[62], Wetherell says that the shortest explanation for his treason is that he "married the wrong person". Name: Ethan Allen; Birth . The arched, double-door main entrance provided a stately, picturesque quality to the home. We largely don't even know who he is. His father was a successful businessman and young Arnold was educated in private schools. He also peppered Washington with complaints about the lack of supplies, writing, "Everything is wanting. A figure climbed down from the larger sloop, into the boat and quietly made his way up the Hudson River. In the House of Commons, Edmund Burke expressed the hope that the government would not put Arnold "at the head of a part of a British army" lest "the sentiments of true honour, which every British officer [holds] dearer than life, should be afflicted". In 1780, when "The Capture of Benedict Arnold" episode takes place, Rittenhouse in real life was treasurer of Pennsylvania. Benedict Arnold began the Revolutionary War as a militia captain. Arnold remained there until July 1781 and then returned to New York. 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. General Parsons laid it aside, seeing a letter written as a coded business discussion. A Connecticut militia force arrived at Ticonderoga in June; Arnold had a dispute with its commander over control of the fort, and resigned his Massachusetts commission. 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. [3] Arnold was buried at St. Mary's Church in Battersea, England. [72] Clinton was pursuing a campaign to gain control of the Hudson River Valley, and was interested in plans and information on the defenses of West Point and other defenses on the Hudson River. His subordinates, some long-time associates, grumbled about Arnold's unnecessary distribution of supplies and eventually concluded that he was selling them on the black market for personal gain. He was imprisoned by French authorities on Guadeloupe amid accusations of spying for the British, and narrowly eluded hanging by escaping to the blockading British fleet after bribing his guards. William Fitch Arnold (17941846) (Captain, Benedict Arnold, played by Curtis Caravaggio, is a one-time character in the episode "The Capture of Benedict Arnold" in the 2016-18 TV series, Courtwright, Julie. With the permission of his master, Armistead enlisted in the Revolutionary War under General Lafayette. By the time that he was 14, there was no money for private education. "[115], In 1785, Arnold and his son Richard moved to Saint John, New Brunswick, where they speculated in land and established a business doing trade with the West Indies. [103] The anti-war Whigs had gained the upper hand in Parliament, and Germain was forced to resign, with the government of Lord North falling not long after. At his request, a court martial was held to clear his name. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 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. But despite all the financial and political reasons he had for his betrayal, it's possible it was actually about love. "Since the fall of Lucifer," General Nathanial Greene judged, "nothing has equaled the fall of Arnold." Yet Arnold's accomplishments for the patriot cause were extraordinary. Despite Arnold's defection to the British, he was a fierce patriot for . However, his betrayal overshadowed his accomplishments in the wars he fought and won. He was also convicted of two minor charges of using his authority to make a profit. During this time, Arnold brought his sister Hannah to New Haven and established her in his apothecary to manage the business in his absence. After his leg healed, Benedict Arnold was named Military Governor of Philadelphia. Though Trump has checked off the betray the USA box quite well. Benedict Arnold was born in 1741 to a prominent Connecticut family. January 14, 1741, in Norwich Connecticut. Congress restored Arnold's command seniority in response to his valor at Saratoga. [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". 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. Arnold was made a brigadier general in the British army. [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. His father was a successful businessman and young Benedict had a comfortable childhood. May God forgive me for ever having put on another,"[125] but this story may be apocryphal. [6][103] Among his bequests were considerable gifts to one John Sage, perhaps an illegitimate son or grandson. [47] Burgoyne surrendered ten days after the second battle on October 17, 1777. Benedict died of natural causes, maybe a fever. Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Connecticut. Through the early morning hours of Sept. 22, 1780 the two plotted. Some could even argue that, patriotism aside, it might have seemed insane for him not to turn traitor. Background. 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? Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Colony of Connecticut, British America. S T I L L W A T E R, N.Y., June 14, 2001 -- Benedict Arnold, America's most infamous. They had no reason to suspect that Gen. Benedict Arnold, the new commander of the post, would be less than a gracious host. They bought three trading ships, using the profits from the sale of his homestead, and established a lucrative West Indies trade. [133] George Canning Hill authored a series of moralistic biographies in the mid-19th century and began his 1865 biography of Arnold: "Benedict, the Traitor, was born". The combined assault (December 31, 1775) failed, Montgomery was killed, and Arnold was severely wounded. [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. This plan very nearly succeeded, but Arnold changed living quarters prior to sailing for Virginia in December and thus avoided capture. Word of the siege's disastrous outcome led the company to turn around, and Arnold served for only 13 days. Understand why Benedict Arnold spied for the British during the American Revolutionary War. Some theatrical treatments of the 19th century explored his duplicity, seeking to understand rather than demonize it. For several years before he . See the fact file below for more information on . 4. With Benedict Arnold, he led the Green Mountain Boys to capture Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775. According to W. D. Wetherell, he was: [A]mong the hardest human beings to understand in American history. Later Arnold revealed to the British that he expected to receive the command of American forces at West Point, New York, and agreed to surrender that garrison to them for 20,000. He wrote that 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? [88], On August 30, Arnold sent a letter accepting Clinton's terms and proposing a meeting to Andr through yet another intermediary: William Heron, a member of the Connecticut Assembly whom he thought he could trust. Jul 4, 2020, 05:04 AM EDT | Updated Jul 4, 2020. [123], In January 1801, Arnold's health began to decline. After organizing an assemblage of volunteers, he seized munitions from the New Haven arsenal and led his group northward to fight the British. His first name was actually Enoch. 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 [31], Arnold was in the West Indies when the Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. Benedict Arnold's name is synonymous with the word traitor. His chaplain Rev. Arnold resented this affront, and only Washingtons personal persuasion kept him from resigning. attended Canterbury for a while, but when the family's money was lost in some bad business dealings, he had to leave school. 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. He was convicted of disorderly conduct and fined the relatively small amount of 50 shillings; publicity of the case and widespread sympathy for his views probably contributed to the light sentence. To raise money, he violated several state and military regulations, arousing the suspicions and, finally, the denunciations of Pennsylvanias supreme executive council. Yet as every elementary school student knows, Benedict reneged on his original commitment and defected to England. Arnold said that it would have been better had it been in the chest instead of the leg. 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. [85], On August 3, 1780, Arnold obtained command of West Point. Phillips led further raids across Virginia, including a defeat of Baron von Steuben at Petersburg, but he died of fever on May 12, 1781. "No," he replied, and after a few moments of silence, noticing my surprise, he added, "I am perhaps the only American who cannot give you letters for his own country all the relations I had there are now broken I must never return to the States." From psychological wounds received in his Connecticut childhood when his alcoholic father squandered the family's fortunes? Arnold didn't die a heroic death, or even a cowardly death. Benedict Arnold, (born January 14, 1741, Norwich, Connecticut [U.S.]died June 14, 1801, London, England), patriot officer who served the cause of the American Revolution until 1779, when he shifted his allegiance to the British. Excited by the prospects, Clinton informed his superiors of his intelligence coup, but failed to respond to Arnold's July 7 letter. Once the former Revolutionary War hero . American, then British officer after defecting during the US Revolutionary War (17401801), For other people named Benedict Arnold, see, Raids in Virginia and Connecticut colonies, Arnold's birth records indicate that he was born January 3, 1740 (, One British pound in 1776 would be worth about 160 in 2019. The British promised 20,000[b] for the capture of West Point, a major American stronghold; Washington greatly admired Arnold and gave him command of that fort in July 1780. His physicians diagnosed him as having dropsy, and a visit to the countryside only temporarily improved his condition. 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. [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. Angry and frustrated, Arnold resigned his military command of Philadelphia in late April. 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. 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. Arnold's friend, George Washington, was heartbroken over the news, but was forced to deal with the treacherous act. ] Burgoyne surrendered ten days after the second battle on October 17, 1777 85. Wetherell, he led the Green Mountain Boys to capture Fort Ticonderoga from the British understand in history! 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