Benedict Arnold: A Brief Biography

The book opens to a grim scene of a crowded field, filled with angry and shocked people, surrounding the gallows and looking at the road ahead as a band marched in playing a funeral march. Behind the band marched the broken and defeated Benedict Arnold, former general of the rebel army and traitor to the new country of The United States, in prison rags and shackles. The somber scene concludes with Arnold swallowing his saliva and marching onward towards his sure death. The story of Benedict Arnold begins 39 years earlier in the port town of Norwich, Connecticut. Benedict Arnold was born to a wealthy family in Norwich in one of the coldest winter months ever recorded. He was named after his dead brother of the same name and was some what of a rebel in his younger days. His parents sent him off to a respected boarding school where his real troubles began. In August of 1753 he received a letter from his mother, Hannah. It told of an awful outbreak of yellow fever in Norwich that is soon to claim the lives of his younger sisters Mary and Hannah. Two weeks later he received a follow up, in which his mother stated that Hannah was out of danger but his 8 year old sister, Mary, was dead. Soon after, Benedict's youngest sister, Elizabeth, died of yellow fever. As his pranks and tricks at school became increasingly violent, Benedict's father's shipping business was dying and his drinking problem got worse. Benedict

Benedict Arnold sacrificed a lot for the greater good of the American people. Arnold is not given recognition for all of the victories that he had been involved in and at a time during a promotion he gets passed up by low ranking, less talented, less dedicated men than himself. “Major General Horatio Gates took credit for the victory. As if that weren’t enough of an insult, Congress had promoted five officers-all Arnold’s juniors and most far less talented-over him. Even back then politics was part of the equation as Congress ignored Washington's consistent backing and praise for Arnold, whom he admired as a fierce soldier.” (Beck 105). Also, “Benedict Arnold was a hero before he turned traitor. And just how he turned is a complicated story. Arnold made his name in upstate New York, fighting for control of a chain of

The reasons why he started talking to the British was that he was really irritated with the American government for not considering him as a significant person. The American government did not consider him as a statesman, and loyal was that they thought Arnold used the army for his personal needs. In addition, Arnold went to the British side because he was not getting sufficient money from the American government, and he had a lot of debt to pay. The British offered Benedict Arnold lot money, to him to join into the British forces. The British also assured that he will be in a high seat in the British, but the British never trusted him because the fact that he is working for the British army now, would not change the fact that he is American.

In 1775, Benedict Arnold had taken his first victory-Fort Ticonderoga. The Battle of the fort occured on May 10, 1775. Arnold and four-hundred soldiers stood opposite of the fort on Lake Champlain and waited for the scouting units to return (CIA). When they had returned, they told Benedict that the fort had only housed fourty-nine British

Prior to the war Arnold became a captain in the Governor's Second Company of Guards. Eager for action, Arnold and his men marched off to Cambridge and asked for the commission of the Massachusetts committee of safety to capture Fort Ticonderoga. Along the way Arnold’s group met up with Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys. Despite their differences the groups successfully captured the fort on May 10th by surprising the British Garrison. As the Green Mountain Boys raided the rum stores Arnold was in an argument about credit in capture of the fort. Arnold lost the argument and he received very little credit in the report to Congress.

Before the Revolution Allen served in the French and Indian War and during the Revolution he and Benedict Arnold led the Green Mountain Boys to Fort Ticonderoga and easily took it over.

Benedict Arnold had many jobs,including pharmacist,bookseller,general..and many more.But his most popular one was being a general for The Continental Army (American side)

Although Benedict Arnold was a traitor to America in the American Revolution, he was a somewhat valuable general. Benedict Arnold did retire from his position after the soldiers repeatedly complained about him. This happened because of his hot temper, impulsiveness, and impatience. With these not-so-great traits about him, it earned him many enemies that would accuse him of false actions.

          The events of the two years previous to Saratoga were very influential to Benedict Arnold. During that time Benedict Arnold and George Washington were planning a double-pronged attack and invasion of Canada, this would be accomplished by taking out Montreal and Quebec. The idea was that the British commander in Canada, Sir Guy Carleton, could only defend one of the cities during a simultaneous attack, which would leave an unprotected city to fall to the Americans. Montreal would have to be sieged by moving northward through Lake Champlain, then into the waters of the St. Lawrence River opposite Montreal. The route toward Quebec was far more complex. A force would have to be guided along the raging Kennebec River, into the highland mountains of Maine, over three lakes to the Dead River, then onto the Chaudière River, and on into the St. Lawrence River opposite Quebec. During Washington’s meetings with Arnold, he was examined Benedict very carefully, and he liked what he saw. In Washington’s mind there wasn’t a better man for the job than Arnold, to lead the charge into Quebec. Arnold was given independent command from Washington to lead troops through Maine and

Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich Connecticut to Hannah King, who was a wealthy widow; and Benedict Arnold III. He had a number of siblings with unknown names who mostly died of yellow fever.

When George Washington discovered the now-infamous treachery of John André and Benedict Arnold, he was preparing for a breakfast at the Arnold home. Arnold fled from the house, but his wife “Peggy had retired to her bedroom, ready to feign innocence and hysterical despair…She was an artful actress, and the show of stunned sorrow which she staged in the days that followed convinced almost everyone of her innocence.” Ever since Peggy Shippen Arnold’s dramatic display of her ignorance to her husband’s betrayal, historians have struggled to accurately reconstruct the facts of her life. Today, the consensus has given her a prominent role in Benedict Arnold and John André’s conspiracy, but thanks to her family’s efforts to preserve her legacy by

Benjamin Rush played a key role in founding our country. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the year 1746. Rush studied medicine in Scotland and around Europe. In 1769, he returned to the colonies and started a medical practice in his hometown and later became a college professor at the College of Philadelphia. He was very active in the Sons of Liberty, an organization in the colonies to fight for the rights of the colonists and to stop taxes by the British.

Prior to the American Revolution, Benedict Arnold was a captain in the Governor's Second Company of Guards. When hearing about the battles of Lexington and Concord, Arnold and his men became eager for action. They marched off to Cambridge to ask for the commission of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety to capture Fort Ticonderoga. Along the way, Arnold’s group met up with Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys. Arnold and Allen disputed about who was in total command but Arnold’s attempt to take command was futile so he accompanied the Green Mountain Boys with Allen as leader. On May 10th, the two groups successfully captured the fort by surprising the British Garrison.

Arnold used his lack of money and greed as reasoning for his treachery. After purchasing multiple properties and expensive items, Arnold started to lose his fortune, and needed to pay back debts. This is supported when the text explains that, “Arnold was running out of money. He put his New Haven house on the market, but there were no decent offers… And all the while he was bleeding cash (Sheinkin 226). Arnold was losing money and he wasn’t receiving proper pay from the Continental Army, so he turned to the British for their money. Since they had more and could fund his needs, he offered his services, resulting in him being considered a traitor. Overall, due to the reasons Arnold used to justify treason, he was a

When reading through the different types of people of WIlliamsburg, 3 of them stood out- Benedict Arnold, Catherine Blaikley, and Aggy. Benedict Arnold was a smart military strategist that initially was a patriot at the beginning of the American Revolution. However, due to feelings of rejection due to lack of promotions he felt he deserved and a belief that the patriots had become incompetent, he begin plotting his plan to rejoin with the British Empire and betray the Americans. Arnold was appointed Military commander in Philadelphia and was well-renowned for his strategies and skills. He played important roles in the attack on Fort Ticonderoga, beating the British sieges, and the fight at Saratoga. Even though his military credentials showed