Andrew W.

Benedict Arnold 

Photo of Benedict Arnold (Google Images)

 

Table of Contents

           

Page   Chapter

3       Introduction

4-7    Chapter 1: Benedict Arnold’s childhood

8       Chapter 2: How did Arnold transition from a kid to an adult?

9-20  Chapter 3: Benedict Arnold’s contribution to the American cause

21-22 Chapter 4: Why did Arnold become a traitor?

23     Chapter 5: What did Arnold do once he was with the British?

24     Chapter 6: Benedict Arnold’s life after the war

25     Conclusion

Introduction

Benedict Arnold has famously been known as a traitor. But why? Nobody has really found out, but experts have made educated guesses.  Have you ever wondered why Arnold betrayed his country?  What impact did Arnold have on the American forces? How did Arnold help the British, if at all? What did Arnold do after the war, and when did he die? Many people have wondered why these actions have happened. Well, you're about to find out.

Chapter One: Benedict Arnold as a kid

                                                           

Where did he live?

           

To start off, did you know that Benedict Arnold was born in Connecticut? To be exact, Arnold grew up in Norwich, Connecticut, which is eighty-one miles northeast of Easton, Connecticut. Connecticut is in the northeast region of the country, south of Massachusetts, east of New York, north of New Jersey, and west of Rhode Island. Norwich, Connecticut is in the northwest part of New London County, which is in the southeast part of Connecticut. The image below is by Google Images.

                                                                            

Parents

Benedict Arnold was born on January 14th, 1741. He was the son of Hannah Waterman King and Benedict Arnold lll. Which makes the traitor, Benedict Arnold, the fourth.

Hannah Waterman King came from a wealthy family. However, Benedict Arnold lll did not. Although the original finance was great, it didn’t last long. Benedict Arnold lll lost the money with bad business deals. Hannah Waterman King was from Norwich, Connecticut. Once she married she changed her name to Hannah Waterman Arnold. Benedict Arnold lll was born in Newport, Rhode Island. 

School Life

Arnold went to school in Canterbury, Connecticut, 15 miles south of Norwich.  While Arnold was attending school, several of his siblings died from yellow fever, a flu-like disease that couldn’t be cured often back in the 1700s. After Arnold’s parents were broke, Arnold was forced to leave school. The photo above is Rhode Island from Google Images.

Personality

As a kid, Benedict Arnold was very energetic. To add to this, he wasn’t choosy about what he did. This energy led to misbehavior in school, which means he probably gots lots of punishments as a result. When Arnold’s energy couldn’t be contained, he was sent to his cousins, Daniel and Joshua Lathdrop. Their house was also in Norwich, Connecticut, so the move was not too bad. From there, he helped with a huge apothecary business. Apothecary business is when people prepare, and sell drugs and medicines. Though he did have breaks, such as fighting in the French and Indian War, Arnold learned from the Lathdrops.

Image of what a school used to look like in the 1700’s. From (Google Images)

 

Chapter 2:  How did Arnold transition from a teenager to an adult?

     While Arnold was with the Lathdrops, his mother, Hannah Waterman King/Arnold, died in 1759. She died at the age of 50. Arnold was eighteen when this event occurred.  Two years later Arnold’s father passed away as well.

 Soon he left the Lathdrops and started his own apothecary business. His business was established in New Haven, Connecticut, which is 57 miles southwest of Norwich, but only 26 miles southeast of Easton, Connecticut. His assistant in the business was the only other surviving member of the Arnold family, his sister, Hannah Arnold. Most of his business deals involved smuggling goods due to British laws.

In 1967, at the age of 26, Arnold married Margaret Mansfield. Margaret Mansfield, was also born in Connecticut.

Chapter 3:  How did Arnold even help the American Cause?

         When the Revolutionary War broke out,  Arnold was assigned as the Captain of the Governor's Second Company of Guards. When Arnold heard about the first battle, the battle of Lexington and Concord, he marched his troops up for reinforcement.

