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{{Short description|American, then British officer after defecting during the US Revolutionary War (1740–1801)}}
{{Other people|Benedict Arnold}}
{{Good article}}
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|name             = Benedict Arnold
|image            = Benedict Arnold 1color.jpg
|caption          = Portrait of Arnold in 1776 
|birth_date       = {{Birth date|1741|01|14}}
|birth_place      = [[Norwich, Connecticut|Norwich]], [[Connecticut Colony]], [[British America]]
|death_date       = {{Death date and age|1801|06|14|1741|01|14}}
|death_place      = [[London]], England
|placeofburial    = [[St Mary's Church, Battersea]]
|placeofburial_coordinates = {{coord|51|28|36|N|0|10|32|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline}}
|allegiance       = <!--No flags per MOS:INFOBOXFLAG-->{{unbulleted list|United States|[[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]}}
|branch           = {{unbulleted list|<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not add a flag as one was never officially adopted by New York Provincial Troops as a whole and would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. --> [[New York Army National Guard|New York Provincial Troops]]|<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not add a flag as one was never officially adopted by the Connecticut Militia as a whole and would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. --> [[Connecticut State Militia|Connecticut Militia]]|<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not add a flag as one was never officially adopted by the Massachusetts Militia as a whole and would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. --> [[Massachusetts National Guard|Massachusetts Militia]]|<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not add the Gadsden flag as it was never officially adopted by the Continental Army and would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. --> [[Continental Army]]|<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not add the Army flag adopted by the U.K. government in 1938 (137 years after Arnold's death) as it would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. --> [[British Army]]}}
|serviceyears     = {{unbulleted list|1760, 1775 (colonial forces)|1775–1780 (Continental Army)|1780–1781 (British Army)}}
|rank             = {{unbulleted list|[[Major general (United States)|Major General]] (Continental Army)|[[Brigadier (United Kingdom)#Historical rank of brigadier general|Brigadier General]] (British Army)}}
|commands         = {{unbulleted list|[[Fort Ticonderoga]] (Jun 1775)|Quebec City (Jan–Apr 1776)|Montreal (Apr–Jun 1776)|Lake Champlain (Aug–Oct 1776)|Philadelphia (Jun 1778 – Apr 1780)|[[Fort Clinton (West Point)|Fort Arnold]] (Aug–Sep 1780)|[[American Legion (Great Britain)|American Legion]] (Oct 1780–1783)}}
| battles         = {{Tree list}}
* [[French and Indian War]]
* [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] (American service)
** [[Capture of Fort Ticonderoga]]
** [[Battle of Quebec (1775)|Battle of Quebec]]{{WIA}}
** [[Battle of the Cedars]]
** [[Battle of Valcour Island]]
** [[Battle of Ridgefield]]{{WIA}}
** [[Siege of Fort Stanwix]]
** [[Battles of Saratoga]]{{WIA}}
* Revolutionary War (British service)
** [[Raid on Richmond]] 
** [[Battle of Blandford]]
** [[Battle of Groton Heights]]
{{Tree list/end}}
|memorials        = [[Boot Monument]]
|spouse           = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Margaret Mansfield|February 22, 1767|June 19, 1775|end=died}}|{{marriage|[[Peggy Shippen]]|April 8, 1779}}}}
|children         = 8
|relations        = {{unbulleted list|[[Hannah Arnold (née Waterman)|Hannah Arnold]] (mother)|[[Benedict Arnold (governor)|Benedict Arnold]] {{nowrap|(great-grandfather)}}|[[William Arnold (settler)|William Arnold]] {{nowrap|(great-great-grandfather)}}}}
|otherwork        = [[Apothecary]], merchant
|signature        = Benedict Arnold Signature.svg
}}
[[File:Benedict Arnold Groton.jpg|thumb|Dedication plaque on [[Groton Monument]] in [[Groton, Connecticut]] to victims of Arnold's slaughter following the [[Battle of Groton Heights]]:{{blockquote|This monument was erected under the patronage of the State of Connecticut in 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.|author=|title=|source=}}]]

'''Benedict Arnold''' ({{OldStyleDateDY|14 January|1741|3 January 1740}}<ref name="Brandt4">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 4</ref>{{efn|name=OldStyleDates}}{{spaced ndash}}June 14, 1801) was an American-born 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, New York|West Point]] in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort to British forces, but 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 (Great Britain)|American Legion]]. He led the British army in battle against the soldiers whom he had once commanded, after which his name became synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.<ref name="Rogets">[[#Rogets|Rogets (2008)]]</ref>

Arnold was born in [[Connecticut Colony|Connecticut]]. He 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 [[capture of Fort Ticonderoga|captured Fort Ticonderoga]]. In 1776, he deployed 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 the [[Battle of Ridgefield]] in Connecticut prompted his promotion to major general. He performed  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 the [[Continental Congress]], and that other officers were being given credit for some of his accomplishments.<ref name="martin">[[#martin|Martin (1997)]]</ref> 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 (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] sympathizers in Philadelphia and married into 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{{efn|name=pound-dollar|One British pound in 1776 would be worth about £160 {{as of|2019|alt=in 2019}},<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.in2013dollars.com/uk/inflation/1776?amount=1 |title=£1 in 1776 → £162.52 in 2019 |website=UK Inflation Calculator |access-date=November 27, 2019}}</ref> or about US$210.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=162.52&From=GBP&To=USD |title=162.52 GBP to USD = 210.04 USD |website=xe.com |access-date=November 27, 2019}}</ref>}} for the capture of West Point, a major American stronghold. Washington greatly admired Arnold and gave him command of that fort in July 1780. His scheme 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; André was hanged.

Arnold received a commission as a brigadier general in the British Army, an annual pension of £360,{{efn|name=pound-dollar}} and a lump sum of over £6,000.{{efn|name=pound-dollar}}<ref name="DictCanBio" /> He led British forces in the [[Raid on Richmond]] and nearby areas, and they burned much of [[New London, Connecticut]] to the ground and slaughtered surrendering forces after the [[Battle of Groton Heights]]—just a few miles downriver from the town where he had grown up.  In the winter of 1782, he and Peggy moved to London, England. He was well received by King George III and the [[Tories (political faction)|Tories]] but frowned upon by the [[Whig (British political faction)|Whigs]] and most 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.

==Early life==
Benedict Arnold 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|Norwich]], [[Connecticut Colony|Connecticut]], on January 14, 1741.<ref name="Brandt4" /><ref name="Murphy">[[#Murphy|Murphy (2007)]], pp. 5, 8</ref> Arnold was the fourth surviving member of his family named after his great-grandfather [[Benedict Arnold (governor)|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 the colonial governor.<ref name="Brandt4" /> Only he and his sister Hannah survived to adulthood; his other siblings died from [[yellow fever]] in childhood.<ref name="Brandt5_6">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], pp. 5–6</ref> 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.<ref name="Price38">[[#Price|Price (1984)]], pp. 38–39</ref>

Arnold's father 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 University|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 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.<ref name="Brandt6">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 6</ref>  His apprenticeship with the Lathrops lasted seven years.<ref name="Brandt7">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 7</ref>

Arnold 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.<ref name="Brandt7" />

