Military officer; born in
Norwich, Conn., Jan. 14, 1741.
As a boy he was bold, mischievous, and quarrelsome.
Apprenticed to an apothecary, he ran away, enlisted as a soldier, but deserted.
[
216]
For four years (1763-67) he was a bookseller and druggist in
New Haven, Conn., and was afterwards master and supercargo of a vessel trading to the
West Indies.
Immediately after the affair at
Lexington, he raised a company of volunteers and marched to
Cambridge.
There he proposed to the
Massachusetts Committee of Safety an expedition against
Fort Ticonderoga, and was commissioned a colonel.
Finding a small force, under
Colonels Easton,
Brown, and
Allen, on the same errand when he reached
western Massachusetts, he joined them without command.
Returning to
Cambridge, he was placed at the head of an expedition for the capture of
Quebec.
He left
Cambridge with a little more than 1,000 men, composed of
New England musketeers and riflemen from
Virginia and
Pennsylvania, the latter under
Capt. Daniel Morgan.
He sailed from
Newburyport for the
Kennebec in the middle of September, 1775.
They rendezvoused at Fort Western, on the Kennebee River, opposite the site of the present city of
Augusta, Me., and on the verge of a wilderness uninhabited except by a few Indian hunters.
At Norridgewock Falls their severe labors began.
Their bateaux were drawn by oxen, and their provisions were carried on their backs around the falls — a wearisome task often repeated as they pressed towards the head-waters of the
Kennebec, often wading and pushing their bateaux against swift currents.
At length they left that stream and traversed tangled ravines, craggy knolls, and deep morasses, until they reached the
Dead River.
The stream flowed placidly on the summit of the water-shed between the
St. Lawrence and the
Atlantic, and they moved pleasantly over its bosom until they encamped at the foot of a high mountain capped with snow.
Sickness and desertion now began to reduce the number of effective men. October was passing away.
Keen blasts came from the north.
A heavy rain fell, and the water, rushing from the hills, suddenly filled the
Dead River to its brim and overflowed its banks.
Some of the boats were overturned and much provision was lost or spoiled.
Food for only twelve days remained.
A detachment was sent to get a supply, but did not return.
The floods began to freeze and the morasses became almost impassable.
Through ice-cold water they were frequently compelled to wade; even two women, wives of soldiers, endured this hardship.
At length they reached the
Chaudiere River, that empties into the
St. Lawrence.
Starvation threatened.
Seventy miles lay between them and Sertigan, the nearest French settlement.
Leaving his troops on the banks of the upper
Chaudiere,
Arnold and fifty-five men started down the river for Sertigan to obtain food.
Two or three boats had been wrecked just before their departure, and much of their scanty supply of food was lost.
Arnold and his party reached the settlement.
Indians were sent back with provisions and as guides for the rest of the troops to the
 |
|
Arnold's route through the wilderness.
|
settlement. When the forces were joined they moved towards the
St. Lawrence; and on Nov. 9, in a heavy snow-storm, they suddenly appeared at Point Levi, opposite
Quebec, only 750 in number.
It
[
217]
was almost two months after they left
Cambridge before they reached the
St. Lawrence.
Their sufferings from cold and hunger had been extreme.
At one time they had attempted to make broth of boiled deer-skin moccasins to sustain life, and a dog belonging to Henry (afterwards General)
Dearborn made savory food for them.
In this expedition were men who afterwards became famous in American history —
Aaron Burr,
R. J. Meigs,
Henry Dearborn,
Daniel Morgan, and others.
Arnold assisted
Montgomery in the siege of
Quebec, and was there severely wounded in the leg.
Montgomery was killed, and
Arnold was promoted to brigadier-general (Jan. 10, 1776), and took command of the remnant of the
American troops in the vicinity of
Quebec.
Succeeded by
Wooster, he went up
Lake Champlain to
Ticonderoga, where he was placed in command of an armed flotilla on the lake.
With these vessels he had disastrous battles (Oct. 11 and 13, 1776) with British vessels built at
St. Johns.
Arnold was deeply offended by the appointment, by Congress, early in 1777, of five of his juniors to the rank of major-general.
He received the same appointment soon afterwards (Feb. 7, 1777), but the affront left an irritating thorn in his bosom, and he was continually in trouble with his fellow-officers, for his temper was violent and he was not upright in pecuniary transactions.
