Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1777–1779

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

Background

Benedict Arnold was born in 1741 in the port city of Norwich in the British colony of Connecticut.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4] In 1767 he married a local woman, with whom he had three children, one of whom died in infancy.^[5][6] She died in 1775, and Arnold left his children under the care of his sister Hannah at his home in New Haven.^[7]

Early American Revolutionary War activity

Arnold had distinguished himself early in the war, participating in the

Defense of Rhode Island

Following the defeat on Lake Champlain, Arnold accompanied Major General

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.^[19] 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.^[20] 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.^[21]

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.^[22] 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."^[23]

Tryon's Danbury raid

After plans were shelved to attack the British at Newport, Arnold left for

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.^[25] Silliman had mustered a force of 500 volunteers from eastern Connecticut.^[26] 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.^[27] In the ensuing battle, the militia companies put up stiff resistance before they were flanked and driven off.^[26] 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.^[28] The British camped for the night near Ridgefield, and then proceeded on toward the coast, harassed by militia all the way.^[26] 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.^[29] 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.^[30] 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.^[31]

After the Danbury raid, Arnold continued his journey to Philadelphia, stopping to meet with Washington at

When Arnold arrived in the Continental Army camp on the upper Hudson River in mid-July, Major General Schuyler was leading the forces there. Schuyler placed Arnold in command of the army's advance guards at Fort Edward. It was during this time that Jane McCrea, the fiancée of a Loyalist fighting with Burgoyne's army, was slain by Burgoyne's Indian auxiliaries. This event was widely retold and embellished with lurid details, and is said to have contributed to Patriot recruiting efforts.^[38] In the following weeks, Schuyler's army retreated before Burgoyne's advance, until it reached the Mohawk River south of Stillwater on August 18.^[39]

Relief of Fort Stanwix

In early August Schuyler dispatched Arnold and 900 men to relieve the garrison at Fort Stanwix on the upper Mohawk, which had been placed under siege by a British-Indian force led by Brigadier Barry St. Leger.^[40] Arnold marched along the Mohawk to Fort Dayton, which he reached on August 20. There he attempted to recruit additional militia to enlarge the relief force, but was unsuccessful; the local militia had suffered grievously in the bloody Battle of Oriskany that ended the first attempt to relieve the siege.^[41]

Uncomfortable with the number of troops available to him, Arnold opted for a deception to sow trouble in the besieger's camp outside Fort Stanwix. A number of Loyalists had been arrested near Fort Dayton, including one

After leaving reinforcements with the Fort Stanwix garrison, Arnold returned to Stillwater, where General Gates had taken over the command from Schuyler. Arnold had learned of Gates' assumption of command while he was at Fort Dayton. He wrote a somewhat perfunctory congratulatory to Gates when he heard of the American victory in the Battle of Bennington, but a somewhat warmer letter he wrote to Schuyler at the same time somehow fell into Gates' hands. Gates provided a snub of sorts when he reported to Congress on the relief of Stanwix and the action at Bennington, and failed to mention Arnold's role; he did specifically mention Stark and Seth Warner, the principal commanders at Bennington, in his dispatch. Washington was more forthcoming with praise, recognizing that "the approach of General Arnold with his detachment" played a key role in the relief of Stanwix.^[47]

On his return to Gates' camp, Arnold learned of the Congressional decision to not restore his seniority. He then annoyed Gates by taking on as aides several men who had been on Schuyler's staff, including Henry Brockholst Livingston. The two men also disagreed on strategy: Arnold argued in councils in favor of drawing Burgoyne into battle, while Gates preferred to establish a strong line of defense and wait for Burgoyne's assault.^[48] Relations between the men deteriorated further when Gates effectively overrode brigade assignments he had asked Arnold to make, and were not helped by Gates' adjutant, James Wilkinson. Arnold characterized the scheming Wilkinson as a "designing villain"; Wilkinson is reported to have regularly cast aspersions on Arnold and his staff to Gates.^[49]

This friction between the two men and their respective camps boiled over after the September 19

The battle was technically a British victory, as they gained the field of battle. However, they suffered significant casualties that they could ill afford, the American army's strong position was not assaulted, and American casualties were comparatively modest.[51] According to Richard Varick, a former Schuyler aide and no friend of Gates, the general "seemed to be piqued" at the performance of Arnold's division in the battle, and Henry Brockholst Livingston wrote that Arnold was "the life and soul of the troops" and that he had "the confidence and affection of his officers and soldiers."^[52] An officer unconnected to either camp commented that Arnold had "won the admiration of the whole army", and that the idea that Gates had squandered an opportunity to inflict a decisive blow on the British was widely held by officers.^[52]

