Misplaced Pages

#112887

93-473: The system began in 1887 in a leased location but quickly outgrew its space. The Ives Memorial Library is the main branch of the system and is located on the New Haven Green . The neo-Georgian building was designed by Cass Gilbert and finished in 1911. This building was renovated and expanded in 1990. Murals in the main library originated as Public Works Administration projects. Two lunettes in

186-470: A camp south of Stillwater . He then distinguished himself in both Battles of Saratoga , even though General Gates removed him from field command after the first battle, following a series of escalating disagreements and disputes that culminated in a shouting match. During the fighting in the second battle, Arnold disobeyed Gates' orders and took to the battlefield to lead attacks on the British defenses. He

279-537: A change accelerated by his marriage to the very young, very pretty, very Tory Peggy Shippen? Wetherell says that the shortest explanation for his treason is that he "married the wrong person". Arnold had been badly wounded twice in battle and had lost his business in Connecticut, which made him profoundly bitter. He grew resentful of several rival and younger generals who had been promoted ahead of him and given honors which he thought he deserved. Especially galling

372-495: A coded letter from André with Clinton's final offer: £20,000 (equivalent to £3,353,000 in 2023) and no indemnification for his losses. Neither side knew for some days that the other was in agreement with that offer, due to difficulties in getting the messages across the lines. Arnold's letters continued to detail Washington's troop movements and provide information about French reinforcements that were being organized. On August 25, Peggy finally delivered to him Clinton's agreement to

465-638: A difficult passage in which 300 men turned back and another 200 died en route. He and his men were joined by Richard Montgomery 's small army and participated in the December 31 assault on Quebec City in which Montgomery was killed and Arnold's leg was shattered. His chaplain Rev. Samuel Spring carried him to the makeshift hospital at the Hôtel Dieu. Arnold was promoted to brigadier general for his role in reaching Quebec, and he maintained an ineffectual siege of

558-403: A discussion on the types of assistance and intelligence that Arnold might provide, and included instructions for how to communicate in the future. Letters were to be passed through the women's circle that Peggy Arnold was a part of, but only Peggy would be aware that some letters contained instructions that were to be passed on to André, written in both code and invisible ink , using Stansbury as

651-553: A few miles downriver from the town where he had grown up. In the winter of 1782, he and Peggy moved to London . He was well received by King George III and the Tories but frowned upon by the Whigs and most British Army officers. In 1787, he moved to Canada to run a merchant business with his sons Richard and Henry. He was extremely unpopular there and returned to London permanently in 1791, where he died ten years later. Benedict Arnold

744-517: A glorious canopy of elms , planted originally by James Hillhouse , most died of dutch elm disease . In the 1980s, through the efforts of the Garden Club of New Haven, disease-resistant elms were planted in an attempt to memorialize the legacy of the trees that gave New Haven the nickname "Elm City". Bordering the Green are municipal, commercial and university structures. On the northwest side of

837-523: A highly detailed report through the secret channel. When he reached Connecticut, Arnold arranged to sell his home there and began transferring assets to London through intermediaries in New York. By early July, he was back in Philadelphia, where he wrote another secret message to Clinton on July 7 which implied that his appointment to West Point was assured and that he might even provide a "drawing of

930-528: A letter of resignation on July 11, the same day that word arrived in Philadelphia that Fort Ticonderoga had fallen to the British. Washington refused his resignation and ordered him north to assist with the defense there. Arnold arrived in Schuyler's camp at Fort Edward, New York , on July 24. On August 13, Schuyler dispatched him with a force of 900 to relieve the Siege of Fort Stanwix , where he succeeded in

1023-522: A ruse to lift the siege. He sent an Indian messenger into the camp of British Brigadier-General Barry St. Leger with news that the approaching force was much larger and closer than it actually was; this convinced St. Leger's Indian allies to abandon him, forcing him to give up the effort. Arnold returned to the Hudson where General Gates had taken over command of the American army, which had retreated to

SECTION 10

#1732791591113

1116-612: A sign of loyalty to the United States. The British withdrew from Philadelphia in June 1778, and Washington appointed Arnold military commander of the city. Historian John Shy states: Arnold began planning to capitalize financially on the change in power in Philadelphia, even before the Americans reoccupied their city. He engaged in a variety of business deals designed to profit from war-related supply movements and benefiting from

