[142] His descendants are spread across Canada, most of all those of John Sage, who adopted the Arnold surname. 2. When American leaders discovered the plot, Arnold fled. "Arnold, Benedict (17411801)". [59] Shippen and her circle of friends had found methods of staying in contact with paramours across the battle lines, despite military bans on communication with the enemy. When and where was Benedict Arnold born? This meeting was thwarted when British gunboats in the river fired on his boat, not being informed of his impending arrival. He was again severely wounded in the left leg late in the fighting. 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. 3. 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. Mo talks with author Nathaniel Philbrick about the now . Interview with Philbrick in Michael Dolan, "Hero And Villain,", Julie Courtwright, "Whom Can We Trust Now? Various translations of Sun Tzu's The Art of War have been published over the past century. In 1787, he moved to Canada to run a merchant business with his sons Richard and Henry. [25] On the night of January 28, 1767, he and members of his crew roughed up a man suspected of attempting to inform authorities of Arnold's smuggling. 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. [62], Wetherell says that the shortest explanation for his treason is that he "married the wrong person". The first man was a British major named John Andre. 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. See the fact file below for more information on . 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. Andr then drafted instructions to Stansbury and Arnold. [55], Andr conferred with Clinton, who gave him broad authority to pursue Arnold's offer. 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. Thereupon I expressed the desire of seeing that gentleman, and, shortly after, I was introduced to him. 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. 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). One plaque bears only a rank and a date but no name: "major general born 1740". Washington Irving used it as part of an argument against dismemberment of the union in his 1857 Life of George Washington, pointing out that the unity of New England and the southern states which led to independence was made possible in part by holding West Point. [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. Unlike his accomplishments in the battlefield, Arnold was not a good Governor. He won a victory at Fort Stanwix (now Rome) in August 1777 and commanded advance battalions at the Battle of Saratoga that autumn, fighting brilliantly until seriously wounded. His father was arrested on several occasions for public drunkenness, was refused communion by his church, and died in 1761. During this time, Arnold brought his sister Hannah to New Haven and established her in his apothecary to manage the business in his absence. [11], Arnold was very close to his mother, who died in 1759. [113] Other attempts all failed to gain positions within the government or the British East India Company over the next few years, and he was forced to subsist on the reduced pay of non-wartime service. 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. Wallace, Willard M. "Benedict Arnold: Traitorous Patriot." While Benedict Arnold escaped to British-occupied New York, where he was protected from punishment. The September 21 meeting with British Major John Andre was a disaster for both men. Arnold and Wemyss faced similar situations but created different legaciesWemyss "served with distinction during the war" but became a footnote in history; Arnold lost the respect of people on all sides of the Revolution and his name became synonymously linked to treason. Or was it a kind of extreme midlife crisis, swerving from radical political beliefs to reactionary ones, a change accelerated by his marriage to the very young, very pretty, very Tory Peggy Shippen? He was extremely unpopular there and returned to London permanently in 1791, where he died ten years later. [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. . His father was a successful businessman and young Benedict had a comfortable childhood. However, his actions at Saint-Jean and Valcour Island played a notable role in delaying the British advance against Ticonderoga until 1777. Arnold's childhood was marred by tragedy; by age 20, he was an orphan struggling to make his way in the world as an apothecary. In exchange for cash and a commission in the British army, Major General Arnold promised to betray his cause and hand over the American fort at West Point. Benedict Arnold (14 January 1741 [O.S. Unable to obtain a regular commission in the British army, he later pursued various business ventures, including land speculation in Canada. [27] Their son Benedict was born the following year[28] and was followed by brothers Richard in 1769 and Henry in 1772. While en route to West Point, Arnold renewed an acquaintance with Joshua Hett Smith, who had spied for both sides and who owned a house near the western bank of the Hudson about 15 miles south of West Point. With the permission of his master, Armistead enlisted in the Revolutionary War under General Lafayette. Arnold reopened the secret channels with the British, informing them of Schuyler's proposals and including Schuyler's assessment of conditions at West Point. She couldand did. The Arnold residence attained the reputation as one of early Amsterdam's finer homes. She was a close friend of British major John Andr and kept in contact with him when he became head of the British espionage system in New York. 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. 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. He was on his way home from Ticonderoga when he learned that his wife had died earlier in June. 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 also began to insist on a face-to-face meeting, and suggested to Arnold that he pursue another high-level command. Peggy Shippen had barely turned eighteen when in June of 1778, following the evacuation of Philadelphia by a British army, Major General Benedict . He then went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and suggested to George Washington a second expedition to attack Quebec City via a wilderness route through Maine. I used the widely accepted 1910 translation by the sinologist Lionel Giles, available in various . 