General Schuyler admired him for his bravery, and was his abiding friend until his treason.
He successfully went to the relief of Fort Schuyler on the upper
Mohawk (August, 1777), with 800 volunteers; and in September and October following he was chiefly instrumental in the defeat of
Burgoyne, in spite of
General Gates.
There he was again severely wounded in the same leg, and was disabled several months.
When the
British evacuated
Philadelphia (June, 1778)
Arnold was appointed commander at
Philadelphia, where he married the daughter of a leading Tory (
Edward Shippen), lived extravagantly, became involved in debt, was accused of dishonest official conduct, and plotted his treason against his country.
To meet the demands of importunate creditors, he engaged in fraudulent transactions, for which his official position gave him facilities, and charges of dishonesty and malpractice in office were preferred against him before the Continental Congress.
A tribunal before which he was tried convicted him, but sentenced him to a reprimand only by the
commander-in-chief.
Washington performed the duty with great delicacy, but the disgrace aroused in the bosom of
Arnold a fierce spirit of revenge.
He resolved to betray his country, and, making treasonable overtures to
Sir Henry Clinton, kept up a correspondence on the subject for a long time with
Maj. John Andre (q. v.), the
adjutant-general of the
British army.
This correspondence was carried on mutually under assumed names, and on the part of
Arnold in a disguised hand.
Feigning great patriotism and a desire to serve his country better, he asked for, and, through the recommendation of
General Schuyler and others, obtained the command of the important post of
West Point and its dependencies in the
Hudson Highlands.
He arranged with
Major Andre to surrender that post into the hands of a British force which Sir Henry might send up the
Hudson.
For this service he was to receive the commission of a brigadier-general in the
British army and nearly $50.000 in gold.
He made his headquarters at the house of
Beverly Robinson, a Tory, opposite
West Point, and the time chosen for the consummation of the treason was when
Washington should be absent at a conference with
Rochambeau at
Hartford.
Arnold and
Andre had negotiated in writing: the former wished a personal interview, and arrangements were made for it.
Andre went up the
Hudson in the British sloop-of-war
Vulture to
Teller's (afterwards
Croton) Point, from which he was taken in the night in a small boat to a secluded spot near
Haverstraw, on the west side of the river, where, in bushes, he met
Arnold for the first time.
Before they parted (Sept. 22. 1780) the whole matter was arranged:
Clinton was to sail up the river with a strong force, and, after a show of resistance,
Arnold was to surrender
West Point and its dependencies into his hands.
But all did not work well.
the
Vulture was driven from her anchorage by some
Americans with a cannon on
Teller's Point, and when
Andre, with
Arnold, at Joshua H. Smith's house, above
[
218]
Haverstraw, looked for her in the early morning she had disappeared from sight.
He had expected to return to the
Vulture after the conference was over; now he was compelled to cross the river at
King's Ferry and return to New York by land.
 |
|
Fac-simile of Arnold's disguised handwriting. |
 |
|
Fac-simile of a portion of one of Andre‘s letters. |
He left his uniform, and, disguised in citizen's dress, he crossed the river towards evening with a single attendant, passed through the
American works at
Verplanck's Point without suspicion, spent the night not far from the
Croton River, and the next morning journeyed over the
Neutral Ground on horseback, with a full expectation of entering New York before night.
Arnold had furnished him with papers revealing the condition of the highland stronghold.
At
Tarrytown, 27 miles from the city, he was stopped (Sept. 23) and searched by three young militiamen, who, finding those papers concealed under the feet of
Andre in his boot, took him to the nearest American post.
The commander （
Colonel Jameson) did not seem to comprehend the matter, and unwisely allowed
Andre (who bore a pass from
Arnold in which he was called “
John Anderson” ) to send a letter to
Arnold telling him of his detention.
Washington returned from
Hartford sooner than he expected.
He rode over from
Fishkill towards
Arnold's quarters early in the morning.
Two of his military family (
Hamilton and
Lafayette) went forward to breakfast with
Arnold, while
Washington tarried to inspect a battery.
While they were at breakfast
Andre‘s letter was handed to
Arnold.
With perfect self-possession he asked to be excused, went to his wife's room, bade her farewell, and, mounting the horse of one of his aides that stood saddled at the door, rode swiftly to the river shore.