==French and Indian War==
In 1755, Arnold was attracted by the sound of a drummer and attempted to enlist in the provincial militia for service in the [[French and Indian War]], but his mother refused permission.<ref name="Flexner7">[[#Flexner|Flexner (1953)]], p. 7</ref> In 1757 when he was 16, he did enlist in the Connecticut militia, which marched off toward [[Albany, New York]], and [[Lake George (lake), New York|Lake George]]. The French had [[Siege of Fort William Henry|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.<ref name="Flexner8">[[#Flexner|Flexner (1953)]], p. 8</ref> A commonly accepted story that he deserted from militia service in 1758<ref name="Randall32">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 32</ref> is based on uncertain documentary evidence.<ref name="Murphy18">[[#Murphy|Murphy (2007)]], p. 18</ref>

==Colonial merchant==
Arnold established himself in business in 1762 as a pharmacist and bookseller in [[New Haven, Connecticut]], with the help of the Lathrops.<ref name="Brandt8">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 8</ref> 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,<ref name="Brandt10">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 10</ref> repurchased the family homestead that his father had sold when deeply in debt, and re-sold it 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 the course of his business throughout New England and from [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Quebec]] to the [[West Indies]], often in command of one of his own ships.<ref name="Flexner13">[[#Flexner|Flexner (1953)]], p. 13</ref> Some sources recount how, 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".<ref name="Murphy38">[[#Murphy|Murphy (2007)]], p. 38</ref><ref name="Damned2">[[#Roth|Roth (1995)]], p. 75</ref> The captain was wounded in the first exchange of gunfire, and he apologized when Arnold threatened to aim to kill on the second.<ref name="Flexner17">[[#Flexner|Flexner (1953)]], p. 17</ref> However, it is unknown whether this encounter actually happened or not.<ref>{{cite book |title=Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies: The Patriots |last=O'Reilly |first=Bill |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-62779-789-4 |location=New York |page=154}}</ref>

[[File:Repeal of the Stamp Act.jpg|thumb|right|A 1766 political cartoon on the repeal of the [[Stamp Act 1765|Stamp Act]]|alt=A procession of men, depicting various members of the British Parliament at the time, accompany then-Prime Minister Grenville as he carries a small coffin representing the Stamp Act near a waterfront scene with a sailing ship, cranes, bales of goods, and wharf warehouses in the background]]

The [[Sugar Act]] of 1764 and the [[Stamp Act 1765|Stamp Act of 1765]] severely curtailed mercantile trade in the colonies.<ref name="R46">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 46</ref> 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.<ref name="R49">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 49</ref> Arnold initially took no part in any public demonstrations but, like many merchants, continued to do business openly in defiance of the Parliamentary Acts, which legally amounted to smuggling. He also faced financial ruin, falling £16,000{{efn|name=pound-dollar}} in debt with creditors spreading rumors of his insolvency, to the point where he took legal action against them.<ref name="R52_3">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 52–53</ref> 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 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.<ref name="R56_60">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 56–60</ref>

On February 22, 1767, Arnold married Margaret Mansfield, daughter of Samuel Mansfield, the sheriff of New Haven and a fellow member in the local [[Freemasonry|Masonic Lodge]].<ref name="R62" /> Their son Benedict was born the following year<ref name="Brandt14">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 14</ref> and was followed by brothers Richard in 1769 and Henry in 1772.<ref name="R62">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 62</ref> Margaret died on June 19, 1775, while Arnold was at [[Fort Ticonderoga]] following its capture.<ref name="Brandt38">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 38</ref>  She is buried in the crypt of the [[New Haven Green#On the Green|Center Church on New Haven Green]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Crypt – Center Church on the Green – New Haven, CT|url=https://www.centerchurchonthegreen.org/history/crypt/|access-date=2022-12-31|language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref name="R64">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 64</ref>

Arnold 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?"<ref name="R68">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 68</ref>

==Revolutionary War (American service)==
{{main|Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1775–1776}}

===Siege of Boston and Fort Ticonderoga===
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 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 (American Revolution)|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, Vermont|Castleton]] in the disputed [[New Hampshire Grants]] ([[Vermont]]) in time to participate with [[Ethan Allen]] and his men in the [[capture of Fort Ticonderoga]]. He followed up that action with a bold raid on [[Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec)|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.<ref name="Randall78_132">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 78–132</ref>

[[File:General-Sir-Guy-Carleton 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Quebec Governor [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester|Guy Carleton]] opposed Arnold at Quebec and Valcour Island.|alt=A half-height oil portrait of Carleton. He faces front, wearing a red coat and vest over a ruffled white shirt. His hair is white, and is apparently pulled back.]]

===Quebec expedition===
{{Main|Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec}}
The [[Second Continental Congress]] authorized an [[Invasion of Canada (1775)|invasion of Quebec]], in part on 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 [[Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec|this expedition]] and left Cambridge in September 1775 with 1,100 men. He arrived before Quebec City in November, after 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 [[Battle of Quebec (1775)|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 the city until he was replaced by Major General [[David Wooster]] in April 1776.<ref name="Randall131_228">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 131–228</ref>

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 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.<ref name="Randall228_320">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 228–320</ref>

During these actions, Arnold made a number of friends and a larger number of enemies within 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.<ref name="Randall318_23">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 318–323</ref> 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.<ref name="Randall262_4">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 262–264</ref> He also had disagreements with [[John Brown of Pittsfield|John Brown]] and James Easton, two lower-level officers with political connections that resulted in ongoing suggestions of improprieties on his part. Brown 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".<ref>[[#Howe|Howe (1848)]], pp. 4–6</ref>

===Rhode Island and Philadelphia===
{{main|Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1777–1779}}
[[File:HoratioGatesByStuart.jpeg|thumb|right|Major General [[Horatio Gates]] led the forces at Saratoga; portrait by [[Gilbert Stuart]], 1793–94.|alt=A three-quarters length oil portrait of Gates against a neutral dark background. He is wearing a general's uniform, blue jacket with gold facing and gold epaulets. He is holding a sword in one hand and a paper in the other. His hair is white and has been tied back.]]

General Washington assigned Arnold to the defense of [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Rhode Island]] following the British seizure of [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]] in December 1776, where the militia were too poorly equipped to even consider an attack on the British.<ref name="Randall323_5">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 323–325</ref> He took the opportunity to visit his children while near his home in New Haven, and he spent much of the winter socializing in Boston, where he unsuccessfully courted a young belle named Betsy Deblois.<ref name="Randall324_7">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 324–327</ref>  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.<ref name="Brandt118">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 118</ref>

Arnold 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]].<ref name="Randall332">[[Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1777–1779#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 332</ref> He organized the militia response, along with David Wooster and Connecticut militia General [[Gold Selleck Silliman]].<ref>[[Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1777–1779#Bailey|Bailey (1896)]], p. 61</ref> He led a small contingent of militia attempting to stop or slow the British return to the coast in the [[Battle of Ridgefield]],<ref name="Ward494">[[Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1777–1779#Ward|Ward (1952)]], p. 494</ref><ref>[[Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1777–1779#Bailey|Bailey (1896)]], pp. 76-78</ref> and was again wounded in his left leg.<ref>[[Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1777–1779#Bailey|Bailey (1896)]], p. 78</ref>

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.<ref name="Randall332_4">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 332–334</ref> Amid negotiations over that issue, Arnold wrote out a letter of resignation on July 11, the same day that word arrived in Philadelphia that [[Siege of Fort Ticonderoga (1777)|Fort Ticonderoga had fallen]] to the British. Washington refused his resignation and ordered him north to assist with the defense there.<ref name="Randall339_2">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 339–342</ref>

===Saratoga campaign===
Arnold arrived in Schuyler's camp at [[Fort Edward (village), New York|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 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.<ref>[[#martin|Martin (1997)]], pp. 364–367</ref>