1209-408: A spy. He then took the letter back to Connecticut, suspicious of Arnold's actions, where he delivered it to the head of the Connecticut militia. General Samuel Holden Parsons laid it aside, seeing a letter written as a coded business discussion. Four days later, Arnold sent a ciphered letter with similar content into New York through the services of the wife of a prisoner of war. Eventually, a meeting

1302-525: A succession of statehouses, dating from the time when New Haven was joint capital of Connecticut with Hartford . The most recent state house was erected in 1837, designed by Ithiel Town in a Greek Revival style. Ultimately, Hartford was declared the sole capital and the building was demolished in 1889. The Green served as the parade grounds for the New Haven militia, who, under the leadership of Benedict Arnold , rushed to Massachusetts after hearing of

1395-476: A tender of [Arnold's] services to Sir Henry Clinton". Stansbury ignored instructions from Arnold to involve no one else in the plot, and he crossed the British lines and went to see Jonathan Odell in New York. Odell was a Loyalist working with William Franklin , the last colonial governor of New Jersey and the son of Benjamin Franklin . On May 9, Franklin introduced Stansbury to André, who had just been named

1488-532: A traitor because of all the injustice he suffered, real and imagined, at the hands of the Continental Congress and his jealous fellow generals? Because of the constant agony of two battlefield wounds in an already gout-ridden leg? From psychological wounds received in his Connecticut childhood when his alcoholic father squandered the family's fortunes? Or was it a kind of extreme midlife crisis, swerving from radical political beliefs to reactionary ones,

1581-476: A wrong. Arnold spent several months recovering from his injuries. He had his leg crudely set, rather than allowing it to be amputated, leaving it 2 inches (5 cm) shorter than the right. He returned to the army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania , in May 1778 to the applause of men who had served under him at Saratoga. There he participated in the first recorded oath of allegiance , along with many other soldiers, as

1674-425: A year later for a substantial profit. In 1764, he formed a partnership with Adam Babcock, another young New Haven merchant. They bought three trading ships, using the profits from the sale of his homestead, and established a lucrative West Indies trade. During this time, Arnold brought his sister Hannah to New Haven and established her in his apothecary to manage the business in his absence. He traveled extensively in

1767-459: Is a 16-acre (65,000 m ) privately owned park and recreation area located in the downtown district of the city of New Haven, Connecticut , United States. It comprises the central square of the nine-square settlement plan of the original Puritan colonists in New Haven, and was designed and surveyed by colonist John Brockett . Today the Green is bordered by the modern paved roads of College, Chapel, Church, and Elm streets. Temple Street bisects

1860-537: Is based on uncertain documentary evidence. Arnold established himself in business in 1762 as a pharmacist and bookseller in New Haven, Connecticut , with the help of the Lathrops. He was hardworking and successful, and was able to rapidly expand his business. In 1763, he repaid money that he had borrowed from the Lathrops, repurchased the family homestead that his father had sold when deeply in debt, and re-sold it

1953-533: The Battle of Lexington and Concord and participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolution . This indirectly led to the burning of most of the city by the British when they landed in New Haven in 1779. The Green was used as the main burial grounds for the residents of New Haven during its first 150 years, but by 1821 the practice was abolished and many of the headstones were moved to

SECTION 20

#1732791591113

2046-400: The Battle of Ridgefield in Connecticut prompted his promotion to major general. He conducted operations that provided the Americans with relief during the Siege of Fort Stanwix , and key actions during the pivotal 1777 Battles of Saratoga in which he sustained leg injuries that put him out of combat for several years. Arnold repeatedly claimed that he was being passed over for promotion by

2139-567: The French and Indian War , but his mother refused permission. In 1757 when he was 16, he did enlist in the Connecticut militia, which marched off toward Albany, New York , and Lake George . The French had besieged Fort William Henry in northeastern New York, and their Indian allies had committed atrocities after their victory. Word of the siege's disastrous outcome led the company to turn around, and Arnold served for only 13 days. A commonly accepted story that he deserted from militia service in 1758