There he entered his barge, and, promising the oarsmen a handsome reward if they would row the boat swiftly, escaped to the
Vulture.
[
219]
Soon after his flight to the
British army,
Arnold published an
Address to the inhabitants of America, in which he attempted to gloss over his treason by abusing the
Congress and the
French alliance.
He also published a
Proclamation to the officers and soldiers of the Continental army, in which he contrasted the wretchedness of their condition with the prompt pay and abundant supplies of the
British service.
To induce them to desert he offered
 |
|
Smith's House. |
$15 to every private soldier, and to the officers commissions in the
British army according to their rank and the number of men they might bring with them.
This effort by a traitor to corrupt those whom he had sought to betray produced no result except to excite the contempt and scorn of the
American soldiers.
With great generosity
Virginia had sent her best troops to assist the Carolinians in their attempt to throw off the yoke laid upon their necks by Cornwallis.
To call these troops back from
Greene's army, the
British, at the close of 1780, sent
Arnold into
Virginia with a marauding party of British and Tories, about 1,600 in number, with seven armed vessels, to plunder.
distress, and alarm the people of that State.
In no other way could
Arnold be employed by his master, for respectable British officers refused to serve with him in the army.
He arrived at
Hampton Roads on Dec. 30. 1780.
Anxious to distinguish himself, he immediately pushed up the
James River as far as
Richmond, when, after destroying a large quantity of public and private stores there and in the vicinity (Jan. 5. 1781), he withdrew to
Portsmouth, opposite
Norfolk, and made that place his headquarters for a while.
Earnest efforts were made to capture the marauder, but in vain.
Jefferson offered $25,000 for his arrest, and
Washington detached
Lafayette, with 1,200 men, drawn from the
New England and
New Jersey levies, who marched to
Virginia for that purpose and to protect the
State.
A portion of the French fleet went from
Rhode Island (March 8) to shut
Arnold up in the
Elizabeth River and assist in capturing him.
Steuben, who was recruiting for
Greene's army in
Virginia, also watched him. The effort failed, for
Arnold was vigilant and extremely cautious.
He knew what would be his fate if caught.
“What would the
Americans do with me, if they should catch me?”
Arnold inquired of a young prisoner.
“They would cut off and bury with military honors your leg that was wounded at
Saratoga.
and hang the rest of you,” replied the young American soldier.
General Phillips joined
Arnold (March 26) with more than 2,000 men, and took the chief command.
The traitor accompanied him on another expedition up the
James River, in April, and then returned to New York, for Cornwallis, who came into
Virginia from
North Carolina, refused to serve with him.
When
Sir Henry Clinton found that the allied armies were actually going to
Virginia, he tried to alarm
Washington by threats of marauding expeditions.
He sent
Arnold, with a band of regulars and Tories, to commit atrocities in
Connecticut.
Arnold crossed the
Sound, from
Long Island, and on Sept. 6, 1781, landed his troops on each side of the
Thames, below New London.
He plundered and burned that town.
and a part of his force took
Fort Griswold, opposite, by storm.
It was gallantly defended by
Colonel Ledyard and a garrison of 150 poorly armed militiamen.
Only six of the garrison were killed in the conflict, but after the surrender the
British officer in command (
Colonel Eyre) murdered
Ledyard with his sword, and, refusing to give quarter to the garrison, seventy-three were massacred.
[
220]
Then the wounded were placed in a baggage-wagon and sent down the slope towards the river, with the intention of drowning them in the stream at its foot, but the vehicle was caught by an apple-tree.
The cries of the sufferers could be heard above the crackling of the burning town by persons across the river.
With this atrocious expedition the name of
Benedict Arnold disappears from the records of our history.
Arnold went to
England at the close of the war, where he was despised and shunned by all honorable men. He was afterwards a resident of
St. Johns, New Brunswick, engaged chiefly in trade and navigation, but was very unpopular.
He was there hung in effigy.
His son,
James Robertson (an infant at the time of his father's treason), became a lieutenant-general in the
British army.
Arnold's second wife, whom he married when she was not quite eighteen years of age, survived him just three years.
Arnold died in obscurity, but in comfortable pecuniary circumstances, in Gloucester Place,
London, June 14, 1801.
