Benedict Arnold Research Paper

Benedict Arnold was born on January 14. 1741, in Norwich, Connecticut. At the young age of thirteen, he was apprenticed to an apothecary. He was briefly part of the Connecticut and New York militias during the French and Indian War. He, however, never took part in any military actions at the time. After the war was over, he continued to work as an apothecary and as a book seller. He was also a smuggler of both sugar and rum.

Later, Arnold joined the Continental Army in April 1775 when the Revolutionary War broke out. Once the Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought, he proposed to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety a plan to capture Fort Ticonderoga. The Committee made Arnold colonel and ordered him to enlist as many as 400 men to

carry out the harrowing expedition ahead.
Arnold learned soon enough that another group, the Green Mountain Boys, headed by Ethan Allen had already formed to capture Fort Ticonderoga.

He quickly went up north to meet up with them. After some intense negotiations, Allen and Arnold agreed to share command and they successfully captured the Fort on May 10, 1775.

Later, in the fall of 1775, Arnold led an ill-fated expedition from Maine to Quebec. The purpose of the expedition was to get people from Canada behind the Patriot cause and to deprive the British of their northern base, which was going to strike into the 13 colonies. The desperate attack was launched on December 31, 1775 in a blizzard. Early in the battle, Benedict Arnold received a wound to his left leg. This was not the only catosphere because many other American soldiers were either killed, wounded, or captured. This resulted in a loss for Arnold and Canada still remained in British hands.

By the end of 1776, Arnold recovered from his wound and once again took to the battlefield. He played a pivotal role in hindering a British invasion from Canada into New York in the fall. In October of 1776, he directed the construction of a small fleet of ships on Lake Champlain in New York. Under Arnold’s command, the fleet engaged the British fleet in Valcour Bay near the western shore in mid-October. Although his fleet was defeated, its presence on the lake caused the British plans to invade New York to be impeded for another

year.
Despite the heroism that he displayed, Arnold still felt that he did not receive the recognition he deserved. As a result, he resigned from the Continental Army in 1777 after Congress promoted five junior officers above Arnold. General George Washington urged Arnold to reconsider, and so he rejoined the army. He rejoined just in time to take part in the defense of central New York from an invading British force under General John Burgoyne in the fall of 1777.
In the battles against Burgoyne, Arnold served under General Horatio Gates, an officer whom Arnold thought was worthless. Gates also disliked Arnold and at one point even relieved Arnold of his command. However, in October 7, 1777, Arnold defied Gates’ authority in the Battle of Bemis Heights and took command of a group of American soldiers. He led the soldiers in an assault against the British. Arnold’s attack surprised the British and contributed greatly to the American victory. Burgoyne then surrendered his entire army at Saratoga ten days later. This surrender convinced France to enter the war on the side of the Americans. However, Gates deemphasized Arnold’s contributions in his official reports, claiming most of the credit for the victory for himself.
Meanwhile, Arnold seriously wounded his left leg again and was rendered incapable of being on the battlefield any longer. Due to this, Arnold accepted the position of military governor of Philadelphia in 1778.
During his term, rumors, circulated through Philadelphia accusing him of abusing his high position for his own personal profit. Questions were also raised to him about his marriage to the young Peggy Shippen, who was the daughter of a man suspected of Loyalist sympathies. Later, Arnold had five children and an accumulating debt. Arnold felt that he would be better served assisting the British instead of continuing to suffer for the ungrateful American army.
Towards the end of 1779, Arnold began to have secret negotiations with the British to surrender the American fort at West Point in New York. In return, Arnold wanted money and a command in the British army. Later, a British Major named John André was captured in September of 1780. Papers found on André incriminated Arnold for committing treason. After hearing about this, Arnold fled to the British lines before the Patriots could arrest him. West Point remained in American hands, and André was hanged as a spy in October 1780.
After fleeing to the enemy side, Arnold received a commission with the British army. He served in a considerable amount of minor engagements against the Americans in the following years. Once the war was over, which ended with a victory for the Americans with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Arnold resided in England.
In January of 1801, Arnold was diagnosed with having edema, which caused swelling in his tissues due to excess fluid accumulation. After having a high fever and delirium for four days, Benedict Arnold died on June 14, 1801, at the age of 60, in London, England. He was buried in St. Mary’s Church, Battersea, London, England. Following his death, Benedict Arnold’s name became synonymous with the word “traitor.”