Arnold returned to the Hudson where General Gates had taken over command of the American army, which had retreated to a camp south of [[Stillwater (village), New York|Stillwater]].<ref name="Randall346_8">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 346–348</ref> 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.<ref name="Randall360">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 360</ref> During the fighting in the second battle, Arnold disobeyed Gates' orders and took to the battlefield to lead attacks on the British defenses. He 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.<ref name="Randall350_68">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 350–368</ref>  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.<ref name="Randall372">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 372</ref>  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 a wrong.<ref name="Palmer256">[[#Palmer|Palmer (2006)]], p. 256</ref>{{Citation not found|date=November 2022}}

[[File:Benedict Arnold oath of allegiance.jpg|thumb|Arnold's [[Oath of Allegiance]], May 30, 1778]]
Arnold spent several months recovering from his injuries. He had his leg crudely set, rather than allowing it to be amputated, leaving it {{convert|2|in|cm|0}} 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.<ref name="Brandt141_6">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], pp. 141–146</ref> There he participated in the first recorded [[Oath of Allegiance]], along with many other soldiers, as a sign of loyalty to the United States.<ref name="Brandt147">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 147</ref>

===Residence in Philadelphia===
The British withdrew from Philadelphia in June 1778, and Washington appointed Arnold military commander of the city.<ref name="Brandt146">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 146</ref>  Historian John Shy states:
:Washington then made one of the worst decisions of his career, appointing Arnold as military governor of the rich, politically divided city.  No one could have been less qualified for the position. Arnold had amply demonstrated his tendency to become embroiled in disputes, as well as his lack of political sense. Above all, he needed tact, patience, and fairness in dealing with a people deeply marked by months of enemy occupation.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=John |last=Shy |title=Arnold, Benedict |encyclopedia=[[American National Biography]] |year=1999 |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0200008}}</ref>

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 the protection of his authority.<ref name="Brandt148_9">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], pp. 148–149</ref> Such schemes were not uncommon among American officers, but Arnold's schemes were sometimes frustrated by powerful local politicians such as [[Joseph Reed (politician)|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".<ref name="Martin428">[[#martin|Martin (1997)]], p. 428</ref>

[[File:PhiladelphiaPresidentsHouse.jpg|thumb|[[President's House (Philadelphia)|President's House]] in [[Philadelphia]], where Arnold made his headquarters while he was military commander of Philadelphia; it served as the presidential mansion of George Washington and [[John Adams]] from 1790 to 1800.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/inde/historyculture/history-of-the-presidents-house-site.htm |title=Independence National Historical Park: History of the President's House |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=August 31, 2011}}</ref>]]
Arnold lived extravagantly in Philadelphia and 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 (III)]], a Loyalist sympathizer who had done business with the British while they occupied the city;<ref name="Randall420">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 420</ref> Peggy had been courted by British Major [[John André]] during the British occupation of Philadelphia.<ref name="UPennEShippen">[[#UPennEShippen|Edward Shippen biography]]</ref> She married Arnold on April 8, 1779.<ref name="Randall448">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 448</ref> Shippen and her circle of friends had found methods of staying in contact with paramours across the battle lines, despite military bans on communication with the enemy.<ref name="Randall455">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 455</ref> Some of this communication was effected through the services of Joseph Stansbury, a Philadelphia merchant.<ref name="Randall456">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 456</ref>

==Plotting to change sides==
Historians have identified many possible factors contributing to Arnold's treason, while some debate their relative importance. According to [[W. D. Wetherell]], he was:
{{blockquote|[A]mong the hardest human beings to understand in American history.  Did he become 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, a change accelerated by his marriage to the very young, very pretty, very Tory Peggy Shippen?<ref name=Wetherell>{{Cite web|title=On The Trail Of Benedict Arnold|url=https://www.americanheritage.com/trail-benedict-arnold|access-date=2022-12-31|website=AMERICAN HERITAGE|language=en}}</ref>}}

Wetherell says that the shortest explanation for his treason is that he "married the wrong person".<ref name=Wetherell/>

[[File:Sirhenryclinton2.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Lieutenant General [[Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)|Henry Clinton]]]]
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 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 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.<ref>Nathaniel Philbrick, ''Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution'' (2016) pp. 321–26.</ref><ref>Michael Dolan, "Hero and Villain" ''American History'' (2016) 51#3 pp. 12–13.</ref>

Arnold had an extremely ambitious and jealous personality.  He knew that he was distrusted and disliked by senior military officers on both sides. Washington was one of the few who genuinely liked and admired him, but Arnold thought that Washington had betrayed him.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

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 (general)|John Cadwalader]], "I am told General Arnold is become very unpopular among you <!-- please retain Greene's spellings -->oweing to his associateing too much with the Tories."<ref name="Showman">[[#Showman|Showman (1983)]], p. 3:57</ref> 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.<ref>[[#Showman|Showman (1983)]], p. 3:58</ref> Biographer [[Nathaniel Philbrick]] argues:
{{blockquote|Peggy Shippen… did have a significant role in 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.<ref>Interview with Philbrick in Michael Dolan, "Hero And Villain," ''American History'' (Aug 2016) 51#3 pp. 12–13.</ref>}}

Early in May 1779, Arnold met with Philadelphia merchant Joseph Stansbury{{efn|Stansbury's testimony before a British commission erroneously placed his meeting with Arnold in June.}} who then "went secretly to New York with a tender of [Arnold's] services to Sir Henry Clinton".<ref name="Randall456_457">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 456–457</ref>  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 [[Province of New Jersey|New Jersey]] and the son of [[Benjamin Franklin]]. On May 9, Franklin introduced Stansbury to Major André, who had just been named the British spy chief.<ref name="Randall457">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 457</ref> 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.<ref name="Martin428" />

===Secret communications===
[[File:ArnoldCipherLetter.jpeg|thumb|One of Arnold's coded letters. [[Arnold Cipher|Cipher lines]] by Arnold are interspersed with lines by his wife, Peggy.]]

André conferred with Clinton, who gave him broad authority to pursue Arnold's offer. André then drafted instructions to Stansbury and Arnold.<ref name="Randall463">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 463</ref> This initial letter opened 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 [[Arnold Cipher|code]] ''and'' [[invisible ink]], using Stansbury as the courier.<ref name="Randall464">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 464</ref>

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,{{efn|name=pound-dollar}} an amount that the Continental Congress had given [[Charles Lee (general)|Charles Lee]] for his services in the Continental Army.<ref name="Randall474">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 474</ref> Clinton 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, New York|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.<ref name="Randall476">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 476</ref> By October 1779, the negotiations had ground to a halt.<ref name="Randall477">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 477</ref> Furthermore, revolutionary mobs were scouring Philadelphia for Loyalists, and Arnold and 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.<ref name="Randall482_3">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 482–483</ref>

===Court martial===
[[File:The American annual of photography (1911) (14596787487).jpg|thumb|right|The Norris Tavern, in Morristown, New Jersey, where the trial took place]]

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.<ref name="Brandt181_2">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], pp. 181–182</ref> Several members on 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.<ref name="Randall486_492">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 486–492</ref> 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:<ref name="Randall492_4">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 492–494</ref>

{{Quotation|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.<ref name="Brandt190">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 190</ref>}}