2232-473: The Grove Street Cemetery . However, the remains of the dead were not moved, and thus still remain below the soil of the Green. It is conservatively estimated that between 4,000 and 5,000 people remain buried there, including Benedict Arnold's first wife, members of President Rutherford B. Hayes ' family, Reverend James Pierpont (founder of Yale University ), and Theophilus Eaton , one of

2325-742: The Richard C. Lee United States Courthouse ( James Gamble Rogers , 1913). This was once the site of the Tontine Hotel, built by David Hoadley. New Haven's Victorian City Hall (by Henry Austin in 1861; restored and added to by Herbert S. Newman and Partners) and the Amistad Memorial are also at this end of the Green. The memorial stands on the site of the jail that held the Amistad captives during their time in New Haven. Spectators came to see them when they were brought out to exercise on

2418-574: The Second Continental Congress , and that other officers were being given credit for some of his accomplishments. Some in his military and political circles charged him with corruption and other bad acts. After formal inquiries, he was usually acquitted, but Congress investigated his finances and determined that he was indebted to Congress and that he had borrowed money heavily to maintain a lavish lifestyle. Arnold mingled with Loyalist sympathizers in Philadelphia and married into

2511-564: The capture of Fort Ticonderoga . He followed up that action with a bold raid on Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River north of Lake Champlain . A Connecticut militia force arrived at Ticonderoga in June; Arnold had a dispute with its commander over control of the fort, and resigned his Massachusetts commission. He was on his way home from Ticonderoga when he learned that his wife had died earlier in June. The Second Continental Congress authorized an invasion of Quebec , in part on

2604-658: The chain across the Hudson were never ordered. Troops were liberally distributed within Arnold's command area (but only minimally at West Point itself) or furnished to Washington on request. He also peppered Washington with complaints about the lack of supplies, writing, "Everything is wanting." At the same time, he tried to drain West Point's supplies so that a siege would be more likely to succeed. His subordinates, some long-time associates, grumbled about Arnold's unnecessary distribution of supplies and eventually concluded that he

2697-557: The 55th year of the Independence of the U.S.A. in memory of the brave patriots massacred at Fort Griswold near this spot on the 6th of Sept. AD 1781, when the British, under the command of the Traitor Benedict Arnold , burnt the towns of New London and Groton and spread desolation and woe throughout the region. Benedict Arnold (14 January 1741 [ O.S. 3 January 1740]  – June 14, 1801)

2790-478: The British Army, an annual pension of £360 (equivalent to £60,000 in 2023), and a lump sum of over £6,000 (equivalent to £1,006,000 in 2023). He led British forces in the raid on Richmond and oversaw a raid on New London, Connecticut which burned much of it to the ground. Arnold also commanded British forces at the Battle of Blandford and the Battle of Groton Heights , the latter taking place just

2883-464: The British arrived. He then directed the construction of a fleet to defend Lake Champlain, which was overmatched and defeated in the October 1776 Battle of Valcour Island . However, his actions at Saint-Jean and Valcour Island played a notable role in delaying the British advance against Ticonderoga until 1777. During these actions, Arnold made a number of friends and a larger number of enemies within

New Haven Free Public Library - Misplaced Pages Continue

2976-401: The British spy chief. This was the beginning of a secret correspondence between Arnold and André, sometimes using his wife Peggy as a willing intermediary, which culminated more than a year later with Arnold's change of sides. André conferred with Clinton, who gave him broad authority to pursue Arnold's offer. André then drafted instructions to Stansbury and Arnold. This initial letter opened

3069-540: The Green and paid 12 and a half cents to view them in the jail. Opposite the eastern corner of the lower green is the Union and New Haven Trust Building (now Wells Fargo and The Union apartments) designed by Cross and Cross in colonial revival style in 1927. The design is a tribute to the federal churches on the green and even borrows the cupola from the United Church. On the northeast side along Elm Street by

3162-497: The Green into upper (northwest) and lower (southeast) halves. The green is host to numerous public events, such as the International Festival of Arts and Ideas and New Haven Jazz Festival, summer jazz and classical music concerts that can draw hundreds of thousands of people, as well as typical daily park activities. The New Haven Green Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark District for