The Gates camp then engaged in a series of actions that Arnold perceived to be an attack. James Wilkinson wrote a letter to General Arthur St. Clair in Philadelphia in which he implied not only that Arnold was not involved in the battle, but that he was an impediment to Gates. Gates' official report to Congress notably made no mention of Arnold, Morgan, or other officers involved in leading the action, and specifically mentioned Arnold's nemesis John Brown, who had made an attack against Fort Ticonderoga the day before the battle.^[53] A decision by Gates concerning Morgan's unit then caused relationships between Gates and Arnold to break down completely. Morgan's unit had technically been under Gates' command, but it had operated in the battle under Arnold's division and his direction. Gates formally realigned the units to reiterate that Morgan reported to him and not Arnold.^[54] The ensuing discussion between Gates and Arnold on September 22 escalated into a shouting match, and ended with Gates relieving Arnold of his command. Arnold requested a pass to rejoin Washington's army, which he was given.^[55] However, for unknown reasons, he decided to stay in camp. A common account of a memorial signed by Gates' field commanders encouraging him to stay has no basis in the documentary record;^[56] it is known that Brigadier Enoch Poor, who had been critical of Arnold during the court martial at Ticonderoga, and other officers openly considered the idea.^[57] This support for Arnold may have played a role in his announcement on September 26 that he was staying in camp even though his differences with Gates had not been resolved.^[58]

When General Burgoyne made a

Rallying what had been his troops in the first battle, Arnold led them in a furious assault against two redoubts on the British right.[60] In this phase of the battle, one of the redoubts was taken, and Arnold's horse and leg were shot. When the horse went down, Arnold's leg was shattered in several places.^[62] The battle was a resounding victory for the Americans. Burgoyne began a retreat, but was quickly surrounded by militia companies that streamed into the area, and surrendered on October 17.^[63]

Gates could not ignore Arnold's role in the second battle, since the news of Arnold's injuries traveled quickly. He limited acknowledgement of Arnold's participation to the leading of a "gallant" assault on the redoubt.^[64] Much to Arnold's disgust, Gates himself was lauded by Congress and awarded a gold medal; Burgoyne, on the other hand, claimed that Arnold was responsible for his defeat.^[64] Congress did finally vote to restore Arnold's seniority. However, Arnold interpreted the manner in which they did so as an act of sympathy for his wounds, and not an apology or recognition that they were righting a wrong.^[65]

Arnold's contribution to the victory at Saratoga is commemorated by the Boot Monument in Saratoga National Historical Park. Donated by Civil War General John Watts de Peyster, it shows a boot with spurs and the stars of a major general. It stands at the spot where Arnold was shot on October 7 charging Breymann's redoubt, and is dedicated to "the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army".^[66]

Philadelphia command

Following Saratoga, Arnold was taken to an Albany hospital to recover from the wounds he had received in the battle. His left leg was ruined, but Arnold would not allow it to be amputated. Several agonizing months of recovery left it 2 inches (5 cm) shorter than the right.^[67] After several months in Albany, he was transferred to Middletown, Connecticut, where he could be nearer his children. While recuperating there, he sent two more entreaties to Betsy DeBlois; the first she answered with a firm refusal, and the second went unanswered.^[68] When he was well enough to travel, he departed Connecticut for Valley Forge, where he arrived on May 20, 1778, to the boisterous applause of troops he had commanded at Saratoga.^[69] There he participated, with many other soldiers, in the first recorded Oath of Allegiance as a sign of loyalty to the United States.^[70]

As the British planned to withdraw from Philadelphia in June 1778 Washington appointed Arnold to take military command of the city after the British retreat.

The court martial to consider the charges against Arnold began meeting in December 1779. In spite of the fact that a number of members of the panel of judges were men ill-disposed to Arnold over actions and disputes earlier in the war, Arnold was cleared of all but two minor charges on January 26, 1780.[84] Arnold worked over the next few months to publicize this fact; however, in early April, just one week after Washington congratulated Arnold on the March 19 birth of his son, Edward Shippen Arnold, Washington published a formal rebuke of Arnold's behavior.^[85]

The Commander-in-Chief would have been much happier in an occasion of bestowing commendations on an officer who had rendered such distinguished services to his country as Major General Arnold; but in the present case, a sense of duty and a regard to candor oblige him to declare that he considers his conduct [in the convicted actions] as imprudent and improper.

— Notice published by George Washington, April 6, 1780^[86]

Shortly after Washington's rebuke, a Congressional inquiry into his expenditures concluded that Arnold had failed to fully account for his expenditures incurred during the Quebec invasion. It concluded that he owed the Congress some £1,000, largely because he was unable to document his expenses. A significant number of the necessary documents were lost during the retreat from Quebec; once again frustrated by Congress, Arnold resigned his military command of Philadelphia in late April.^[87]

Later action

Following Arnold's resignation from the Philadelphia post, he was for a time without a command. After reopening the stalled negotiations with André, he obtained command of West Point in August 1780, and set about weakening its defenses. Following a meeting with André in September, the plot was exposed when André was captured attempting to cross the lines into New York City while carrying incriminating documents.^[88] Arnold fled to New York, and began military service as a Brigadier in the British Army in 1781, leading a raiding expedition against supply depots and economic targets in Virginia, and then a raid against New London, Connecticut.^[89] With the end of major hostilities following the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Arnold and his family left for England at the end of 1781, on a ship that also carried Lord Cornwallis.^[90]

Despite repeated attempts to gain command positions in the British Army or with the

References