Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V
Benedict Arnold Engraving by H.B. Hall after John Trumbull
Place of burial	St Mary's Churchyard, Battersea, London[1]
Service/branch	Colonial militia Continental Army British Army
Years of service	Colonial militia: 1757, 1775 Continental Army: 1775–1780 British Army: 1780–1781
Rank	Major General (Continental Army) Brigadier General (British Army)
Commands held	Fort Ticonderoga (June 1775) Quebec City (siege, January–April 1776) Montreal (April–June 1776) Lake Champlain fleet (August–October 1776) Philadelphia (June 1778–April 1780) West Point (August–September 1780) American Legion (a Loyalist regiment, September 1780–1781)
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War Capture of Fort Ticonderoga Arnold's expedition to Quebec Battle of Quebec Battle of The Cedars Battle of Valcour Island Battle of Ridgefield Siege of Fort Stanwix (relief) Battles of Saratoga Battle of Blandford Battle of Groton Heights
Awards	Boot Monument
Signature

Benedict Arnold V (14 January 1741 [O.S. 3 January 1740]^[2][3] – 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:

1. 1775:the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
2. 1776:defensive and delaying tactics after losing the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain
3. the Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut (when was promoted to major general),
4. relieving the Siege of Fort Stanwix, and
5. 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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6] Some of the memorials that have been placed in his honor show the mixed feelings people still have about him.

1. ↑ Benedict Arnold at Find a Grave
2. ↑ Brandt (1994), p. 4
3. ↑ Cite error: The named reference OldStyleDates was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
4. ↑ Martin (1997)
5. ↑ Cite error: The named reference DictCanBio was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
6. ↑ Rogets (2008)