his arm while gaining a fortune.


























General Sir Henry Clinton.


Benedict Arnold wrote a series of letters to the British General Sir Henry 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 (in addition to indemnification for his losses) rose to £20,000, with a £1,000 down- payment to be delivered with the response.

These letters were delivered not by Stansbury, but by a Mr. Samuel Wallis, another Philadelphia businessman who spied for the British. Samuel Wallis was among the giants of early Lycoming County, Pennsylvania history — probably the largest landholder in the area in the last 30 years of the 18th century. According to a Mr. John F. Meginness’  “History of Lycoming County” written in 1892, Samuel Wallis was “the most energetic, ambitious, persistent, and untiring land speculator who ever lived in Lycoming County.





















Muncy Farms - Home of Samuel Wallis.


According to historian Carl Van Doren’s book, “The Secret History of the American Revolution,” published in 1941, Samuel Wallis was in league with the British.  Carl Van Doren claims Samuel Wallis acted as an intermediary in transferring money between British General Sir Henry Clinton and Benedict Arnold in his treasonous plot to turn over the fort at West Point, New York, to the British. “There can be no doubt that Wallis was Arnold’s agent and sent secret intelligence to the British,” Van Doren wrote, “neither can there be that he had no scruple about making any money he could of shipping the British army of occupation food with which to carry on the war.”  Other historians have cited Samuel Wallis’ connections with the British.


















Col. Beverley Robinson's house - General Benedict Arnold's headquarters at West Point


On August 3, 1780,General Benedict Arnold obtained command of West Point.  On August 15, he received a coded letter from Major John André with General Clinton's final offer: £20,000, and no indemnification for his losses.  Due to difficulties in getting the messages across the lines, neither side knew for some days that the other was in agreement to that offer.

Benedict Arnold's letters continued to note details of General George Washington's troop movements and provide information about French reinforcements that were being organized. On August 25, Peggy Shippen delivered General Clinton's agreement to the terms.

General George Washington, in assigning Benedict Arnold to the 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. While en route to West Point, Benedict Arnold renewed an acquaintance with Joshua Hett Smith,  someone Benedict Arnold knew had done spy work for both sides, and who owned a house near the western bank of the Hudson river just south of West Point.


























Benedict Arnold. 


Once he established himself at West Point, Benedict Arnold began systematically weakening its defenses and military strength. Needed repairs on the chain 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. He also peppered Washington with complaints about the lack of supplies, writing, "Everything is wanting". 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 of whom were long-time associates, grumbled about unnecessary distribution of supplies, and eventually concluded that Benedict Arnold was selling some of the supplies on the black market for personal gain.

On August 30, Benedict Arnold sent a letter accepting General Clinton's terms and proposing a meeting to Major André through yet another intermediary: William Heron, a member of the Connecticut Assembly he thought he could trust.

William Heron, in a ironic twist, 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, where, he became suspicious of Benedict Arnold's actions, so he delivered it to the head of the Connecticut militia, General Parsons.  Seeing a letter written as a coded business discussion, laid it General Parsons aside.

Eventually, a meeting was set for September 11 near Dobb's Ferry. This meeting was thwarted when British gunboats in the river, which had not been informed of Benedict Arnold's impending arrival, fired on his boat.


























Major John André, British General Henry Clinton's spy chief.


On September 16th, Major John André went on board the British Sloop-of-War, Vulture, in the Hudson river off Teller's Point, to await for an American ship to pick him up and take him to Sheldon's Headquarters. It was not until the night of the 21st, that Major André was picked up by Joshua Smith and taken to meet with General Benedict Arnold.

Major André  had chosen to wear his uniform to prevent  him from being taken for a  British spy.

On September 20 - Joshua Hett Smith was to meet him but did not show up. Major Andre was rowed ashore at the long cove just south of Haverstraw, where he met Benedict Arnold. and they went to Joshua Smith's house, behind American lines, to talk. There, General Arnold gave Major André papers of West Point, which revealed the placement of troops and other compromising information. Major Andre, Benedict Arnold, and Joshua Smith got on three horses; near Haverstraw. They were stopped by a sentry who waved them on when he recognized Benedict Arnold. They ascended a steep hillside to Smith's house, the two-story residence known as Belmont. The house had a broad view of the Hudson river at Haverstraw Bay.




















Joshua Hett Smith's house.


The home of Joshua Hett Smith stood on what is now known as Treason Hill. There it was agreed that Benedict Arnold should have one of the links removed from the great iron chain which stretched across the Hudson from West Point to King's Ferry to prevent the passage of British ships up the river. He planned to replace the iron link with rope, onthe pretext that the chain needed mending. Major John Andre spent the night at the house of Joshua Hett Smith.

Colonel Livingston, the commandant at Fort Lafayette, just south of Verplanck's Point, had just brought a small ceremonial cannon to Teller's Point (Croton Point) and began firing round after round at the Vulture as soon as he spotted it. The ship returned fire. The ship then retreated down stream.






















Benedict Arnold and John Andre.


By morning the meeting was over, but the Vulture had moved up river, having been fired upon by the Americans. This stranded Major André.

