Benedict Arnold V ( – 14 June 1801) was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later changed to the British Army. While on the American side, led the fort at West Point, New York. He planned to give the fort to the British army. He was caught in September 1780 and switched sides to the British Army. He was made a brigadier general in the British Army.
Arnold was born in Connecticut. He started as a merchant, sailing ships on the Atlantic Ocean. He joined the Continental army outside Boston. Soon, he became famous for cunning and bravery. His actions included these:
1775:the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
1776:defensive and delaying tactics after losing the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain the Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut (when was promoted to major general), relieving the Siege of Fort Stanwix, and 1777:actions in the Battles of Saratoga, in which he suffered leg injuries that ended his combat career for several years.
The Continental Congress decided to promote other people instead of Arnold, and this made him angry. Other officers claimed credit for some of Arnold's actions. When he lived in Philadelphia, Arnold was accused of corruption, but he was found innocent. Congress investigated his accounts, and found that he owed it money after he had spent much of his own money on the war effort.
Arnold was angry about being passed over for promotion and being told to pay money even though he had already given much of his money to the army. He decided to change sides in 1779, and he began to secretly talk to the British
In July 1780, he asked for, and got, command of West Point. Secretly, he planned to surrender it to the British. But Arnold's contact in the British army, Major John André, was captured. André had been carrying papers Arnold had given him that revealed the plot. Upon learning of André's capture, Arnold ran away down the Hudson River to the British ship HMS Vulture. Arnold was almost captured by the forces of George Washington, but he did get away.
Arnold was made a brigadier general in the British Army, an annual pension of £360, and a lump sum of over £6,000. During the American Revolutionary War, he led British forces on raids in Virginia, and against New London and Groton, Connecticut. In the winter of 1782, Arnold moved to London with his second wife, Margaret "Peggy" Shippen Arnold. In England, the king and the Tory political party liked him, but the Whig political party did not. In 1787, Arnold became a merchant again became a merchant, with his sons Richard and Henry in Saint John, New Brunswick, but returned to London to settle permanently in 1791, where he died ten years later.
Because of the way he changed sides, his name quickly became a byword in the United States for treason or betrayal. Some of the memorials that have been placed in his honor show the mixed feelings people still have about him.
Early life
Benedict was the second of six children of Benedict Arnold III (1683–1761) and Hannah Waterman King. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut on January 14, 1741. He was named after his great-grandfather Benedict Arnold. That Benedict Arnold had been governor of the Colony of Rhode Island. Benedict Arnold was also named after his brother Benedict IV, who died in infancy. Out of the six children, only Benedict and his sister Hannah lived to be adults; his other brothers and sisters died of yellow fever when they were still children. Arnold's mother's mother's ancestor was John Lothropp. Lothropp was also the ancestor of at least four U.S. presidents.
Arnold's father was a businessman. Socially, the family was high-ranking in Norwich. When he was ten, Arnold was sent to a private school in Canterbury. His parents planned for him to go to Yale. However, after the brother and sisters died, Arnold's father started drinking, and the family lost some of its money. By the time Arnold was fourteen, his family could not pay for private education. His father also drank too much and was in too poor health to teach Arnold to work in the family business. Arnold's mother's friends made Arnold the apprentice with two of her cousins, Daniel and Joshua Lathrop, in an apothecary and general merchandise business in Norwich. His apprenticeship with the Lathrops lasted seven years.