A little later, he was excited to see if the Massachusetts Committee of Safety would let him help in the effort of taking over Fort Ticonderoga. The goal was to capture Fort Ticonderoga because there were needed weapons there. But Arnold wasn’t the only excited Captain interested in the take over of Fort Ticonderoga. Ethan Allen was also excited. Ethan is a fellow statesmen, lives in the same state, as Arnold. To be exact, Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut.  Norwich is 79 miles southeast of Litchfield.  Easton, however, is only 44 miles southwest of Litchfield. In order for both of them to achieve their goal, they would have to march up to Fort Ticonderoga, which is up in northern New York, almost in Vermont, and take down the British. Therefore Arnold’s and Allen’s troops joined forces at Bennington Vermont, 86 miles southeast of Fort Ticonderoga.

Fort Ticonderoga is in Essex County

Image by Google Images.

Below is a map of Vermont.  Bennington is in Bennington County. (Google Images)

          When Arnold first met Allen, he was a little shocked and angry that he didn't care that he had permission from the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. You might ask yourself, “ Why would Arnold be angry?” The answer is that he had to follow orders from Allen, and as you know how greedy Arnold is, this took a lot away from his glory. On May 10th, 1775, the armies charged in. That took the British by surprise. When the successful attacks were over, the army celebrated by attacking the rum stores. Arnold barely even got acknowledged. Mostly when he was, he was being teased by Allen’s soldiers. Arnold still wanted to break the news to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety about the successful attack of Fort Ticonderoga. That’s classic Arnold, wanting more glory than needed. But someone else was hungry for glory. Colonel Easton. Colonel Easton was another statesmen, born in East Hartford Connecticut. Arnold lost the argument and as a result, he spent more time with captured British Generals than his own men.

          In this stage he had more control than earlier that year, but not much. Arnold had to join Allen in assistance of the Invasion of Canada. But Colonel Easton was also there in the time of the planning of the attack. Easton had tried his very best to diminish Arnold’s presence of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. This, of course, made Arnold furious. So when Easton came back things definitely did not get better between them. It got so bad that Arnold challenged Easton to a duel. But Easton did not accept. Still, fist fights occured between them and as a result Allen’s and Easton’s troops deserted Arnold to fight by themselves. Arnold was happy about this until he had to join Colonel Benjamin Hinman. Again, Benjamin Hinman was also from Connecticut. He was born in Woodbury Connecticut. This did not go well, as Arnold’s temper defeated common sense. So instead of being with Hinman he resigned. Another example of Arnold’s arrogance.

But the final nail was when Arnold’s men were recruited by Colonel Easton, Arnold’s nemisis. Arnold was as furious as a bunch of angry bees and he got in action again. Arnold marched straight up to Albany and gave a statement about what was going on.

Arnold had time off though before he got back in action. Though during his time off, he got caught in some political debate. The argument wasn’t only in Connecticut, it also spread into Massachusetts. Men were arguing about who deserved credit for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. It’s no surprise that Arnold joined in. During the arguing, Margaret Mansfield, Arnold’s wife, got ill. The result was him going to the Massachusetts committee of Safety for a bill to treat his wife. While he was there he was treated poorly and only received very little of what his bill was due. Arnold got frustrated and ended up giving the account to Silas Deane. He made a good decision and he received the full amount of what is account was due. Still, Canadian invasion plans were still in the works. It was George Washington who recommended Arnold to the Continental Congress. Due to the request he was able join in and help the invasion plans. 

Image of George Washington. (Google Images)

Arnold was assigned to Colonel Schuyler from Albany New York who gave Arnold a lot of freedom. Arnold gladly took advantage of it and enjoyed it. Washington had lots of trust in Arnold and backed him up at the time. Weather became a big challenge though on the march up to Canada. The climate was rocky and difficult. Plus there wasn’t enough food to keep all the men pleased and  many men deserted. Arnold on the way up gave a letter to a “trustworthy” Indian scout. But the scout wasn’t so trustworthy and the letter was given to the British. Arnold still kept a positive attitude but the letter wasn’t why. When a rainstorm occurred the Continental army was forced to a stop. By then the British had read the letter and British reinforcements rolled in. Probably from the north since the Continental army couldn’t go farther north. Arnold was waiting for reinforcements from Colonel Montgomery, born near Dublin Ireland, but a lot of his men had died from smallpox, a highly contagious disease. Finally on December 31st,1775 a snowy battle had occurred and the Americans came out on the losing side.

