Benedict Arnold

Part 1:
The Traitor Who Saved America

Early Activities

by J. Michael Flynn, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

This is the first of a four part series on one of the more intriguing, and little known, characters in the American War of Independence. — DWT

America owes its independence to a traitor. The American Revolution produced a few outstanding generals. Unfortunately the truly outstanding American general of that war is ironically remembered by America only as its most famous traitor. His name a synonym for treachery and deceit.

Benedict Arnold was a great grandson of the governor of Rhode Island. Apprenticed at 14 he ran away to join the New York Militia at 18 where he worked on the survey of Albany and northern lakes. He returned and completed his apprenticeship. Establishing a business in New Haven, Connecticut he became successful trading yearly with Canada and the Caribbean sailing on his own ships.

When the conflict started Arnold was among the first to join in. Whatever is said now about Arnold, it can be argued that without him the United States would have been still born, its rebellion an embarrassing episode in the nation's history. Not once but three times he was instrumental in saving the fledgling nation. From the time he formed the New Haven, Connecticut, militia in March of 1775 until the surrender of General John Burgoyne's Army at Saratoga in New York in October 1776, no man on the American side contributed more to the final American victory.

On April 19, 1775, British troops skirmished with Minute Men at Lexington and Concord then retreated to Boston. By the time they reached the city, more radical elements were convinced that war was the only remaining recourse.

New Haven Militia Commander

Arnold had committed himself early to the idea of rebellion and independence in 1775 by forming a Minute Man company at New Haven. On receiving news of the British actions at Lexington and Concord Captain Arnold confiscated the town's powder stores and by April 21 was leading his company to join the forces besieging the British at Boston.

En route to Boston Arnold met Colonel Parsons of the New London, Connecticut Militia. Parsons who had led his regiment at Lexington knew the situation at Boston first hand and told Arnold that without cannon the British could hold Boston indefinitely. Arnold, drawing on his experience in northern New York, pointed out that cannons were available for the taking at the under manned and dilapidated forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point on Lake Champlain. After capture these cannons could be brought to Boston, established on the heights overlooking the harbor, and used to drive the British fleet out. Within days Parsons, unbeknownst to Arnold, recommended to the Connecticut Committee of Correspondence (a series of these committees operated prior to the establishment of the Continental Congress to keep like minded individuals apprised of the situation in their region throughout the colonies) an immediate attack on these forts be organized. The Committee concurred and Ethan Allen and his Vermont Green Mountain Boys were selected for the operation and ordered to set off. Parsons neglected to mention it was Arnold's plan.

On April 30th Arnold was offering his own version of his plan to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. The plan envisioned him taking the forts, capturing 120 cannon, military supplies, and a British sloop of seventy to eighty tons. Two days later Arnold was given his own orders to take the fort. It is interesting to note that these orders, which also made Arnold a colonel and which authorized him to raise 400 men to take the fort, were signed by Dr. Benjamin Church. Church, chairman of the committee, would soon by exposed as a spy for the British and arrested.

Allen and Arnold

Meanwhile Allen and his Green Mountain Boys were already on their way. By May 8th Arnold had caught up to Allen. There was disagreement on who was in command. Reaching a compromise they agreed to mount a joint attack on Fort Ticonderoga the next day, each leading their own troops. The attack on May 10th by Allen and Arnold was successful. A garrison of 48 troops were taken with no casualties. Arnold then organized an assault on Fort Amherst, capturing 100 salvageable cannons in the ruins. He then seized a Tory owned schooner and armed it.

Invading Quebec

Four days later Arnold launched his second part of his plan, the first invasion of Canada and taking the British schooner at Saint Johns, Quebec. Leaving Ethan Allen and his looting, drunken troops at Ticonderoga, Arnold sailed off with his own men towing two thirty foot armed barges.

His capture of the 70 ton armed British schooner, nine large barges, and the town of Saint Johns was accomplished without casualties on May 19th. Learning that a British force approaching, Arnold stripped the town of supplies, sank five of the barges (for lack of crews) and sailed with the remaining eight vessels back to Ticonderoga.

Ethan Allen and his men seeing Arnold sail and perhaps not wishing to lose the loot, glory, and one may suspect the rum, in the imminent capture of Saint Johns immediately took to four barges and began to row after the departing Arnold. Four days later and miles south of Saint Johns Arnold and his little flotilla returning to Ticonderoga came across the hungry, weary Green Mountain Boys resolutely rowing north.

Arnold provided provisions and a warning to Allen of the British force approaching Saint Johns then continued south to Ticonderoga after Allen and his Boys refused to turn back. Allen arrived at Saint Johns and with his exhausted boys camped across river from the town. At dawn he and his Boys were awakened by cannon grapeshot and musket fire from 200 British regulars. Departing in haste and leaving three of the Boys behind, they again rowed for four days without supplies the one hundred miles to Fort Ticonderoga.

By the end of May 1776, Arnold, with 150 men, was stationed at the nearly destroyed fort at Crown Point. Adding 16 able bodied seamen to his complement and supplementing them with selected troops, Arnold established the first Marines, assigning them to his captured sloops Enterprise and Liberty.

Simultaneously his men recovered a ton of lead and cannon balls at the fort. These he sent south along with the recovered cannons to Fort William Henry for shipment to Boston. Installing sails on his barges Arnold again turned to the offensive sailing north to again invade Canada. It was not to be. Political infighting among the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and the Committees of Corresondence in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York created such an unproductive and frustrating situation for the young colonel that Arnold on resigned his commission on June 2, 1775 — appearing to end a short but brilliant military career. As Arnold returned to Connecticut there were approximately 1,200 patriots at Crown Point and Ticonderoga, 140 cannon, a flotilla of two armed schooners and, five barges.

From the time he submitted his plan to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, Arnold had secured the cannons that would later drive the British out of Boston, captured Fort Amherst at Crown Point, led the first invasion of a foreign country, formed the first American Navy with his eight vessels, secured the Colonies' northern border, and achieved the young nation-to-be's first military triumphs.

Despite his resignation, he would soon be called back into the new nation's service.

More Benedict Arnold

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© Copyright 1997 by David W. Tschanz.
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