[[File:John andre loc.jpg|thumb|left|Major [[John André]] was Lieutenant General Henry Clinton's spy chief; he was captured and hanged for his role in the plot.|alt=A black and white full length portrait of André. He wears a uniform, dark jacket over white pants and shirt, with dark boots, and a three-cornered hat. His right hand holds a sword upright by his side, and his left arm is extending, pointing forward.]]
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,{{efn|name=pound-dollar}} largely because he was unable to document them.<ref name="Randall497">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 497</ref> 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.<ref name="Randall497_9">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 497–499</ref>

===Offer to surrender West Point===
Early in April, 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 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 a highly detailed report through the secret channel.<ref name="Randall503_4">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 503–504</ref> 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 the works ... by which you might take [West Point] without loss".<ref name="Randall506_7">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 506–507</ref>

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 the prospects, Clinton informed his superiors of his intelligence coup, but failed to respond to Arnold's July 7 letter.<ref name="Randall505_8">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 505–508</ref>

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 the offer to surrender West Point, although his price rose to £20,000{{efn|name=pound-dollar}} (in addition to indemnification for his losses), with a £1,000{{efn|name=pound-dollar}} 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.<ref name="Randall508_9">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 508–509</ref>

===Command at West Point===
[[File:Appletons' Arnold Benedict - Beverley Robinson house.jpg|right|thumb|Colonel [[Beverley Robinson]]'s house, Arnold's headquarters at West Point]]

On August 3, 1780, Arnold obtained command of West Point. On August 15, he received a coded letter from André with Clinton's final offer: £20,000{{efn|name=pound-dollar}} 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 the terms.<ref name="Randall511_2">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 511–512</ref>

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.<ref name="Randall517_8">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 517–518</ref>

Once Arnold established himself at West Point, he began systematically weakening its defenses and military strength. Needed repairs of the [[Hudson River Chain|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."<ref name="Randall522_3" /> 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 was selling them on the black market for personal gain.<ref name="Randall522_3">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 522–523</ref>

[[File:WestPoint1780.jpg|thumb|right|A French map of [[West Point, New York|West Point]] in 1780]]
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 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.<ref name="Randall524_6">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 524–526</ref> Eventually, a meeting 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.<ref name="Randall533">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 533</ref>

===Plot exposed===
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 (American Revolution)|James Livingston]]), [[Jack Peterson Memorial|John "Jack" Peterson]] and Moses Sherwood, fired on [[HMS Vulture (1776)|HMS ''Vulture'']], the ship that was intended to carry André back to New York.<ref name="Wygant">{{cite news |title=Peterson and Sherwood, Local Men Real Heroes of "Vulture" Episode |date=October 19, 1936 |author=G.P. Wygant |publisher=Peekskill Evening Star}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |publisher=The Putnam County Courier |title=The Shrine of the Memorial Museum |date=November 28, 1963}}</ref> This action did little damage besides giving the captain, Andrew Sutherland, a splinter in his nose—but the splinter prompted the ''Vulture'' to retreat,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sheinkin |first1=Steve |title=[[The Notorious Benedict Arnold]] |date=2010 |publisher=[[Square Fish]] |isbn=978-1-250-02460-2 |page=259 |edition=First |language=en |chapter=The Floating Vulture |quote="Many others struck the sails, rigging, and boats on deck," said a British officer aboard the ''Vulture''. "Captain Sutherland is the only person hurt, and he very slightly on the nose by a splinter." But it was a splinter that changed the course of history. The captain ordered the ''Vulture'' to drop back out of range of American guns.}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Lossing151_6">[[#Lossing|Lossing (1852)]], pp. 151–156</ref>

André was captured near [[Tarrytown, New York]], on Saturday, September 23, by three Westchester militiamen.<ref>{{cite book |first=Carl |last=Van Doren |title=Secret History of the American Revolution |page=340 |publisher=Popular Library |lccn=41-24478 |year=1969}}</ref> They found the papers exposing the plot to capture West Point and passed them on to their superiors,<ref name="Lossing187_9">[[#Lossing|Lossing (1852)]], pp. 187–189</ref> but André convinced the unsuspecting Colonel [[John Jameson (soldier)|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,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/culper-spy-ring |title=The Culper Spy Ring – American Revolution |website=History.com |access-date=August 3, 2016}}</ref> and he insisted that Jameson order the prisoner to be intercepted and brought back. Jameson reluctantly recalled the lieutenant who had been delivering André into Arnold's custody, but he then sent the same lieutenant as a messenger to notify Arnold of André's arrest.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rowan |first=Richard Wilmer |title=Secret Service: 33 Centuries of Espionage |pages=140, 145 |publisher=Hawthorn Books Inc. |lccn=66-15344 |year=1967}}</ref>

Arnold learned of André's capture the morning of September 24 while waiting for Washington, with whom he was going to have breakfast at his headquarters in British Colonel [[Beverley Robinson]]'s former summer house on the east bank of the Hudson.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.loyalamericanregiment.org/wargasm.htm |title=Loyal American Regiment – Historical Treks |website=www.loyalamericanregiment.org}}</ref><ref name="Brandt220">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 220</ref> Upon receiving Jameson's message, however, he learned that Jameson had sent Washington the papers which André was carrying. Arnold immediately hastened to the shore and ordered bargemen to row him downriver to where HMS ''Vulture'' was anchored, fleeing on it to New York City.<ref name="Lossing158">[[#Lossing|Lossing (1852)]], p. 159</ref> From the ship, he wrote a letter to Washington<ref name="BA-LetterToGW">[[#ArnoldToGW|Arnold to Washington, September 25, 1780]]</ref> requesting that Peggy be given safe passage to her family in Philadelphia—which Washington granted.<ref name="Lomask" />

Washington remained calm when he was presented with evidence of Arnold's treason. He did, however, investigate its extent, and suggested that he was willing to exchange André for Arnold during negotiations with Clinton concerning André's fate. Clinton refused this suggestion; after a military tribunal, André was hanged at [[Tappan, New York]], on October 2. Washington also infiltrated men into New York City in an attempt to capture Arnold. This plan very nearly succeeded, but Arnold changed living quarters prior to sailing for Virginia in December and thus avoided capture.<ref name="Lossing160_197_210">[[#Lossing|Lossing (1852)]], pp. 160, 197–210</ref> He justified his actions in an open letter titled "[[To the Inhabitants of America]]", published in newspapers in October 1780.<ref name="Carso153">[[#Carso|Carso (2006)]], p. 153</ref> He also wrote in the letter to Washington requesting safe passage for Peggy: "Love to my country actuates my present conduct, however it may appear inconsistent to the world, who very seldom judge right of any man's actions."<ref name="BA-LetterToGW" />

==Revolutionary War (British service)==
{{main|Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1781}}

===Raids in Virginia and Connecticut colonies===
The British gave Arnold a brigadier general's commission with an annual income of several hundred pounds, but they paid him only £6,315 plus an annual pension of £360{{efn|name=pound-dollar}} for his defection because his plot had failed.<ref name="DictCanBio">[[#Fahey|Fahey]]</ref> In December 1780, he led a force of 1,600 troops into Virginia under orders from Clinton, where he [[Raid on Richmond|captured Richmond]] by surprise and then went on a rampage through Virginia, destroying supply houses, foundries, and mills.<ref name="R582_3">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 582–583</ref> This activity brought out Virginia's militia led by Colonel [[Sampson Mathews]], and Arnold eventually retreated to [[Portsmouth, Virginia|Portsmouth]] to be reinforced or to evacuate.<ref name="Waddell">{{cite book |author=Wadell, Joseph |year=1902 |title=Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871. |publisher=C. Russell Caldwell |location=Staunton, Virginia |pages=278 |isbn=978-0-7222-4601-6 |access-date=September 19, 2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rZbEC1kEdpcC&q=%22sampson+mathews%22+benedict+arnold&pg=PA278}}</ref>

