Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold. He was a military officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War before defecting to the British Army in 1780. His name has become synonymous with treason in American history, primarily for his failed attempt to surrender the critical American fort at West Point to British forces. Despite his earlier heroic actions and significant contributions to the Patriot cause, his legacy is overwhelmingly defined by his betrayal.

Early life and military career

Born in the Connecticut Colony, he was apprenticed to apothecaries in New Haven and later became a successful merchant and captain in the Connecticut militia. His early military experience included service with the Sons of Liberty and a brief stint in the colonial militia during the French and Indian War. By the early 1770s, he was a prominent businessman, operating a lucrative trade with the West Indies, but faced significant debt and legal disputes, factors that historians often cite as contributing to his later resentment. He married Margaret Mansfield, daughter of the sheriff of New Haven County, further cementing his local standing before the outbreak of the American Revolution.

Role in the American Revolutionary War

At the start of the war, he was commissioned as a colonel in the Continental Army. He played a pivotal role in the 1775 Capture of Fort Ticonderoga, alongside Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys. Later that year, he co-led the grueling and ill-fated expedition to Quebec, where he was wounded during the Battle of Quebec. His most significant contributions came in 1777 during the Saratoga campaign; his aggressive leadership at the Battle of Freeman's Farm and the Battle of Bemis Heights was crucial to the American victory, a triumph that convinced France to formally enter the war as an ally. Despite his battlefield heroism, he felt repeatedly slighted by the Second Continental Congress, which promoted junior officers over him and, after the Battle of Ridgefield, initiated an inquiry into his financial accounts.

Plot to surrender West Point

By 1779, embittered by perceived slights and facing mounting personal debt, he initiated secret communications with the British. Through his wife, Peggy Shippen, who had connections to British officers like John André, he corresponded with the commander-in-chief of British forces in New York City, General Sir Henry Clinton. Appointed commander of the vital American fort at West Point on the Hudson River in 1780, he conspired to surrender the garrison for £20,000 and a commission in the British Army. The plot was foiled in September 1780 when Major John André, acting as a go-between, was captured by American militiamen near Tarrytown; papers revealing the plan were found on him. Arnold escaped to the British warship HMS ''Vulture'' and was given a commission as a brigadier general in the British army.

Aftermath and later life

Following his defection, he led British forces in raids against his former compatriots in Virginia and his native Connecticut, including the burning of New London and the massacre at Fort Griswold. After the British defeat at the Siege of Yorktown, he and his family sailed for London in 1781. He was received coolly in Great Britain and British North America; while granted a pension and land in Canada, he never gained the trust or high command he sought. He spent his later years as a merchant, involved in trade ventures in the West Indies and Canada, and died in London in 1801, still a controversial and largely reviled figure.

Legacy and historical assessment

His name is an enduring byword for treachery in the United States, often used synonymously with "traitor." Historical assessments acknowledge his exceptional military talent and vital contributions to the early war effort, particularly at Saratoga, but emphasize how his ambition, sensitivity to slights, and financial pressures led to his betrayal. Monuments to his heroism, such as the Boot Monument at the Saratoga National Historical Park, pointedly omit his name. While some biographical works explore the complexities of his character and motives, his legacy remains fundamentally shaped by his attempt to hand over West Point to the enemy, an act that profoundly shocked the Continental Army and the nascent United States.

Category:American Revolutionary War generals Category:American traitors Category:1741 births Category:1801 deaths