Free Essay Biography on Benedict Arnold

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Biography on Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich, Connecticut and was an American Revolutionary general and America�s most infamous traitor. At the age of 14, Arnold was a druggist�s apprentice, but he ran away twice to serve in the colonial militia during the French and Indian War. When the American Revolution started, Arnold marched his Connecticut militia to Massachusetts, where he was made a colonel. His force, along with Ethan Allen�s Green Mountain Boys, captured Ticonderoga on May 10, 1775.

Arnold then led a force of 1,100 men through Maine in the dead of winter to invade Canada. There he led an unsuccessful attack on Quebec in December and was wounded. A promotion to brigadier general followed in January 1776.

Before his defection, Arnold had a brilliant career in the Continental Army. He particularly distinguished himself in the Saratoga campaign as second in command to Horatio Gates. During the second battle of the Saratoga on October 7, 1777, Arnold led a charge and was again wounded.

Arnold suffered many disappointments that embittered him. When he was promoted to major general in February 1777, others he thought less deserving preceded him in rank. Gates received the credit for the victory at Saratoga (named June 1778) commander in the Philadelphia; Arnold was accused of overstepping his authority. His second marriage (1779) to Margaret Shippen, the daughter of a Loyalist, also aroused suspicions

His bitterness, along with a need for money to pay heavy debts, led Arnold to negotiate with the British. He offered to betray West Point, a post he commanded. When his treachery was revealed, Arnold escaped to the enemy lines, was commissioned a brigadier general in the British army, and was paid about $10,000. He led two other against New London, Conn.

Arnold went to England in 1781 and turned to trade. Worn by depression and suffering from a nervous disease, he died in London on June 14, 1801.