Benedict Arnold:
Traitorous or True
By- The Marmalades of Savannah Country Day
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My History Book
Copyright © 2011 by Evan L, Margaret D, Henry B, Jack R,
Tristan S, Evan B, William P, Brandt B, Evans B, Lester J,
Parker S, Noah B, Grace P, Michael L, Nicholas N, & Bryce D.
Cover by: Margaret D. & Evan L.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form by any electronic or mechanical means including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval without permission in writing from the author.
ISBN-13: 978-1-451-51000-X
ISBN-10: 1-451-51000-X
Book Website
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www.savcds.org
Email: [email protected]
Give feedback on the book at:
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Printed in U.S.A
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Arnold’s Ambition
The common adult knows that Benedict Arnold was a traitor,
but why? What made him tick? Who is this man? Why would he do
such a thing when he could have gone down as an American hero? Out
of all the speculations made since his death, which one is entirely accurate? This book aims at discovering what could have motivated him to
become the most well known traitor in American history. Then again,
was he really a traitor? Was he really a hero or were all of his actions
for self-gain? Arnold was left nothing but a statue of a boot with one
of the kindest things ever said about him… “Dedicated to the greatest
soldier of the continental army”. Curious yet?
Arnold as a boy was filled with energy, and with a lack of
parental guidance he was often in trouble. He volunteered to fight
in the French and Indian War but left at the age of eighteen to
be with his mother, who was dying. In the 1760s, he traded in
Canada and the West Indies as a merchant and a sea captain. He
fought at least two duels while on trading voyages. He was successful as a trader, but he was accused of smuggling.
Benedict’s Work at War
Benedict as a Boy
Benedict Arnold was a mischievous young boy. Benedict
Arnold was born on January 14,1741, in Norwich, Connecticut.
His father was also named Benedict Arnold. Arnold’s mother,
Hannah Waterman King, was very wealthy. Arnold was one
of two, out of eleven, siblings to survive through childhood. The
Arnold family had a lot of money but ran into financial problems
due to poor business deals when Benedict was thirteen years old.
While Arnold was at school in Canterbury, Connecticut, some of
his siblings died of yellow fever. Due to this loss, his dad turned
into an alcoholic. With the family running out of money Benedict was withdrawn from school.
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As war broke out, Arnold was appointed captain in the Governors second companies of. When the word of the battle of Lexington reached him, he immediately went to battle with his troops.
Ticonderoga
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Arnold was eager for action, so he asked permission of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety if he could take Fort Ticonderoga. He
was given permission and gathered an army of about 400 men. This
may very well have decided the course of the war. Ethan Allen and
his “Green Mountain Boys” were on the way to take the same fort.
Benedict tried to assume command of all of the soldiers they had, but
both of the men had strong self-esteem and neither of them backed
down. Even though they argued most of the way, an attack was made
on the fort May 10th, 1775. They attacked under the cover of night
and to their surprise the gates were open and the sentries were asleep.
There were no shots fired and the defenders only numbered 42 men.
The soldiers looted 6 mortars, 3 howitzers, and 78 cannons and supplies. These cannons and supplies would later be sent to Boston to
help George Washington with his siege.
Canada
Arnold was planning to invade Quebec (In September 1775).
What Benedict wanted to do is make a 14th colony out of Canada.
His goal was to push the British off of the entire continent, and persuade Canada to take the side of the Americans. They had to take
Quebec and Montreal away from the British. Arnold led 1,000 men
for 380 miles to Quebec along the Kennebec River. The current forced
the men to carry the boats. The boats leaked very often, the men were
under water most of the time, and the Americans almost starved to
death. Friendly Indians eventually helped them. The Indians called
Benedict the Dark Eagle.
Once they got to the Saint Lawrence River they stopped and
planned to surprise Quebec and come through the woods in a snowstorm. Montgomery had succeeded over Montreal and he and Arnold
came together and waited for a chance to attack Quebec City.
On December 31, 1775, Arnold and Montgomery charged opposite ends of Quebec. Montgomery’s troops stalled before coming to
the wall guarding the city, which let the British fire cannons at the
troops. Montgomery was killed, as his men ran for their lives. Arnold
stormed the palace gate and took the fight to the streets. Arnold was
unaware that Montgomery was dead. Arnold was wounded severely.
The British were surprised by the attack, but Arnold could not
capture Quebec. He settled into winter
quarters along the St. Law6
rence River.
Lake Champlain
On October 11, 1776, the Battle of Lake Champlain began. The
commander of the Americans at Lake Champlain was Benedict Arnold.
His plan was to prevent British Canadian reinforcements from moving
southward and rendezvousing with Lord Howe, who had recently ousted
George Washington’s Colonial Army from New York City.
At 8:00 in the morning on October 11, 1776, the largest assembly of
boats ever seen on Lake Champlain met in battle. The Americans had
15 armed ships and 500 sailors. The British had 25 armed ships, 697
armed sailors, 1,000 soldiers, and 650 Indians. There were 30 major
vessels and 700 picked seamen. Many days behind the naval force was
an invading army of some 7,000 troops in almost 400 bateaux. The
Americans boats had been hastily constructed of green timber shortly
before and blocked the southern part of the lake. They had formed a line
within a channel at most a half mile wide. This ragged fleet awaited the
mighty flotilla from the north.
The 800 men aboard these vessels were described as “a wretched,
motley crew.” Many had endured unimaginable hardships to serve
aboard these ships. Most were lacking in the most basic of provisions.
Some had shoes and some had no shoes but they were all hungry, tired
and apprehensive. Arnold had spent his own money to put together this
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force.