3255-558: The Green, across College Street, stand Phelps Gate and the Yale University buildings bordering Old Campus . Before the Old Campus was built, the buildings of Yale's Old Brick Row bordered the Green here. On the southwest side along Chapel Street are stores, bars, and such popular restaurants as Claire's Corner Copia . On the southeast side of the green, across Church Street is The Exchange Building (1832, restored in 1990) and

3348-480: The Loyalist family of Peggy Shippen . She was a close friend of British Major John André and kept in contact with him when he became head of the British espionage system in New York. Many historians see her as having facilitated Arnold's plans to switch sides; he opened secret negotiations with André, and she relayed their messages to each other. The British promised £20,000 (equivalent to £3,353,000 in 2023) for

3441-478: The Parliamentary Acts, which legally amounted to smuggling. He also faced financial ruin, falling £16,000 (equivalent to £2,762,000 in 2023) in debt with creditors spreading rumors of his insolvency, to the point where he took legal action against them. On the night of January 28, 1767, he and members of his crew roughed up a man suspected of attempting to inform authorities of Arnold's smuggling. He

3534-461: The Shippen family were being threatened. Arnold was rebuffed by Congress and by local authorities in requests for security details for himself and his in-laws. Arnold's court martial on charges of profiteering began meeting on June 1, 1779, but it was delayed until December 1779 by Clinton's capture of Stony Point, New York , throwing the army into a flurry of activity to react. Several members on

3627-513: The Tories." A few days later, Arnold wrote to Greene and lamented over the "deplorable" and "horrid" situation of the country at that particular moment, citing the depreciating currency, disaffection of the army, and internal fighting in Congress, while predicting "impending ruin" if things did not change soon. Biographer Nathaniel Philbrick argues: Peggy Shippen… did have a significant role in

3720-503: The architectural significance of the three 19th-century churches located there. The New Haven Green is one of the oldest and most well-known town greens in the nation, dating back to at least 1638. As of July 2017, the City of New Haven offers free public WiFi on the Green. The Green is a traditional town green ( common ) and was originally known as "the marketplace". It was completed in 1638. The Puritans were said to have designed

3813-705: The army power structure and in Congress. He had established a decent relationship with George Washington, as well as Philip Schuyler and Horatio Gates , both of whom had command of the army's Northern Department during 1775 and 1776. However, an acrimonious dispute with Moses Hazen , commander of the 2nd Canadian Regiment , boiled into Hazen's court martial at Ticonderoga during the summer of 1776. Only action by Arnold's superior at Ticonderoga prevented his own arrest on countercharges leveled by Hazen. He also had disagreements with John Brown and James Easton, two lower-level officers with political connections that resulted in ongoing suggestions of improprieties on his part. Brown

New Haven Free Public Library - Misplaced Pages Continue

3906-435: The battle lines, despite military bans on communication with the enemy. Some of this communication was effected through the services of Joseph Stansbury, a Philadelphia merchant. Historians have identified many possible factors contributing to Arnold's treason, while some debate their relative importance. According to W. D. Wetherell , he was: [A]mong the hardest human beings to understand in American history. Did he become

3999-508: The capture of West Point, a major American stronghold. Washington greatly admired Arnold and gave him command of that fort in July 1780. His plan was to surrender the fort to the British, but it was exposed in September 1780 when American militiamen captured André carrying papers which revealed the plot. Arnold escaped and André was hanged. Arnold received a commission as a brigadier general in

4092-538: The city until he was replaced by Major General David Wooster in April 1776. Arnold then traveled to Montreal where he served as military commander of the city until forced to retreat by an advancing British army that had arrived at Quebec in May. He presided over the rear of the Continental Army during its retreat from Saint-Jean, where he was reported by James Wilkinson to be the last person to leave before

4185-409: The colonial governor. Only he and his sister Hannah survived to adulthood; his other siblings died from yellow fever in childhood. His siblings were, in order of birth: Benedict (1738–1739), Hannah (1742–1803), Mary (1745–1753), Absolom (1747–1750), and Elizabeth (1749–1755). Through his maternal grandmother, Arnold was a descendant of John Lothropp , an ancestor of six presidents. Arnold's father

4278-405: The courier. By July 1779, Arnold was providing the British with troop locations and strengths, as well as the locations of supply depots, all the while negotiating over compensation. At first, he asked for indemnification of his losses and £10,000 (equivalent to £1,698,000 in 2023) an amount that the Continental Congress had given Charles Lee for his services in the Continental Army. Clinton