The pursuing American army included the [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]], who was under orders from Washington to hang Arnold summarily if he was captured. British reinforcements arrived in late March led by Major General [[William Phillips (British Army officer)|William Phillips]] who served under Lieutenant General John Burgoyne at Saratoga. Phillips led further raids across Virginia, including a defeat of [[Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben|Baron von Steuben]] at [[Battle of Blandford|Petersburg]], but he died of fever on May 12, 1781. Arnold commanded the army only until May 20, when Lieutenant General [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Charles Cornwallis]] arrived with the southern army and took over. One colonel wrote to Clinton concerning Arnold: "There are many officers who must wish some other general in command."<ref name="R584_5">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]]</ref> Cornwallis ignored Arnold's advice to locate a permanent base away from the coast, advice that might have averted his [[Siege of Yorktown|surrender at Yorktown]].<ref name="R584_5" />

On his return to New York in June, Arnold made a variety of proposals for attacks on economic targets to force the Americans to end the war. Clinton was uninterested in most of his aggressive ideas, but finally authorized him to raid the port of [[New London, Connecticut]]. He led a force of more than 1,700 men which burned most of New London to the ground on September 4, causing damage estimated at $500,000.<ref name="R585_91">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 585–591</ref> They also attacked and captured [[Fort Griswold]] across the river in [[Groton, Connecticut]], slaughtering the Americans after they surrendered following the [[Battle of Groton Heights]]—and all these deeds were done just a few miles down the Thames River from Norwich, where Arnold grew up. However, British casualties were high; nearly one quarter of the force was killed or wounded, and Clinton declared that he could ill afford any more such victories.<ref name="R589">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 589</ref>

===British surrender and exile in England===
Even before Cornwallis's surrender in October, Arnold had requested permission from Clinton to go to England to give [[George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville|Lord George Germain]] his thoughts on the war in person.<ref name="Brandt252">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 252</ref> He renewed that request when he learned of the surrender, which Clinton then granted. On December 8, 1781, Arnold and his family left New York for England.<ref name="Brandt253">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 253</ref>

In London, Arnold aligned himself with the [[British Tory Party|Tories]], advising Germain and King George III to renew the fight against the Americans. In the House of Commons, [[Edmund Burke]] expressed the hope that the government would not put Arnold "at the head of a part of a British army" lest "the sentiments of true honour, which every British officer [holds] dearer than life, should be afflicted".<ref name="Lomask" /> The anti-war [[British Whig Party|Whigs]] had gained the upper hand in Parliament, and Germain was forced to resign, with the government of [[Frederick North, Lord North|Lord North]] falling not long after.<ref name="Brandt255">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 255</ref>

Arnold then applied to accompany Lieutenant General [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester|Guy Carleton]], who was going to New York to replace Clinton as commander-in-chief, but the request went nowhere.<ref name="Brandt255" /> Other attempts all failed to gain positions within the government or the [[East India Company|British East India Company]] over the next few years, and he was forced to subsist on the reduced pay of non-wartime service.<ref name="Brandt257_9">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], pp. 257–259</ref> His reputation also came under criticism in the British press, especially when compared to Major André who was celebrated for his patriotism. One critic said that he was a "mean mercenary, who, having adopted a cause for the sake of plunder, quits it when convicted of that charge".<ref name="Brandt255" /> [[George Johnstone (Royal Navy officer)|George Johnstone]] turned him down for a position in the East India Company and explained: "Although I am satisfied with the purity of your conduct, the generality do not think so. While this is the case, no power in this country could suddenly place you in the situation you aim at under the East India Company."<ref name="Brandt257">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 257</ref>

== To Canada, then back to England ==
[[File:James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale by Thomas Gainsborough.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale]], fought a duel with Arnold. Portrait by [[Thomas Gainsborough]].]]

In 1785, Arnold and his son Richard moved to [[Saint John, New Brunswick]], where they speculated in land and established a business doing trade with the West Indies.  Arnold purchased large tracts of land in the [[Maugerville, New Brunswick|Maugerville]] area, and acquired city lots in Saint John and [[Fredericton, New Brunswick|Fredericton]].<ref>[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 599–600</ref> Delivery of his first ship the ''Lord Sheffield'' was accompanied by accusations from the builder that Arnold had cheated him; Arnold replied that he had merely deducted the contractually agreed amount when the ship was delivered late.<ref name="Brandt261">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 261</ref> After her first voyage, Arnold returned to London in 1786 to bring his family to Saint John. While there, he disentangled himself from a lawsuit over an unpaid debt that Peggy had been fighting while he was away, paying £900{{efn|name=pound-dollar}} to settle a £12,000{{efn|name=pound-dollar}} loan that he had taken while living in Philadelphia.<ref name="Brandt262">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 262</ref> The family moved to Saint John in 1787, where Arnold created an uproar with a series of bad business deals and petty lawsuits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.unb.ca/archives/finding/arnold.html |title=Benedict Arnold and Monson Hayt fonds. |date=September 26, 2001 |work=UNB Archives |publisher=University of New Brunswick |location=Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada |access-date=December 7, 2009 |quote=However, Arnold created an uproar within the small community of Saint John when his firm launched several suits against its debtors, and Arnold himself sued Edward Winslow in 1789.}}</ref> The most serious of these was a slander suit which he won against a former business partner; and following this, townspeople burned him in effigy in front of his house, as Peggy and the children watched.<ref name="Brandt263">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 263</ref> The family left Saint John to return to London in December 1791.<ref name="Brandt264">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 264</ref>

In July 1792, Arnold fought a bloodless [[duel]] with the [[James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale|Earl of Lauderdale]] after the Earl impugned his honor in the [[House of Lords]].<ref name="DictCanBio" /> With the outbreak of the [[French Revolution]], Arnold outfitted a [[privateer]], while continuing to do business in the West Indies, even though the hostilities increased the risk. He was imprisoned by French authorities on [[Guadeloupe]] amid accusations of spying for the British, and narrowly eluded hanging by escaping to [[Invasion of Guadeloupe (1794)|the blockading British fleet]] after bribing his guards. He helped organize militia forces on British-held islands, receiving praise from the landowners for his efforts on their behalf. He hoped that this work would earn him wider respect and a new command; instead, it earned him and his sons a land-grant of {{convert|15,000|acre|ha}} in [[Upper Canada]],<ref>[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 609–610</ref> near present-day [[Renfrew, Ontario]].<ref name="Wilson223">[[#Wilson|Wilson (2001)]], p. 223</ref>