The Battle of Valcour Island lasted eleven long hours, and the
American fleet was all but destroyed. 30 Americans were killed, and 120
were captured. This defeat was crucial for the American side. The battle
had saved Washington’s army from being trapped.
Fort Stanwix
Although Arnold feared the British, in August, 1777, he led 3,000
men to Fort Stanwix. The Indians become scared and fled to the woods.
The British followed the Indians, and the force ended up going back to
Canada. Without firing any shots, Arnold had stopped a British army
from advancing any closer to Albany; he then traveled back to Saratoga.
John Burgoyne, had dug in and awaited a chance to break through to
Albany.
On October 7, the British assaulted the American line a second
time. Arnold, still under arrest, was not involved in the early fighting.
Soon, through, Arnold no longer could restrain himself. He broke arrest
and rode forward into the battle, rallying any Americans soldiers he
found.
Arnold led his men and broke the British line, allowing an attack on the rear of the English. Arnold then assaulted one of the English redoubts, but was shot in the same knee which had been shattered
at Quebec. The Americans took the redoubt, forcing the British to pull
back.
On October 17, 1777, John Burgoyne surrendered his army of
5791 men to Gates. This action had huge consequences. The French
soon after allied with America and entered the war. Spain entered a
little later. This allowed the Americans a military chance of gaining
their independence.
1780-1783
Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the Revolutionary War, and Benedict Arnold was a key part in this battle. A British
army was advancing south from Canada moving towards Albany.
On September 19, 1777, this force ran into an American force
near Saratoga. Arnold commanded the left wing of the force, and when
the British attacked, he and his men were in the thick of fighting. The
Americans were pushed back a bit, but had stopped the British advance.
After the fighting, Arnold found himself bickering with Major
General Horatio Gates, who commanded the entire American force in
the area. Gates lost patience with Arnold, relieved him of his command
and arrested him. Meanwhile, the British force, under the command of
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On September 29, 1780, Benedict Arnold changed sides and went
to the British. His plot to surrender the key Continental Army outpost
at West Point was exposed when Major Andre, his British consultant,
was captured. On October 2, he was hanged as a spy. After Benedict
went to the British, he was sent with 1,600 men by General Sir Henry
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Clinton, to Virginia, with orders to raid Richmond and establish a
strong fortification at Portsmouth, Virginia. During his command of
British troops, other officers did not give him a lot of respect. This was
because Benedict used to be a very powerful American, so they did not
trust him.
September 6, 1781, was a brutal and terrifying day for New
London, Connecticut. On that day, 1,700 British, Hessian, and Loyalist
troops, under the command of Benedict Arnold, aimed for the last British victory of the Revolutionary War. They called it, “Arnold’s Raid on
New London”. They raided and burned New London because it was a
port city. The raid occurred one year after the discovery of Benedict’s
plot to turn George Washington’s army and base over to the British.
This raid established Benedict Arnold’s reputation as the most notorious traitor, because, believe it or not, this was his own hometown. In
1783, after the treaty of Paris and the war ended, Benedict moved into
England.
Arnold Comes To an End
Credits
ImagesCover Picture
http://benedictarnold.org/
Young Benedict
http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/j/John%20Andre.jpg
Boot
http://v10.lscache5.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/2807178.jpg
Fort Ticonderoga
http://static.wix.com/media/48aa16e0335c296d5645730078700ec0.
wix_mp
Saratoga
http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/6c669c538514783eaf3d7185403e
01ee_1M.png
Fort Stanwix
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Fost_areal_image007.jpg/250px-Fost_areal_image007.jpg
1780-1783
h t t p : / / 2 . b p . b l o g s p o t . c o m / _ 5 b B o n c b m n e U / S h W w _ 2 X Tp s I /
AAAAAAAAB_A/-asqF2cXxTY/s200/BenedictArnold.jpg
At the age of 60, after days of delirium, Arnold died in London,
England, 14 June 1801; his health had been failing for months due to
disease and his battle wounds. On his deathbed, he said, “Let me die in
this old uniform in which I fought my battles, May God forgive me for
having put on another”. Arnold was buried at St. Mary’s Church in
London, England. He died as he had lived, a man without a country.
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Canada
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/assets/jb/revolut/jb_revolut_
canada_2_e.jpg
Lake Champlain
http://www.bloggersbase.com/images/uploaded/original/45e81db3e11e0
b81dc14956ca8163e2ef0b2f3b1.jpeg
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http://www.benedictarnold.org/
Grave
http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/Web_arnold_
benedict_closeup.jpg
http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Shippen__Peggy.html
Information-
http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=t&p=h&ID=291
http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/arnold.html
http://www.revolutionarywaranimated.com/Saratoga/Saratoga.html
http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-yorktown.htm
http://www.zazzle.com/arnold_benedict_revolutionary_officer_traitor_
tie-151517978641352941
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/benedict-arnold-capturesand-destroys-richmond
http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=ML_arnold_bkp
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/barnold.htm
http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/arnold.html
http://historyiselementary.blogspot.com/2007/02/benedict-arnoldsboot.html
http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/fall97/arnold.html
http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/arnold.html
http://www.familytales.org/dbDisplay.php?id=ltr_bea3200&person=bea
http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/missionimpossible.html
http://www.qwiki.com/q/Military_career_of_Benedict_Arnold,_1777–1779
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/benedict-arnold-is-courtmartialed
http://www.benedictarnold.org/
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/barnold.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/10966/data/barnold.shtml
http://www.notablebiographies.com/An-Ba/Arnold-Benedict.html
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/congress-overlooks-benedict-arnold-for-promotion
http://battle1777.saratoga.org/history.html
ExtrasColoring Page
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/coloring-pages/american-history/
revolutionary-war/benedict-arnold.html
http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Shippen__Peggy.html
http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/arnold.html
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THE END
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