4371-559: The course of his business throughout New England and from Quebec to the West Indies , often in command of one of his own ships. Some sources allege that on one of his voyages he fought a duel in Honduras with a British sea captain who had called him a "damned Yankee, destitute of good manners or those of a gentleman". The captain was wounded in the first exchange of gunfire, and he apologized when Arnold threatened to aim to kill on

4464-614: The courthouse is by the sculptor J. Massey Rhind and murals and lunettes inside the courthouse are by the painter T. Thomas Gilbert. The upper Green on Elm is bordered by "Quality Row", containing some of the oldest structures in New Haven: the federal style white clapboard Nicholas Callahan house, once a tavern (now the Yale Elihu Senior Society ), the federal Eli W. Blake House (now the Graduate Club),

4557-557: The federal John Pierpont house (now the Yale University Koerner Center) built in 1767 and the brick Greek Revival Governor Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll House, designed in 1829 by Town and Davis . 41°18′29″N 72°55′37″W  /  41.308031°N 72.926980°W  / 41.308031; -72.926980 Benedict Arnold This monument was erected under the patronage of the State of Connecticut in

4650-591: The following month to assist in the Siege of Boston that followed the Battles of Lexington and Concord . He proposed an action to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety to seize Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York, which he knew was poorly defended. They issued him a colonel's commission on May 3, 1775, and he immediately rode off to Castleton in the disputed New Hampshire Grants ( Vermont ) in time to participate with Ethan Allen and his men in

4743-572: The founders of New Haven and the church and governor of the New Haven Colony for 19 years. On the evening of October 29, 2012, winds from Hurricane Sandy knocked over an oak tree on the Upper Green. Intertwined in the dirt and roots was a human skeleton. The police and medical examiner were called to the scene. The bones likely date back to colonial times, when the Green was used as a cemetery. The Grove Street cemetery that replaced it

SECTION 50

#1732791591113

4836-421: The four remaining members convene to select a replacement. Located on the upper Green are three historic early 19th century churches which reflect the city's theocratic roots. Two of the three churches are the work of the influential early-19th century architects Ithiel Town and Asher Benjamin , and one of them is the nation's first large-scale Gothic Revival structure. Because of this architectural legacy,

4929-539: The green large enough to hold the number of people who they believed would be spared in the Second Coming of Christ : 144,000. In its early years, the Green held a watch house, a prison and a school. The upper Green also once held the First Methodist Church. The church was removed from the Green in 1848 with a new church built across Elm Street (designed by Henry Austin ). The Green also held

5022-589: The green was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1970. The three churches are: In the lower Green are the Bennett Fountain (built in 1907 and designed after the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens) and the flagpole with granite World War I memorial (designed by Douglas Orr in 1928) and fountain (added in 2003). While once the edges of the Green were covered with

5115-398: The library underwent a significant rebranding effort in celebration of its 125th anniversary. In addition to updates in design and significant changes in borrowing policies, the library also adopted a retitled NHFPL125+ classification. 41°18′31″N 72°55′33″W  /  41.3087°N 72.9257°W  / 41.3087; -72.9257 New Haven Green The New Haven Green

5208-816: The lower Green is the New Haven Free Public Library ( Cass Gilbert , 1908). The library was once the site of the Bristol House, also designed by David Hoadley, whose doorway is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art . Next to the library is the Beaux-Arts , neoclassical New Haven County Courthouse . The courthouse was designed by New Haven architects William Allen and Richard Williams, modeled after St. George's Hall in Liverpool, England . The statuary in front of

5301-825: The main hall, designed by Bancel LaFarge of Mt. Carmel , Connecticut, depict scenes from New Haven's history. The Rip Van Winkle murals in the meeting room were painted in 1934 by a team of artists led by Salvatore DiNaio and Frank J. Rutkowski. There is also a set of stained glass windows in the Ives Library designed by David Wilson of South New Berlin , New York including circular and rectangular laylights as well as rectangular and half-round windows. There are also neighborhood branches in Westville (Mitchell), Fair Haven , Dixwell (Stetson) and The Hill (Wilson). The Wilson branch features an art installation by Leila Daw depicting patterns of immigration . In April 2012,

