Benedict Arnold was born into a politically active family, but faced tragedy and financial struggles. He joined the army, fought in the Revolution, and was wounded. Arnold became bitter with Congress and eventually betrayed the American cause, fleeing to London and dying in poverty. He is remembered as a traitor.
Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741 into a family with a long political history. Arnold’s early childhood was plagued by tragedy. Four of his brothers died of yellow fever, leaving him the only boy, along with a younger sister.
With the family fortune lost to a string of bad business decisions, Benedict Arnold was forced to drop out of school at the age of 14. His father had turned to alcoholism as a way to deal with family problems, so Benedict Arnold was forced into a trade for two older cousins. Less than a year later, and against his mother’s wishes, Benedict Arnold enlisted in the Army to fight the French at Fort William Henry. He was quickly fired because of his youth, but the seed for him had already been planted.
After his parents died in 1761, Benedict Arnold began a successful business as an apothecary in Connecticut. Determined to restore the good family name, he concentrated on making money and buying property, eventually establishing mercantile trade with the West Indies. Benedict Arnold married and had three children, but his wife died a few years later, leaving him in charge of a growing family. Arnold’s sister, who lived with him and took care of the family business during his absence, became a surrogate mother.
On April 21, 1775, Benedict Arnold joined the growing revolution and was made a captain in the Governor’s Second Company of the Connecticut Guards. He captured Fort Ticonderoga and then joined Major General Philip Schuyler in a mission to invade the coast of Canada. The mission proved more difficult than expected, and Benedict Arnold was seriously wounded while trying to take Quebec. For the next four years, Arnold fought in New Jersey, Connecticut, Philadelphia and Saratoga, until a serious wound took him off the battlefield permanently. Embittered with Congress for not accepting his war tactics and budget, Benedict Arnold immersed himself in Philadelphia’s elite, meeting and marrying 18-year-old Peggy Shippen.
Peggy’s previous suitor had been the English Major John André. With his help, Arnold got in touch with the British Army and offered to hand over West Point in exchange for a brigadier’s commission and £25,000. His plan failed and he fled to London with his wife and children. When it became obvious that the British would be defeated, Benedict Arnold tried to re-establish his mercantile business to no avail. He died in poverty on June 14, 1801.
Benedict Arnold is considered a traitor and has no official monuments to his memory, despite his early contribution to the Revolution.
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