==Death and funeral==
In January 1801, Arnold's health began to decline.<ref name="Lomask" /> He had suffered from [[gout]] since 1775,<ref name="Brandt42">[[#Brandt|Brandt (1994)]], p. 42</ref> and the condition attacked his unwounded leg to the point where he was unable to go to sea. The other leg ached constantly, and he walked only with a cane. His physicians diagnosed him as having [[Edema|dropsy]], and a visit to the countryside only temporarily improved his condition. He died after four days of [[delirium]] on June 14, 1801, at the age of 60.<ref name="Lomask">[[#Lomask|Lomask (1967)]]</ref> Legend has it that, when he was on his deathbed, he said, "Let me die in this old uniform in which I fought my battles. May God forgive me for ever having put on another,"<ref>[[#Johnson|Johnson (1915)]]</ref> but this story may be apocryphal.<ref name="martin" /> Arnold was buried at [[St. Mary's Church, Battersea|St. Mary's Church]] in [[Battersea]], England.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8cV2AAAAMAAJ&q=benedict+arnold+st+mary's+church |title=Benedict Arnold: Misunderstood Hero? |first=Audrey |last=Wallace |year=2003 |publisher=Burd Street Press |via=Google Books |isbn=978-1-57249-349-0}}</ref> As a result of a clerical error in the parish records, his remains were removed to an unmarked mass grave during church renovations a century later.<ref name="R612_3">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], pp. 612–613</ref> His funeral procession boasted "seven mourning coaches and four state carriages";<ref name="Lomask" /> the funeral was without military honors.<ref name="R613">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 613</ref>

Arnold left a small estate, reduced in size by his debts, which Peggy undertook to clear.<ref name="DictCanBio" /><ref name="Lomask" /> Among his bequests were considerable gifts to one John Sage, perhaps an illegitimate son or grandson.<ref name="R613" />{{efn|name=sage|Some historians suggested an Arnold liaison in New Brunswick, but Canadian historian Barry Wilson noted the weakness of this traditional account. Sage's gravestone indicates that he was born on April 14, 1786, a date roughly confirmed by Arnold's will, which stated that Sage was 14 when Arnold wrote it in 1800. Arnold arrived in New Brunswick in December 1785, so Sage's mother could not have been from there. Wilson believes that the explanation most consistent with the available documentation is that Sage was either the result of a liaison before Arnold left England or that he was Arnold's grandson by one of his older children.<ref>[[#Wilson|Wilson (2001)]], pp. 231–233</ref>}}

==Legacy==
Benedict Arnold became permanently synonymous with "traitor" soon after his betrayal became public.<ref> Charles Royster, "'The Nature of Treason': Revolutionary Virtue and American Reactions to Benedict Arnold." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1979) 36#2: 164-193 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1922263 online].</ref><ref> Gary Alan Fine, "Difficult reputations: Collective memories of the evil, inept, and controversial" (University of Chicago Press, 2001), chapter 1 on "Benedict Arnold and the Commemoration of Treason"  </ref>

Biblical themes were often invoked. One 1794 textbook stated that "Satan entered into the heart of Benedict."<ref>Fine, pp. 46-47.</ref> Benjamin Franklin wrote that "[[Judas Iscariot|Judas]] sold only one man, Arnold three millions", and [[Alexander Scammell]] described his actions as "black as hell".<ref name="Carso154">[[#Carso|Carso (2006)]], p. 154</ref> In Arnold's home town of Norwich, Connecticut, someone scrawled "the traitor" next to his record of birth at city hall, and all of his family's gravestones have been destroyed except his mother's.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Times|first=Michael Knight Special to The New York|date=1976-03-05|title=Native Norwich Is Ignoring Benedict Arnold|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/05/archives/new-jersey-pages-native-norwich-is-ignoring-benedict-arnold-afraid.html|access-date=2022-12-31|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Arnold was aware of his reputation in his home country, and French statesman [[Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord|Talleyrand]] described meeting him in [[Falmouth, Cornwall]] in 1794:

{{blockquote|The innkeeper at whose place I had my meals informed me that one of his lodgers was an American general. Thereupon I expressed the desire of seeing that gentleman, and, shortly after, I was introduced to him. After the usual exchange of greetings … I ventured to request from him some letters of introduction to his friends in America. "No," he replied, and after a few moments of silence, noticing my surprise, he added, "I am perhaps the only American who cannot give you letters for his own country … all the relations I had there are now broken … I must never return to the States." He dared not tell me his name. It was General Arnold.<ref name="lomask196710">{{cite magazine |last=Lomask |first=Milton |date=October 1967 |title=Benedict Arnold: The Aftermath Of Treason |url=https://www.americanheritage.com/benedict-arnold-aftermath-treason |magazine=American Heritage |volume=18 |issue=6}}</ref>}}

Talleyrand continued, "I must confess that I felt much pity for him, for which political puritans will perhaps blame me, but with which I do not reproach myself, for I witnessed his agony".{{r|lomask196710}}

[[File:JeffersonDavisBenedictArnoldTreasonCartoon1865.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|An 1865 political cartoon depicting Benedict Arnold and [[Jefferson Davis]] in hell]]
Early biographers attempted to describe Arnold's entire life in terms of treacherous or morally questionable behavior. The first major biography of his life was ''The Life and Treason of Benedict Arnold'', published in 1832 by historian [[Jared Sparks]]; it was particularly harsh in showing how Arnold's treacherous character was formed out of childhood experiences.<ref name="Carso155" /> George Canning Hill authored a series of moralistic biographies in the mid-19th century and began his 1865 biography of Arnold: "Benedict, the Traitor, was born…".<ref name="Hill10">[[#Hill|Hill (1865)]], p. 10</ref> Social historian Brian Carso notes that, as the 19th century progressed, the story of Arnold's betrayal was portrayed with near-mythical proportions as a part of the national history. It was invoked again as sectional conflicts increased in the years before the [[American Civil War]]. [[Washington Irving]] used it as part of an argument against dismemberment of the union in his 1857 ''Life of George Washington'', pointing out that the unity of New England and the southern states which led to independence was made possible in part by holding West Point.<ref name="Carso168_0">[[#Carso|Carso (2006)]], pp. 168–170</ref> [[Jefferson Davis]] and other southern secessionist leaders were unfavorably compared to Arnold, implicitly and explicitly likening the idea of secession to treason. ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'' published an article in 1861 describing Confederate leaders as "a few men directing this colossal treason, by whose side Benedict Arnold shines white as a saint".<ref name="Carso201">[[#Carso|Carso (2006)]], p. 201</ref>

Fictional invocations of Benedict Arnold's name carry strongly negative overtones.<ref>Julie Courtwright, "Whom Can We Trust Now? The Portrayal of Benedict Arnold in American History" ''Fairmont Folio: Journal of History'' (Wichita State University) v. 2 (1998) [http://journals.wichita.edu/index.php/ff/article/viewFile/35/42 online]</ref> A moralistic children's tale entitled "The Cruel Boy" was widely circulated in the 19th century. It described a boy who stole eggs from birds' nests, pulled wings off insects, and engaged in other sorts of wanton cruelty, who then grew up to become a traitor to his country.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/howtobehappy00sigogoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/howtobehappy00sigogoog/page/n41 34] |title=How to be Happy |publisher=D.F. Robinson |last1=Sigourney |first1=Lydia Howard |author2=Lady |year=1833}}</ref> The boy is not identified until the end of the story, when his place of birth is given as Norwich, Connecticut, and his name is given as Benedict Arnold.<ref name="Carso157_9">[[#Carso|Carso (2006)]], pp. 157–159</ref> However, not all depictions of Arnold were so negative. Some theatrical treatments of the 19th century explored his duplicity, seeking to understand rather than demonize it.<ref name="Carso170_1">[[#Carso|Carso (2006)]], pp. 170–171</ref>

Canadian historians have treated Arnold as a relatively minor figure. His difficult time in New Brunswick led historians to summarize it as full of "controversy, resentment, and legal entanglements" and to conclude that he was disliked by both Americans and Loyalists living there.<ref>[[#Wilson|Wilson (2001)]], pp. xiii–xv</ref> Historian Barry Wilson points out that Arnold's descendants established deep roots in Canada, becoming leading settlers in Upper Canada and [[Saskatchewan]].<ref>[[#Wilson|Wilson (2001)]], p. xvi</ref> His descendants are spread across Canada, most of all those of John Sage, who adopted the Arnold surname.<ref>[[#Wilson|Wilson (2001)]], pp. 230–236</ref>