5394-476: The offer to surrender West Point, although his price rose to £20,000 (equivalent to £3,353,000 in 2023) (in addition to indemnification for his losses), with a £1,000 (equivalent to £168,000 in 2023) down payment to be delivered with the response. These letters were delivered by Samuel Wallis, another Philadelphia businessman who spied for the British, rather than by Stansbury. On August 3, 1780, Arnold obtained command of West Point. On August 15, he received

5487-622: The panel of judges were ill-disposed toward Arnold over actions and disputes earlier in the war, yet Arnold was cleared of all but two minor charges on January 26, 1780. Arnold worked over the next few months to publicize this fact; however, Washington published a formal rebuke of his behavior in early April, just one week after he had congratulated Arnold on the birth of his son Edward Shippen Arnold on March 19: 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

5580-483: The papers exposing the plot to capture West Point and passed them on to their superiors, but André convinced the unsuspecting Colonel John Jameson , to whom he was delivered, to send him back to Arnold at West Point—but he never reached West Point. Major Benjamin Tallmadge was a member of the Continental Army's Culper Ring , a network of spies established under Washington's orders, and he insisted that Jameson order

5673-609: The plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled to the British lines. In the later part of the war, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army and placed in command of the American Legion . He led British forces in battle against the army which he had once commanded, and his name became synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States. Arnold was born in Connecticut . He

SECTION 60

#1732791591113

5766-417: The plot. She exerted powerful influence on her husband, who is said to have been his own man but who actually was swayed by his staff and certainly by his wife. Peggy came from a loyalist family in Philadelphia; she had many ties to the British. She… was the conduit for information to the British. Early in May 1779, Arnold met with Philadelphia merchant Joseph Stansbury who then "went secretly to New York with

5859-505: 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. Shortly after Washington's rebuke, a Congressional inquiry into Arnold's expenditures concluded that he had failed to account fully for his expenditures incurred during the Quebec invasion, and that he owed the Congress some £1,000 (equivalent to £168,000 in 2023) largely because he

5952-433: The prospects, Clinton informed his superiors of his intelligence coup, but failed to respond to Arnold's July 7 letter. Arnold next wrote a series of letters to Clinton, even before he might have expected a response to the July 7 letter. In a July 11 letter, he complained that the British did not appear to trust him, and threatened to break off negotiations unless progress was made. On July 12, he wrote again, making explicit

6045-506: The protection of his authority. Such schemes were not uncommon among American officers, but Arnold's schemes were sometimes frustrated by powerful local politicians such as Joseph Reed , who eventually amassed enough evidence to publicly air charges against him. Arnold demanded a court martial to clear the charges, writing to Washington in May 1779: "Having become a cripple in the service of my country, I little expected to meet ungrateful returns". Arnold lived extravagantly in Philadelphia and

6138-729: The second. However, it is unknown whether this encounter actually happened or not, and some historians characterize the alleged duel as a fabrication. The Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765 severely curtailed mercantile trade in the colonies. The Stamp Act prompted Arnold to join the chorus of voices in opposition, and also led to his joining the Sons of Liberty , a secret organization which advocated resistance to those and other restrictive Parliamentary measures. Arnold initially took no part in any public demonstrations but, like many merchants, continued to do business openly in defiance of

6231-551: The secret channels with the British, informing them of Schuyler's proposals and including Schuyler's assessment of conditions at West Point. He also provided information on a proposed French-American invasion of Quebec that was to go up the Connecticut River (Arnold did not know that this proposed invasion was a ruse intended to divert British resources). On June 16, Arnold inspected West Point while on his way home to Connecticut to take care of personal business, and he sent

6324-565: The ship that was intended to carry André back to New York. This action did little damage besides giving the captain, Andrew Sutherland, a splinter in his nose—but the splinter prompted the Vulture to retreat, forcing André to return to New York overland. Arnold wrote out passes for André so that he would be able to pass through the lines, and he also gave him plans for West Point. André was captured near Tarrytown, New York , on Saturday, September 23, by three Westchester militiamen. They found