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". Later,. Andr had spies and informers keeping track of Arnold to verify his movements. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. His scheme was to surrender the fort to the British, but it was exposed in September 1780 when revolution militia captured Andr carrying papers which revealed the plot. Arnold was born in Connecticut. In 1780, when "The Capture of Benedict Arnold" episode takes place, Rittenhouse in real life was treasurer of Pennsylvania. At critical moments Arnold inspired the Patriots with his grit and determination and earned the admiration of George Washington. Washington refused his resignation and ordered him north to assist with the defense there. The sacrifice of Andr made Arnold odious to loyalists, and his reputation was further tarnished among his former neighbours when he led a raid on New London, Connecticut, in September 1781. Understand why Benedict Arnold spied for the British during the American Revolutionary War. 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. 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. Odell was a Loyalist working with William Franklin, the last colonial governor of New Jersey and the son of Benjamin Franklin. His performance in the Battle of Ridgefield in Connecticut prompted his promotion to major general. Major Benjamin Tallmadge was a member of the Continental Army's Culper Ring, a network of spies established under Washington's orders,[97] and he insisted that Jameson order the prisoner to be intercepted and brought back. January 14, 1741, in Norwich Connecticut. She was the conduit for information to the British. [77] Arnold worked over the next few months to publicize this fact; however, Washington published a formal rebuke of his behavior in early April, just one week after he had congratulated Arnold on the birth of his son Edward Shippen Arnold on March 19:[78], The Commander-in-Chief would have been much happier in an occasion of bestowing commendations on an officer who had rendered such distinguished services to his country as Major General Arnold; but in the present case, a sense of duty and a regard to candor oblige him to declare that he considers his conduct [in the convicted actions] as imprudent and improper. [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. Arnold arrived in New Brunswick in December 1785, so Sage's mother could not have been from there. 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. His mother came from a wealthy family, but his alcoholic father squandered their estate. 0:00. In 1776, he deployed defensive and delay tactics at the Battle of Valcour Island in Lake Champlain that gave American forces time to prepare New York's defenses. [148] He was buried at St Mary's Church, Battersea, England which has a commemorative stained glass window. Four days later, Arnold sent a ciphered letter with similar content into New York through the services of the wife of a prisoner of war. [145], There are plaques on the grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, commemorating all of the generals who served in the Revolution. Despite Arnold's defection to the British, he was a fierce patriot for . Saint Benedict once lived in a hermit cave. This was the last straw. 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. Benedict's exploits and continuous wins caught the eye of George Washington, who . Arnold lost most of his siblings to yellow fever, calamitous events that triggered alcoholism in his father. 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. Benedict Arnold betrayed the Continental Army to the British when he made secret overtures to British headquarters in May 1779 and, a year later, informed the British of a proposed American invasion of Canada. [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 born a British subject, the second of six children of his father Benedict Arnold III (16831761) and Hannah Waterman King in Norwich, Connecticut, on January 14, 1741. 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". The band played a funeral march. Arnold was rebuffed by Congress and by local authorities in requests for security details for himself and his in-laws. The fourth niche is pointedly empty. Benedict Arnold led the attack at the British Fort of Ticonderoga. Wikipedia Sign up to our newsletter. 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. His first name was actually Enoch. But the brash war herohe helped take Fort Ticonderoga and led troops. In an ironic twist, Heron went into New York unaware of the significance of the letter and offered his own services to the British as a spy. 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 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. 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". [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. [119] The most serious of these was a slander suit which he won against a former business partner; and following this, townspeople burned him in effigy in front of his house, as Peggy and the children watched. The French had besieged Fort William Henry in northeastern New York, and their Indian allies had committed atrocities after their victory. His company marched northeast the following month to assist in the siege of Boston that followed the Battles of Lexington and Concord. While this is the case, no power in this country could suddenly place you in the situation you aim at under the East India Company. 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. Before his betrayal Benedict Arnold was a legitimate hero and a competent officer. His father's alcoholism and ill health kept him from training Arnold in the family mercantile business, but his mother's family connections secured an apprenticeship for him with her cousins Daniel and Joshua Lathrop, who operated a successful apothecary and general merchandise trade in Norwich. 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. 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