The military career of Benedict Arnold from 1777 to 1779 was marked by two important events in his career. In July 1777, Arnold was assigned to the Continental Army's Northern Department, where he played pivotal roles in bringing about the failure of British Brigadier Barry St. Leger's siege of Fort Stanwix and the American success in the battles of Saratoga, which fundamentally altered the course of the war.
After convalescing following the significant injuries to his leg sustained at Saratoga, Arnold was given military command of Philadelphia after the British withdrawal in 1778. There Arnold became embroiled in political and legal wrangling with enemies in Congress, the army, and the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia governments that undoubtedly contributed to his decision to change sides. In 1779 he began secret negotiations with the British that culminated in a plot to surrender West Point. The plot was exposed in September 1780, and Arnold had no choice but to flee to New York City.
Background Benedict Arnold was born in 1741 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, New France 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 he eventually joined the opposition to those measures.Randall (1990), p. 49–53 In 1767 he married a local woman, with whom he had three children, one of whom died in infancy.Brandt (1994), p. 14Randall (1990), p. 62 She died in 1775, and Arnold left his children under the care of his sister Hannah at his home in New Haven.
Early American Revolutionary War activity
Arnold had distinguished himself early in the war, participating in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775 and then boldly leading a raid on Fort Saint-Jean near Montreal.Randall (1990), pp. 78–132 He then led a small army from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Quebec City on an expedition through the wilderness of present-day Maine, where he was wounded in the climactic Battle of Quebec on December 31, 1775. He then presided over an ineffectual siege of Quebec until April 1776, when he took over the military command of Montreal.Randall (1990), pp. 131–228 He directed the American retreat from there on the arrival of British reinforcements, and his forces formed the rear guard of the retreating Continental Army as it headed south toward Ticonderoga. Arnold then organized the defense of Lake Champlain, and led the Continental Navy fleet that was defeated in the October 1776 Battle of Valcour Island.Randall (1990), pp. 228–320
During these actions, Arnold made a number of friends and a larger number of enemies within the army power structure and in Congress. He had established decent relationships with George Washington, commander of the army, as well as Philip Schuyler and Horatio Gates, both of whom had command of the army's Northern Department during 1775 and 1776.Randall (1990), pp. 318–323 However, an acrimonious dispute with Moses Hazen, commander of the 2nd Canadian Regiment, boiled over into a court martial of Hazen at Ticonderoga during the summer of 1776. Only action by Gates, then his superior at Ticonderoga, prevented his own arrest on countercharges levelled by Hazen.Randall (1990), pp. 262–264 He had also had disagreements with John Brown and James Easton, two lower-level officers with political connections that resulted in ongoing suggestions of improprieties on his part. Brown was particularly vicious, publishing a handbill that claimed of Arnold, "Money is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country".Howe (1848), pp. 4–6
Eastern Department
Defense of Rhode Island Following the defeat on Lake Champlain, Arnold accompanied Major General Horatio Gates as he led a portion of the army at Ticonderoga south to assist General Washington in the defense of New Jersey.Randall (1990), pp. 321–323 On December 7, 1776, a large British force under Lieutenant General Henry Clinton occupied Newport, Rhode Island.Randall (1990), p. 325 In response Washington ordered Arnold to go back to New England to raise militia and coordinate the defense of Rhode Island. Arnold was made Deputy Commander of the Eastern Department of the Continental Army under Major General Joseph Spencer, and left Washington's camp in Pennsylvania on December 22.Martin (1997), p. 292
Arnold, who had not seen his family for over a year, spent a week visiting with them in New Haven, during which he successfully urged Washington and Henry Knox, the army's chief of artillery, to raise an artillery regiment for John Lamb and Eleazer Oswald, two Connecticut men who had served with him on the expedition to Quebec.Randall (1990), p. 324 He arrived at Providence on January 12, 1777, to lead the defense against the British at Newport. There were 4,000 Rhode Island militia mobilized, and both the governor and Arnold's commander, General Spencer, were itching to drive the British out of Newport. Arnold developed a plan for driving the British from Newport, but found that the militia were so poorly equipped and supplied that offensive operations were, in his view, ill-advised.Martin (1997), p. 301