6417-527: The terms. Arnold's command at West Point also gave him authority over the entire American-controlled Hudson River, from Albany down to the British lines outside New York City. While en route to West Point, Arnold renewed an acquaintance with Joshua Hett Smith , who had spied for both sides and who owned a house near the western bank of the Hudson about 15 miles south of West Point. Once Arnold established himself at West Point, he began systematically weakening its defenses and military strength. Needed repairs of

6510-479: The urging of Arnold, but he was passed over for command of the expedition. He then went to Cambridge, Massachusetts , and suggested to George Washington a second expedition to attack Quebec City via a wilderness route through Maine . He received a colonel's commission in the Continental Army for this expedition and left Cambridge in September 1775 with 1,100 men. He arrived before Quebec City in November, after

6603-499: The winter socializing in Boston, where he unsuccessfully courted a young belle named Betsy Deblois. In February 1777, he learned that he had been passed over by Congress for promotion to major general. Washington refused his offer to resign, and wrote to members of Congress in an attempt to correct this, noting that "two or three other very good officers" might be lost if they persisted in making politically motivated promotions. Arnold

6696-566: The works ... by which you might take [West Point] without loss". André returned victorious from the Siege of Charleston on June 18, and both he and Clinton were immediately caught up in this news. Clinton was concerned that Washington's army and the French fleet would join in Rhode Island, and he again fixed on West Point as a strategic point to capture. André had spies and informers keeping track of Arnold to verify his movements. Excited by

6789-471: Was 14, there was no money for private education. His father's alcoholism and ill health kept him from training Arnold in the family mercantile business, but his mother's family connections secured an apprenticeship for him with her cousins Daniel and Joshua Lathrop, who operated a successful apothecary and general merchandise trade in Norwich. His apprenticeship with the Lathrops lasted seven years. Arnold

6882-417: Was a long feud with the civil authorities in Philadelphia which led to his court-martial. He was also convicted of two minor charges of using his authority to make a profit. General Washington gave him a light reprimand, but it merely heightened Arnold's sense of betrayal; nonetheless, he had already opened negotiations with the British before his court martial even began. He later said in his own defense that he

6975-543: Was a merchant operating ships in the Atlantic when the war began. He joined the growing American army outside of Boston and distinguished himself by acts that demonstrated intelligence and bravery: In 1775, he captured Fort Ticonderoga . In 1776, he employed defensive and delay tactics at the Battle of Valcour Island in Lake Champlain that gave American forces time to prepare New York's defenses. His performance in

7068-469: Was a prominent figure on the social scene. During the summer of 1778, he met Peggy Shippen , the 18-year-old daughter of Judge Edward Shippen IV , a Loyalist sympathizer who had done business with the British while they occupied the city; Peggy had been courted by Major John André during the British occupation of Philadelphia. She married Arnold on April 8, 1779. Shippen and her circle of friends had found methods of staying in contact with paramours across

7161-413: Was a successful businessman, and the family moved in the upper levels of Norwich society. He was enrolled in a private school in nearby Canterbury, Connecticut , when he was 10, with the expectation that he would eventually attend Yale College . However, the deaths of his siblings two years later may have contributed to a decline in the family fortunes, since his father took up drinking. By the time that he

7254-465: Was again severely wounded in the left leg late in the fighting. Arnold said that it would have been better had it been in the chest instead of the leg. Burgoyne surrendered ten days after the second battle on October 17, 1777. Congress restored Arnold's command seniority in response to his valor at Saratoga. However, he 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

7347-410: Was again wounded in his left leg. He then continued on to Philadelphia, where he met with members of Congress about his rank. His action at Ridgefield, coupled with the death of Wooster due to wounds sustained in the action, resulted in his promotion to major general, although his seniority was not restored over those who had been promoted before him. Amid negotiations over that issue, Arnold wrote out

7440-581: Was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War . He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort to British forces, but

7533-559: Was born a British subject, the second of six children of his father Benedict Arnold III (1683–1761) and Hannah Waterman King in Norwich , Connecticut Colony , on January 14, 1741. Arnold was the fourth member of his family named after his great-grandfather Benedict Arnold I , an early governor of the Colony of Rhode Island ; his grandfather (Benedict Arnold II) and father, as well as an older brother who died in infancy, were also named for