==Honors==
[[File:Arnold-boot.jpg|thumb|left|130px|[[Boot Monument]]]]

The [[Boot Monument]] at [[Saratoga National Historical Park]] pays tribute to Arnold but does not mention his name. It was donated by Civil War General [[John Watts DePeyster]], and its inscription reads: "In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental army, who was desperately wounded on this spot, winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution, and for himself the rank of Major General."<ref name="NPSBoot">[[#NPSBoot|Saratoga National Historical Park – Tour Stop 7]]</ref> The [[Saratoga Battle Monument|victory monument at Saratoga]] has four niches, three of which are occupied by statues of Generals Gates, Schuyler, and Morgan. The fourth niche is pointedly empty.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/sara/planyourvisit/saratoga-monument.htm |title=Saratoga Monument |website=www.nps.gov – Saratoga National Historical Park}}</ref>

There are plaques on the grounds of the [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point, New York, commemorating all of the generals who served in the Revolution. One plaque bears only a rank and a date but no name: "major general… born 1740".{{efn|name=OldStyleDates|Arnold's birth records indicate that he was born January 3, 1740 ([[#BirthRecord|Vital Records of Norwich (1913)]]). His date of birth is recorded in the Gregorian calendar as January 14, 1741 because of the change from Julian to Gregorian calendar and the change of the beginning of the year from March 25 to January 1.}}<ref name="Carso155">[[#Carso|Carso (2006)]], p. 155</ref> Historical markers in [[Danvers, Massachusetts]], and [[Newburyport, MA]] commemorate Arnold's 1775 expedition to Quebec.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hmdb.org/Marker.asp?Marker=48470 |title=In Commemoration of Arnold's Expedition to Quebec |first=Michael |last=Tiernan |date=October 18, 2011 |work=The Historical Marker Database |publisher=HMdb.org |access-date=January 23, 2012}}</ref> There are also historical markers bearing his name at Wyman Lake Rest Area on US-201 north of [[Moscow, Maine]], on the western bank of Lake Champlain, New York, and two in [[Skowhegan, Maine]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salemnews.com/opinion/x1690079360/Letter-Some-recognize-Gen-Arnold-as-true-hero-of-the-Revolutionary-War |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201170234/http://www.salemnews.com/opinion/x1690079360/Letter-Some-recognize-Gen-Arnold-as-true-hero-of-the-Revolutionary-War |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 1, 2013 |title=Letter: Some recognize Gen. Arnold as true hero of the Revolutionary War |first=S. Hardy |last=Prince |date=June 19, 2009 |work=Opinion |publisher=The Salem News |access-date=January 23, 2012}}</ref>

The house where Arnold lived at 62 [[Gloucester Place]] in central London bears a plaque describing him as an "American Patriot",<ref name="PortmanPlaques">[[#PortmanPlaques|Blue and Green Plaques]]</ref> in the sense that he "felt that what he was doing was in the interest of America".<ref>{{cite web |title=Why Benedict Arnold Is an 'American Patriot' ... in London |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/why-benedict-arnold-american-patriot-london-n48691 |website=NBC News |language=en |date=10 March 2014}}</ref> He was buried at [[St Mary's Church, Battersea]], England which has a commemorative stained glass window.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://home.clara.net/pkennington/VirtualTour/windows_modern.htm#Arnold |title=St. Mary's Church Parish website |quote=St Mary's Modern Stained Glass}}</ref> The faculty club at the [[University of New Brunswick]], [[Fredericton, New Brunswick|Fredericton]], has a Benedict Arnold Room in which letters written by Arnold hang on the walls.{{fact|date=June 2023}}
{{clearleft}}

==Marriages and children==
[[File:Peggy Shippen and daughter.jpg|thumb|140px|[[Peggy Shippen|Peggy Shippen Arnold]] and daughter Sophia by [[Daniel Gardner]], {{circa}} 1787]]

Arnold had three sons with Margaret Mansfield:<ref name="R610">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 610</ref><!--cause of death of BA6--><ref name="NEReg196">[[#NEReg|The New England Register 1880]], pp. 196–197</ref>
* Benedict Arnold (1768–1795) (Captain, British Army in Jamaica)
* Richard Arnold (1769–1847) (Lieutenant, [[American Legion (Great Britain)|American Legion]] cavalry)
* Henry Arnold (1772–1826) (Lieutenant, American Legion cavalry)

He had five children with Peggy Shippen:
* Edward Shippen Arnold (1780–1813) (Lieutenant, British Army in India; see [[Bengal Army]])
* James Robertson Arnold (1781–1854) (Lieutenant General, Royal Engineers)
* George Arnold (1787–1828) (Lieutenant Colonel, 2nd (or 7th) Bengal Cavalry)
* Sophia Matilda Arnold (1785–1828)
* William Fitch Arnold (1794–1846) (Captain, [[9th Queen's Royal Lancers]])

Arnold left significant bequests in his will to John Sage (born 1786), who has been identified by some historians as a possible illegitimate son, but may also have been a grandchild.<ref name="R613" />{{efn|name=sage}}

==Published works==
* {{nowrap|''[[To the Inhabitants of America]]'' (1780)}}
* ''A Proclamation to the Officers and Soldiers of the Continental Army'' (1780)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/rbpe.11100200/|title=By Brigadier-General Arnold, A proclamation to the officers and soldiers of the Continental army who have the real interest of their country at heart, and who are determined to be no longer the tools and dupes of Congress, or France ... &#91;Signed&#93;|website=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
* ''Benedict Arnold'', a 1909 short film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and played by Charles Kent.
* ''[[Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor]]'', a 2003 TV film directed by [[Mikael Salomon]], with [[Aidan Quinn]] as Arnold
* ''[[Washington (miniseries)|Washington]]'', 2020 miniseries in which Ciarán Owens portrays Arnold
* Benedict Arnold, played by [[Owain Yeoman]], is a major character in the TV series ''[[Turn: Washington's Spies]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Benedict Arnold |url=https://www.amc.com/shows/turn-2/cast-crew/benedict-arnold |publisher=AMC |access-date=June 4, 2020}}</ref>
* Benedict Arnold, voiced by [[Andy Samberg]], as the primary antagonist and werewolf in the animated action parody ''[[America: The Motion Picture]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Nelson |first=Samantha |date=June 30, 2021 |title=Netflix's America: The Motion Picture fails at just about everything |url=https://www.polygon.com/22557466/america-the-motion-picture-review-netflix |work=Polygon |access-date=July 5, 2021}}<br />{{cite news |last=Thielman |first=Sam |date=June 30, 2021 |title=Netflix's 'America: The Motion Picture' knows who its audience is. It just doesn't respect it. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/netflix-s-america-motion-picture-knows-who-its-audience-it-ncna1272710 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
* The episode ''Benedict Arnold Slipped Here'' from TV series ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Benedict Arnold Slipped Here |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0653464/?ref_=ttep_ep18 |publisher=IMDb}}</ref>
* Benedict Arnold, voiced by [[Dee Bradley Baker]], as the minor antagonist in the episode "Twistory" from the TV series ''[[The Fairly OddParents]]''.
* Benedict Arnold, played by [[Stephen Macht]], is a major character in the 1984 miniseries ''[[George Washington (miniseries)|George Washington]]''.
* Benedict Arnold, played by Curtis Caravaggio, is a one-time character in the episode "The Capture of Benedict Arnold" in the 2016–2018 TV series ''[[Timeless (TV series)|Timeless]]''.
* Benedict Arnold, voiced by [[Dustin Hoffman]], appeared only in 4 episodes from the 2002–2003 TV series ''[[Liberty's Kids]]''.
* Benedict Arnold, voiced by [[Jim Meskimen]], appeared only in 2 episodes from the 2010–2013 TV series ''[[Mad (TV series)|Mad]]''.
* ''Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed'', a 2021 TV documentary film directed by Chris Stearns and played by Peter O'Meara.
* [[List of Drunk History episodes|''Drunk History'']] Season 2 Episode 8 as retold by [[Erin McGathy]] featuring [[Chris Parnell]] as Benedict Arnold, [[Derek Waters]] as John André, and [[Winona Ryder|Wynona Rider]] as Peggy Shippen.
* The final episode of the first season of ''[[The Scooby-Doo Show]]'', "The Spirits of '76," features the ghosts of Arnold, [[Major André]] and ensign William Demont as the villains' disguises.
* In [[Kingsley Amis]]' 1976 alternate history novel, ''[[The Alteration]]'', Arnold is remembered as a hero by the Republic of New England, whose major city is named "Arnoldstown."
* Appears in season 7, episode 7 of the television series ''[[Outlander (TV series)|Outlander]]''.

