The military career of Benedict Arnold in 1775 and 1776 covers many of the military actions that occurred in the northernmost Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolutionary War. Arnold began the war as a captain in Connecticut's militia, a position to which he was elected in March 1775. Following the outbreak of hostilities at Lexington and Concord the following month, his company marched northeast to assist in the siege of Boston that followed. Arnold proposed to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety an action to seize Fort Ticonderoga in New York, which he knew was poorly defended. They issued a colonel's commission to him on May 3, 1775, and he immediately rode off to the west, where he arrived at Castleton in the disputed New Hampshire Grants (present-day Vermont) in time to participate with Ethan Allen and his men in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. He followed up that action with a bold raid on Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River north of Lake Champlain. He then resigned his Massachusetts commission after a command dispute with the head of a detachment of Connecticut militia troops that arrived in June to reinforce Ticonderoga.
When the Second Continental Congress authorized an invasion of Quebec, in part on the urging of Arnold, he was passed over for leading the expedition. Arnold then went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and suggested to George Washington a second expedition to attack Quebec City via a wilderness route through present-day Maine. This expedition, for which Arnold received a colonel's commission in the Continental Army, left Cambridge in September 1775 with 1,100 men. After a difficult passage in which 300 men turned back and another 200 died en route, Arnold arrived before Quebec City in November. Joined by Brigadier General Richard Montgomery's small army, he participated in the December 31 assault on Quebec City in which Montgomery was killed and he was wounded. Arnold, who was promoted to brigadier general for his role in reaching Quebec, maintained an ineffectual siege of the city until he was replaced by Major General David Wooster in April 1776.
Arnold then traveled to Montreal, where he served as military commander of the city until forced to retreat by an advancing British army that had arrived at Quebec in May. He presided over the rear of the Continental Army's retreat from Saint-Jean, where he was reported to be the last person to leave before the British arrived. He then directed the construction of a fleet to defend Lake Champlain, which was defeated in the October 1776 Battle of Valcour Island. His actions at Saint-Jean and Valcour Island played a notable role in delaying the British advance against Ticonderoga until 1777.
During these actions, Arnold made a number of friends and a larger number of enemies within the army power structure and in Congress. The actions of some of these political enemies resulted in courts martial and other investigations that contributed to his eventual decision to join the British side of the conflict in 1780.
Background Benedict Arnold was born in 1741 into a well-to-do family in the port city of Norwich in the British colony of Connecticut.Brandt (1994), p. 4–6 He was interested in military affairs from an early age, serving briefly (without seeing action) in the colonial militia during the French and Indian War in 1757.Flexner (1953), p. 8 He embarked on a career as a businessman, first opening a shop in New Haven, and then engaging in overseas trade. He owned and operated ships, sailing to the West Indies, Quebec and Europe.Flexner (1953), p. 13 When the British Parliament began to impose taxes on its colonies, Arnold's businesses began to be affected by them and the activities of colonists opposed to the taxes, a cause he eventually joined.Randall (1990), p. 49–53 In 1767 he married Margaret Mansfield, with whom he had three children, one of whom died in infancy.Brandt (1994), p. 14Randall (1990), p. 62
Early Revolutionary War
In March 1775, a group of 65 New Haven residents formed the Governor's Second Company of Connecticut Guards. Arnold was chosen as their captain, and he organized training and exercises in preparation for war.Brandt (1994), p. 17–18 On April 21, 1775, news reached New Haven of the opening battles of the revolution at Lexington and Concord. Arnold's company formed up to march to Boston the next day, but the town council would not release any gunpowder to them. In a confrontation between Arnold and David Wooster that is reenacted in New Haven every Powder House Day, Arnold successfully argued with the older man that he would take the powder one way or another. The magazine was opened, Arnold's company was armed, and they marched off to Boston.Brandt (1994), p. 18–19
During the march, Arnold encountered Connecticut legislator and militia Colonel Samuel Holden Parsons. They discussed the shortage of cannons in the revolutionary forces and, knowing of the large number of cannons at Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain, agreed that an expedition should be sent to capture the fort.Randall (1990), p. 85 Parsons continued on to Hartford, where he raised funds to establish a force under the command of Captain Edward Mott. Mott was instructed to link up with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys at Bennington in the disputed New Hampshire Grants territory (now Vermont).Randall (1990), p. 87 Meanwhile, Arnold and his Connecticut militia continued on to Cambridge, where Arnold convinced the Massachusetts Committee of Safety to fund an expedition to take the fort. On May 3, the committee appointed him a colonel in the Massachusetts militia and dispatched him, and several captains under his command, to raise an army in Massachusetts.Ward (1952), Volume 1, p. 65 As his captains recruited troops Arnold rode west. When he reached Williamstown he learned of the activities of Mott and Allen. Turning north, he reached Castleton on May 9, where Allen's forces were already gathering. Arnold attempted to gain control over the expedition by asserting the legitimacy of his commission, but Allen's Green Mountain Boys, by far the largest part of the force, refused to act under the command of anyone other than Allen.Randall (1990), pp. 86–90 In a compromise negotiated privately between Allen and Arnold, the two appeared to jointly lead the expedition.