Joshua Smith said it was too dangerous and persuaded Major Andre to cross the Hudson river at Stony Point and proceed to the British lines by land. To help out, Benedict Arnold  wrote some passes, using the disguised name of "John Anderson," for Major André to get back to safety.  Major André decided it was best for him to change out of his uniform and be disguised for the trip.  He hid his papers, which showed the fortifications of West Point and the placement of soldiers, between his "stockings and feet.  They then went to King's Ferry where they crossed to Fort Lafayette, up to Peekskill.  Major André wanted to move fast and go all night, but on the 22nd , they ran into some New York militia men who convinced them to stay the night with them and move on in the morning. If anyone in the countryside had realized he was British they would have reported him.  Therefore, he had to stay for the evening.

On September 23rd, Joshua Smith finally left Major André's side near Pine's bridge, over the Croton River. They both believed that Major André would not see any more Americans past this point and that he would safely make it to the British lines.Major Andre then continued to Pine's Bridge and on to Tarrytown.



















The Capture of Major John André.


Around 9 am that morning, he was stopped in neutral territory, near Tarrytown, by some militia men.  There are conflicting stories on how itt happened,  but Major André is recorded as having said,  "I was taken by three volunteers who, not satisfied with my pass, rifled me and, finding papers, made me a prisoner". 























 
Damaging Documents from Benedict in the Boots of Major Andre.


The men, finding the papers from Benedict Arnold on him, took Major André to North Castle, where Lt. Col. Jameson was in command. Lt. Col. Jameson, not sure what to do, first sent a letter onto General Arnold, his commander, concerning the situation. At this point Benjamin Tallmadge returned to North Castle from scouting and, being very suspicious of these goings-on, sent a letter with the found papers to George Washington . Major André was held prisoner.



































Benedict Arnold was buried at St. Mary's Church, Battersea in London, England.  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.  His funeral procession boasted "seven mourning coaches and four state carriages"; the funeral was without military honors





























During his marriage to Margaret Mansfield, Benedict Arnold had the following children:

    Benedict Arnold VI (1768–1795) (captain in the British Army, killed in action)
    Richard Arnold (1769–1847)
    Henry Arnold (1772–1826)



During his marriage to Peggy Shippen, Benedict Arnold had a family active in British military service:

    Edward Shippen Arnold (1780–1813) (lieutenant)
    James Robertson Arnold (1781–1854) (lieutenant general)
    George Arnold (1787–1828) (lieutenant colonel)
    Sophia Matilda Arnold (1785–1828)
    William Fitch Arnold (1794–1846) (captain)


Summation:



















Benedict Arnold V was born into a well to do family, where the family fortunes changed rapidly, because of poor business practices, his father’s drinking, and the eventual death of both parents.  All of this, left Benedict Arnold with his  drive for personal wealth and financial security.

When the British Crown restricted trade and increased taxes,  Benedict Arnold earned much of his income by smuggling.  This was one of the practices that he would be accused of during the American Revolution.



















Benedict Arnold lived for Glory and Recognition.  He was a brilliant warrior and wished to be recognized as such.  He competed with many other officers, who also pursued such praises, but he lacked the political savvy of most of his fellow officers.

The General was one of America's first heroes.  He was also a tragic hero who had personality flaws that led to his downfall.  He could or did not control his temper.  He easily took offense at being slighted, all of which made him a political sitting duck.

At the time that  Benedict Arnold began fighting for America's Independence,  a third of the country were Patriots,  another third were Loyalists and another third remained Neutral. 




























In spite of his military successes, he was passed over for promotion, and some other officers claimed and/or took credit for some of his accomplishments.  His enemies in both military and political circles brought charges of corruption or other malfeasance . He owed money to Congress and to many others.  Frustrated and bitter, Benedict Arnold decided to change sides in 1779

At Valley Forge, in May 1778, to the applause of men who had served under him at Saratoga,  General Benedict Arnold participated in the first recorded Oath of Allegiance along with many other soldiers, as a sign of loyalty to the United States.  Because of the WAY that he changed sides,  his name quickly became a byword in the United States for treason or betrayal.

























Benedict Arnold had the misfortune of marrying into a wealthy Tory family. Had he not married Peggy Shippen, he might have taken the battle-command offered to him by George Washington instead of West Point.
















Whatever you and I may think about Benedict Arnold is of little consequence.  But what he did during the early years of the Ameican revolution was of great consequence to every American.

If it had not been for the battles he won over the British Troops and kept them in Canada, the American Revolution would have been over before it had a good start.   Benedict Arnold oversaw the construction of the gunboats on Lake Champlain and commanded the fleet that stalled the British advance on the colonies in October 1776.   Some argue that Benedict Arnold's brilliance on the lake saved the colonies from an early loss to the stronger British forces.










































Benedict Arnold then went on to play a pivotal role at the "Battle of Saratoga" in New York.  While disobeying a commanding officer,  General Arnold took charge of three army regiments and ultimately forced the British to surrender.  This victory convinced the French Government that the American cause was not lost and they threw their support to the Americans.

Benedict Arnold's name is and probably always will be associated most with the word "TRAITOR,"  however, he was also a brilliant, victorious leader during the early years of the War for American Independence.