Painting of the Invasion of Canada.

          Big losses occurred during the invasion. Colonel Montgomery passed away and Arnold had a bad wound in his leg. Daniel Morgan, from Hunterdon New Jersey had to take charge and he rose to the occasion. Morgan led the army as a fierce leader. Despite his effort they had to surrender due to the lack of knowing the area. Arnold however did not agree. There he lay wounded in bed hollering orders and demanding reinforcements which very little came. Washington, and others praised Arnold and he was made a Brigadier officer. Arnold was of course, very pleased with himself.

He then was sent to Quebec to try to make a deal. Though no deal was made and he was attacked. Arnold still ended got out of Quebec safely.

Again Arnold’s troops were heading north to Canada. Lacking troops made Arnold, and his men plunder “legally.” Soon Arnold’s troop was forced to retreat south, and on the retreat south Arnold.

Map of Canada. (Google Images)

          In summertime Arnold was on the battlefield again. Only this time it wasn’t outside. It was in inside. Arnold was defending himself from plundering from Montreal stores. Plundering is like stealing. Arnold put the blame on Officer Hazen, born in  Haverhill Massachusetts, for not taking control of the problem. Fiery arguments occurred during court. Hazen demanded a court martial, someone who debates if someone is guilty or not.  After the court martial cleared Hazen’s name Arnold was forced to apologize to Hazen. Arnold did not and instead challenged the court. The judge then demanded that Arnold be arrested. The result of what to do with Arnold fell into the hands of Horatio Gates from Maldon United Kingdom. Gates decided that Arnold was needed to fire up the troops between America and Britain. So Arnold made it out of court.

Photo of Pennsylvania (Google Images)

          Arnold was then in charge of a small fleet of ships. Their journey was to Fort Ticonderoga. Arnold again achieved his goal but got blamed for losing 10 of 15 ships or 66% of the ships. Despite this fact, Britain suddenly realized how much stamina the 13 tiny colonies have. The 1776 winter was not a happy one for Arnold. Old army enemies tried to charge him in court. So Arnold was defending himself a lot. It also didn’t help when rookie soldiers gained higher military ranking than him. Arnold again felt like he wasn’t getting enough money for what he deserved. Washington was upset as well and tried to calm Arnold down. He was also upset that he wasn’t told about the promotions. So was he more upset about Arnold being “robbed”, or not being told about the promotions? Despite Washington being upset he never really did solve the problem. The effect of that was Arnold going to Philadelphia himself to solve the matter.

          On Arnold’s way to Philadelphia he had learned that the British had attacked Danbury Connecticut. He then rallied men together and took down the Lobsterbacks. Arnold was then appointed Major General. Arnold was angry by not being told, but he got over it quickly. Arnold still needed his payment. But he didn’t get it. Washington even wrote a letter to Congress but when Arnold didn’t get paid by July he resigned. He resigned in the year of 1777, 2 years before he became a traitor. But on the same day, Washington suggested that he join Colonel Schuyler. Arnold paused resigning and joined Schuyler.

As he arrived he was caught in a civil “war.”The “war” was about who should have control. Colonel Schuyler or Colonel Gates. Most New Englanders sided with Gates while most of the most New Yorker areas sided with Schuyler. Arnold had to put some thought about who to side with, but in the end he chose Schuyler because he was in a similar situation as Arnold.

Arnold later in 1777 volunteered to take Fort Schuyler. He was the only volunteer. Would he still have went if there were more volunteers? He ended up to take down the British with a unique strategy. Instead of gunfire he fooled them. He announced to the British that 1,000’s of American troops were coming when he didn’t even have a thousand men, let alone thousands of troops with thousands of men. The British believed him and took off.

After the event arnold reunited with the main force, which meant he was under control of Colonel Gates. They ended up at a place called Freedom’s Farm, now known as Saratoga. Arnold and Gates got in a argument about what approach they should take. Arnold wanted to go straight at the British, while Gates wanted to stay cautious and careful. When gunfire broke out the battle lasted 20 days! Saratoga by the way is 163 miles northwest of Easton CT. When Arnold kept complaining and complaining, he got mad when he didn’t get his way. So Arnold and Morgan charged the British which ended the battle. Although it ended the battle, Arnold’s horse got shot and landed on the leg Arnold wounded in Canada. Still it was Arnold’s actions that won the battle and Burgoyne conceded that Arnold did mostly win the Battle of Saratoga after saying he didn’t. That led to france coming to aid the colonies.