On May 10, 1775, Fort Ticonderoga was assaulted in a dawn attack and taken without a battle, the colonial forces having surprised the outnumbered British garrison.Brandt (1994), p. 27 They also captured nearby Fort Crown Point and Fort George, which were occupied by even smaller garrisons.Randall (1990), p. 98 Following these captures, Allen's men broke into the liquor stored at the fort, and became somewhat unruly. Arnold, who wanted to inventory the fort's military assets for possible transport to Boston, was incensed, but powerless to stop them.Nelson (2006), pp. 36–40 With the arrival of men his captains had recruited, and of a schooner they had captured, Arnold then executed a daring raid on Fort Saint-Jean, not far from Montreal. He took more prisoners, and also captured the largest military vessel on Lake Champlain, giving the Americans complete military control of the lake.Nelson (2006), pp. 41–44
After returning to Ticonderoga, Arnold began to exert more authority over the place as Allen's men drifted away. However, a Connecticut force of 1,000 men under Colonel Benjamin Hinman arrived in June with orders placing him in command with Arnold as his subordinate. This act angered Arnold, who felt his efforts on behalf of the revolution were not being recognized; he resigned his commission and headed for his home in Connecticut. Arnold's angry response to the loss of command led some members of Congress to dislike him in spite of his military contributions.Brandt (1994), p. 38 Congressional opinion of Arnold was also negatively affected by reports circulated by two men that Arnold came to consider enemies. John Brown and James Easton were two of Allen's lieutenants who had traveled to Massachusetts and Philadelphia to report on the action. While their characterizations of Arnold's behavior were accurate, he apparently came to believe that they had probably slandered him, and later interactions with both men were marked by conflict.Brandt (1994), p. 29 In an encounter between Arnold and Easton in June, Easton slighted Arnold's authority, to which Arnold responded by challenging the other man to a duel. Easton demurred, and Arnold, in his account of the affair, "took the Liberty of Breaking his head".Nelson (2006), p. 60 After Arnold resigned his Massachusetts commission, the state's Committee of Safety appointed Easton to take over the Massachusetts troops at Ticonderoga.Nelson (2006), p. 63
When he reached Albany, Arnold received a letter informing him that his wife had died. He also met with Major General Philip Schuyler, newly in command of the Continental Army's Northern Department,Brandt (1994), p. 41 with whom he established a cordial relationship. Arnold returned to New Haven, where he visited his children (now in the care of his sister Hannah) and took care of business dealings. While in New Haven he suffered his first attacks of gout, which plagued him for the rest of his life.Brandt (1994), p. 42
Quebec expedition
While at Ticonderoga, both Arnold and Allen lobbied Congress with the idea of taking Quebec from the British, as it was lightly defended.Nelson (2006), pp. 48–49 General Schuyler was eventually assigned the task of developing a plan to invade Quebec via Lake Champlain in July. The objective was to deprive the British of an important base from which they could attack upper New York.Nelson (2006), p. 84 Schuyler intended to lead this force, but due to illness he turned command over to Brigadier General Richard Montgomery early in the expedition, which left in late August.Nelson (2006), p. 86
Arnold, deprived of the opportunity to lead that expedition, went to Cambridge and proposed to George Washington that a second force, in concert with Schuyler's, attack by traveling through the wilderness of what is now Maine to Quebec City.Smith (1907), vol 1, pp. 398–399 Washington and Schuyler approved the idea, and Washington gave Arnold a colonel's commission in the Continental Army and leadership of the expedition.Martin (1997), pp. 108–109 Arnold used as a guide for the expedition a map and journal he had acquired that were made by John Montresor, a British engineer who mapped the route in 1761. The journal was vague in some details, and, unknown to Arnold, the map contained deliberate omissions to reduce its value to military opponents.Smith (1903), p. 17Desjardin, p. 54
The force of 1,100 recruits embarked from Newburyport, Massachusetts on September 19, 1775, arriving at Gardinerston, Maine, where Arnold had made prior arrangements with Major Reuben Colburn to construct 200 shallow-draft boats known as bateaux, on September 22.Martin (1997), p. 116Smith (1903), pp. 58–83 These were to be used to transport the troops up the Kennebec and Dead rivers, then down the Chaudière River to Quebec City. The expedition had numerous difficulties that slowed its progress, including several lengthy and difficult portages, bad weather, inaccurate maps, and troops inexperienced in handling the boats. As a result, the expedition took much longer than expected, 500 men either died or turned back, and the remnants were near starvation when they reached the Saint Lawrence River in November.Martin (1997), pp. 121–140