7626-655: Was chartered in 1797. A small portion of the burial ground is now preserved in The Center Church Crypt . A self-electing group of private individuals, the Committee of the Proprietors of Common and Undivided Lands at New Haven, maintain ownership of the green. This five-member committee oversees the large, main portion of the green. The proprietors are drawn from the ranks of prominent city residents. Members are appointed for life, and when one dies

7719-414: Was convicted of disorderly conduct and fined the relatively small amount of 50 shillings; publicity of the case and widespread sympathy for his views probably contributed to the light sentence. On February 22, 1767, Arnold married Margaret Mansfield, daughter of Samuel Mansfield, the sheriff of New Haven and a fellow member in the local Masonic lodge . Their son Benedict was born the following year and

7812-540: Was followed by brothers Richard in 1769 and Henry in 1772. Margaret died on June 19, 1775, while Arnold was at Fort Ticonderoga following its capture. She is buried in the crypt of the Center Church on New Haven Green . The household was dominated by Arnold's sister Hannah, even while Margaret was alive. Arnold benefited from his relationship with Mansfield, who became a partner in his business and used his position as sheriff to shield him from creditors. Arnold

7905-630: Was in the West Indies when the Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. He wrote that he was "very much shocked" and wondered "good God, are the Americans all asleep and tamely giving up their liberties, or are they all turned philosophers, that they don't take immediate vengeance on such miscreants?" Arnold began the war as a captain in the Connecticut militia, a position to which he was elected in March 1775. His company marched northeast

7998-460: Was loyal to his true beliefs, yet he lied at the same time by insisting that Peggy was totally innocent and ignorant of his plans. As early as 1778, there were signs that Arnold was unhappy with his situation and pessimistic about the country's future. On November 10, 1778, Major General Nathanael Greene wrote to Brigadier General John Cadwalader , "I am told General Arnold is become very unpopular among you oweing to his associateing too much with

8091-463: Was on his way to Philadelphia to discuss his future when he was alerted that a British force was marching toward a supply depot in Danbury, Connecticut . He organized the militia response, along with David Wooster and Connecticut militia General Gold Selleck Silliman . He led a small contingent of militia attempting to stop or slow the British return to the coast in the Battle of Ridgefield , and

8184-481: Was particularly vicious, publishing a handbill which claimed of Arnold, "Money is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country". General Washington assigned Arnold to the defense of Rhode Island following the British capture of Newport in December 1776, where the local militia were too poorly equipped to even consider an attack on the British. He took the opportunity to visit his children while near his home in New Haven, and he spent much of

8277-580: Was pursuing a campaign to gain control of the Hudson River Valley, and was interested in plans and information on the defenses of West Point and other defenses on the Hudson River. He also began to insist on a face-to-face meeting, and suggested to Arnold that he pursue another high-level command. By October 1779, the negotiations had ground to a halt. Furthermore, revolutionary mobs were scouring Philadelphia for Loyalists, and Arnold and

8370-476: Was selling them on the black market for personal gain. On August 30, Arnold sent a letter accepting Clinton's terms and proposing a meeting to André through yet another intermediary: William Heron, a member of the Connecticut Assembly whom he thought he could trust. In an ironic twist, Heron went into New York unaware of the significance of the letter and offered his own services to the British as

8463-535: Was set for September 11 near Dobbs Ferry. This meeting was thwarted when British gunboats in the river fired on his boat, not being informed of his impending arrival. Arnold and André finally met on September 21 at the Joshua Hett Smith House . On the morning of September 22, from their position at Teller's Point, two American rebels (under the command of Colonel James Livingston ), John "Jack" Peterson and Moses Sherwood, fired on HMS Vulture ,

8556-408: Was unable to document them. Many of these documents had been lost during the retreat from Quebec. Angry and frustrated, Arnold resigned his military command of Philadelphia in late April. Early in April 1780, Philip Schuyler had approached Arnold with the possibility of giving him the command at West Point. Discussions had not borne fruit between Schuyler and Washington by early June. Arnold reopened

8649-431: Was very close to his mother, who died in 1759. His father's alcoholism worsened after her death, and the youth took on the responsibility of supporting his father and younger sister. His father was arrested on several occasions for public drunkenness, was refused communion by his church, and died in 1761. In 1755, Arnold was attracted by the sound of a drummer and attempted to enlist in the provincial militia for service in

#112887