In winter, 1777, Arnold spent the time in Valley Forge. Valley Forge is in Pennsylvania and is 185 miles southwest of Easton CT. While there, he signed the Oath of Allegiance to the colonies. This had Arnold in charge of Philadelphia once the British left.

While in Philadelphia, he met a woman named Peggy Shippen. At the time Arnold met her she was mother of three daughters of Judge Edward Shippen, whose cousin was the head surgeon for the Continental Army. After hanging out with each other they got married. Shippen was only 18 while Arnold was 38!

Image of Peggy Shippen (Google Images)

          Once Arnold was settled he became greedy. He started to waste money on himself when it was supposed to go to the city of Philadelphia. Not realizing that Congress was watching every move he made. He went to court and defended himself as best he could but was found guilty. For two reasons. One for using money for himself. The other one was issuing a pass for a ship in which he later invested in. Washington was even upset and used quotes such as,” imprudent and improper.”

This is Philadelphia in the 1700’s. (Google Images)

Chapter 3 Why did Arnold become a traitor?

Arnold started to bargain deals with the British in May 1779. Experts say that it is mostly because that Arnold was angry with his country. Arnold thought that he deserves more appreciation than what he was getting. For example, being controlled by Ethan Allen on the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, getting upset that Colonel Easton was excluding him from the amount of credit he thought he deserved, got in the argument about who deserves credit for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, complaining that he didn’t get enough money when his wife was ill, went against orders in the Battle of Saratoga cause he thought he was right, thought he was being “robbed again in 1776 and, resigned when he didn’t get paid. Those are 7 examples of when he was angry or “under appreciated”.

          The British deal was 10,000 pounds, which is worth $13,398 American dollars, which was a huge amount back then. He also got land in Canada.

         

          Although Peggy Shippen was considered innocent at the time, later research has suggests something different. Shippen in  1778-79 went to lots of British balls. She made tory friends and knew John Andre, the negotiator with Arnold. To researchers, that looks like she helped convince Atnold trade to the British.

          But Washington, during the negotiations, offered Arnold the left wing of the Continental army. Before, Arnold would’ve taken this chance in a heartbeat but things have changed. Arnold made a excuse about how his leg wouldn’t be prepared so he would be in charge of West Point. West Point is in New York and is 69 miles northwest of Easton, Connecticut.

          On the day of the escape, John Andre arrived on a British ship,Vulture, and made a excuse that he was delivering messages to Arnold. On his way he got captured. The letters that were in Andre’s sock had been read, and the secret was out. When Arnold heard the news he escaped and got on the Vulture.

          Arnold escaped but Andre did not. He got questioned then hanged.

This is a image of John Andre. (Google Images)

Chapter 4

What did Arnold did Arnold do for the British?

     Arnold did side with the British, but the British never fully trusted him. If Arnold traded from the colonies he could just as easily trade just as easily. Plus, France was just next door. France was with the U.S. This meant Arnold never had a important job for the British. However, Arnold marched through Connecticut and burned down houses. But again, he wasn’t trustworthy so he didn’t do much.

This is Benedict Arnold as a Redcoat. Image by (Google Images)

Chapter 5

What did Arnold do after his military career?

            Arnold, and his family, lived in London England. But when Arnold could not find a job, his family moved to Canada. While there, he developed a shipping company but when the neighbors got unfriendly they moved back to London. War between Britain and France occurred he tried to get back in military but didn’t. His shipping company eventually failed, and he died in 1801 due to swelling. He died in London almost as a unknown person at the age of 70. His wife, Peggy Shippen/Arnold, died of cancer 3 years later.

Conclusion

         

“Let me did in this old uniform in which I fought my battles. And God forgive me for ever having wore another,” Arnold said as he died in London. As you can see, Arnold regretted being a traitor when he died. Arnold’s story has been known for over 200 years. It’s hard to imagine that a energetic boy that his parents couldn’t afford turned into the most famous traitor ever. What would the war be without Arnold, and would our country be here if he wasn’t involved?