In February 1777 Arnold met and seriously courted the daughter of a well known Boston Loyalist, Betsy Deblois, described as the belle of Boston. "The heavenly Miss Deblois" refused his repeated proposals, likely because she was only fifteen.Brandt (1994), p. 116 When he returned to Providence he learned that he was one of several officers that had been passed over for promotion to major general by Congress. The reasons for this were largely political in nature, but it is unlikely that his prospects were helped by Horatio Gates' delivery of a petition by John Brown making many accusations against Arnold just one month before Congress took up the matter.Martin (1997), p. 306 Gates was apparently upset that Washington had given the Rhode Island command to Arnold, and now viewed him as a competitor for promotion and choice of assignments.Palmer (2006), p. 189
It was not unusual in military establishments of the time that individuals passed over for promotion were expected to resign, so Arnold on March 12 wrote to Washington, offering his resignation, or alternatively asking for a court of inquiry. Washington refused his offer to resign, and wrote to members of Congress in an attempt to correct the situation, noting that "two or three other very good officers" might be lost if they persisted in making politically motivated promotions.Brandt (1994), p. 118 After Washington wrote Arnold explaining to him that the rejection was due to how the Congress had allocated promotions to the states (and Connecticut already had its quota of major generals), Arnold persisted in seeking some sort of inquiry, and complained in a letter to General Gates that "no gentleman who has any regard for his reputation will risk it with a body of men who seem to be governed by whim and caprice" and that he felt "the unmerited injury my countrymen have done me."Randall (1990), p. 331
Tryon's Danbury raid
After plans were shelved to attack the British at Newport, Arnold left for Philadelphia to meet with the Continental Congress and Washington over his future. He stopped in New Haven to visit his family once again, and assisted his friend Colonel Lamb in hunting down Loyalists in the area. A courier notified him on April 26 that a British force 2,000 strong under Major General William Tryon, the last British governor of New York, had landed at Fairfield, Connecticut. Tryon marched his force inland to Danbury, a major supply depot for the Continental Army. Driving away the few defenders, he ordered the destruction of the stores and a number of properties belonging to Patriot supporters.Randall (1990), p. 332
Arnold and Major General David Wooster, who had overall command of Connecticut's defense forces and was also in New Haven, hurriedly recruited about 100 volunteers locally. They then headed for Redding, the muster point specified by militia Major General Gold S. Silliman, who oversaw Fairfield County's defenses.Bailey (1896), p. 61 Silliman had mustered a force of 500 volunteers from eastern Connecticut.Ward (1952), p. 494 Under Wooster's direction Arnold and his fellow officers moved their small force toward Danbury so they could intercept and harass the British as they returned to their ships. Wooster divided the force, with Arnold and Silliman leading 400 men to the village of Ridgefield, Connecticut, to block the British march, while he led 200 men to harass the British rear guard. By 11 am on April 27 Wooster's column had caught up with and engaged Tryon's rear guard. In two brief skirmishes, Wooster was mortally wounded, but the action delayed the British long enough for Arnold and Silliman to establish a crude breastwork just north of Ridgefield.Bailey (1896), pp. 76-78 In the ensuing battle, the militia companies put up stiff resistance before they were flanked and driven off. Arnold's horse was shot, and when it went down, his leg was pinned under it. Arnold was very nearly bayoneted by a British soldier, but shot him with a pistol and managed to get away with a minor wound to his left leg.Bailey (1896), p. 78 The British camped for the night near Ridgefield, and then proceeded on toward the coast, harassed by militia all the way. Arnold and Silliman rallied their troops, which grew to include Continental Army and artillery units as well as militia units from further afield. Arnold eventually established a fairly strong position on Campo Hill (in present-day Westport, Connecticut) near the beach where the British expected to embark.Bailey (1896), p. 79 The British managed to elude his attempt to entrap them, and drove off many of the militia with their field artillery before embarking on their ships and sailing back to New York. During the final skirmishing, Arnold had a second horse shot out under him.Ward (1952), p. 495 When Congress learned of the action on May 2, it finally promoted Arnold to major general, although his seniority of rank was behind those promoted in February.Randall (1990), p. 334
After the Danbury raid, Arnold continued his journey to Philadelphia, stopping to meet with Washington at Morristown, New Jersey. During this time he learned of the publication of Brown's pamphlet, and insisted to Washington that his name had to be cleared. Arnold's lobbying paid off, and even opponents of the traditional promotion schemes, including John Adams, came to realize that Arnold was being unjustly treated.Randall (1990), p. 336 After a lengthy hearing before the Board of War on May 21, in which Arnold's actions and financial accounts in the Quebec campaign were scrutinized, the board completely exonerated him, issuing a statement that it was satisfied with Arnold's "character and conduct, so cruelly and groundlessly aspersed in Brown's publication."Randall (1990), p. 338 However, it took no steps to restore his seniority.