==See also==
<!-- EDITORS NOTE: This section should primarily contain lists linked to the main article which are directly related to the person. Thank you. -->
{{Portal|American Revolution}}
* [[List of Freemasons (A–D)|List of Freemasons]]
* [[List of people from Connecticut]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web |ref=ArnoldToGW |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mcc:@field(DOCID+@lit(mcc/054)) |title=Letter, Benedict Arnold to George Washington pleading for mercy for his wife |date=September 25, 1780 |access-date=December 14, 2007 |publisher=Library of Congress (George Washington Papers) |first=Benedict |last=Arnold }}
* {{cite book |first=Clare |last=Brandt |title=The Man in the Mirror: A Life of Benedict Arnold |location=New York |publisher=Random House |year=1994 |isbn=0-679-40106-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/maninmirrorlifeo00bran |url-access=registration |ref=Brandt }}
* {{cite book |title="Whom Can We Trust Now?": the Meaning of Treason in the United States, from the Revolution Through the Civil War |first=Brian F |last=Carso |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7391-1256-4 |ref=Carso |oclc=63692586 |location=Lanham, MD}}
* {{cite book |last=Desjardin |first=Thomas A |author-link=Thomas A. Desjardin |title=Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold's March to Quebec, 1775 |location=New York |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=0-312-33904-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ce1w-MZPdHEC&q=promotion |ref=Desjardin }}
* {{cite DCB|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/arnold_benedict_5E.html|title=Arnold, Benedict |volume=5| first=Curtis|last=Fahey|ref=Fahey|access-date=December 9, 2007}}
* {{cite book |title=The Traitor and the Spy: Benedict Arnold and John André |url=https://archive.org/details/traitorspybenedi00flex |url-access=registration |first=James Thomas |last=Flexner |author-link=James Thomas Flexner |publisher=Harcourt Brace |year=1953 |location=New York |oclc=426158 |ref=Flexner }}
* {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/benedictarnoldbi1865hill |page=[https://archive.org/details/benedictarnoldbi1865hill/page/12 12] |quote=Benedict Arnold Hill. |first=George Canning |last=Hill |title=Benedict Arnold |ref=Hill |publisher=J.B. Lippincott |year=1865 |location=Philadelphia |oclc=22419760 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.kellscraft.com/PicturesqueHudson/PicturesqueHudson08.html |title=The Picturesque Hudson |first=Clifton |last=Johnson |ref=Johnson |publisher=MacMillan |year=1915 |access-date=July 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223233434/http://www.kellscraft.com/PicturesqueHudson/PicturesqueHudson08.html |archive-date=December 23, 2008 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/2381381/Colonel-John-Brown-of-Pittsfield-Massachusetts-the-Brave-Accuser-of-Benedict-Arnold-by-Howe-Archibald-Murray-1848 |title=Colonel John Brown, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the Brave Accuser of Benedict Arnold |year=1908 |publisher=W. B. Clarke |location=Boston |first=Archibald |last=Howe |access-date=May 14, 2009 |ref=Howe }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1967/6/1967_6_16.shtml |title=Benedict Arnold: The Aftermath of Treason |first=Milton |last=Lomask |publisher=American Heritage Magazine |date=October 1967 |ref=Lomask |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405211224/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1967/6/1967_6_16.shtml |archive-date=April 5, 2008 }}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZmQsAAAAMAAJ&q=washington+%22whom+can+we+trust+now%22+arnold&pg=RA1-PA160 |title=The Pictorial Field-book of the Revolution |first=Benson John |last=Lossing |ref=Lossing |year=1852 |publisher=Harper & Brothers }}
* {{cite book |last=Martin |first=James Kirby |year=1997 |title=Benedict Arnold: Revolutionary Hero (An American Warrior Reconsidered) |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=0-8147-5560-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ce1w-MZPdHEC |ref=martin }}
* {{cite book |title=Saratoga 1777: Turning Point of a Revolution |first=Brendan |last=Morrissey |ref=Morrissey |location=Oxford |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-85532-862-4}}
* {{cite book |first=Jim |last=Murphy |author-link=Jim Murphy (author) |title=The Real Benedict Arnold |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zKRMKajh1PUC |year=2007 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |location=New York |isbn=978-0-395-77609-4 |oclc=85018164 |ref=Murphy }}
* {{cite book |title=Benedict Arnold's Navy: The Ragtag Fleet that Lost the Battle of Lake Champlain But Won the American Revolution |first=James L. |last=Nelson |author-link=James L. Nelson |ref=Nelson |publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional |location=Camden, Maine |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-07-146806-0}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PKDwX9lpNrUC&q=%22Richard%20Arnold%22%20Margaret%20Canada&pg=PA196 |title=The New England Register 1880 |author=New England Historic Genealogical Society |publisher=Heritage Books |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7884-0431-3 |ref=NEReg |oclc=0788404318 }}
* {{cite book |last=Price |first=Richard |title=John Lothropp: A Puritan Biography And Genealogy |location=Salt Lake City |year=1984 |ref=Price}}
* {{cite book |first=Willard Sterne |last=Randall |author-link=Willard Sterne Randall |year=1990 |title=Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor |publisher=William Morrow and Inc |isbn=1-55710-034-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5SA7BAAAQBAJ&q=governor |ref=Randall }}
* {{cite book |first=Philip A. |last=Roth |title=Masonry in the Formation of Our Government 1761–1799 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eVPqnnOEhp8C&pg=PA75 |access-date=April 1, 2009 |year=1995 |orig-year=1927 |publisher=[[Kessinger Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-56459-527-0 |oclc=48996481 |ref=Roth }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite book |editor-first=Richard |editor-last=Showman |title=The Papers of General Nathanael Greene |location=Chapel Hill |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=1983 |isbn=0-8078-1557-8 |ref=Showman}}
* Shy, John. "Arnold, Benedict," ''[[American National Biography]]'' (1999) [https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0200008 short scholarly biography]
* {{cite book |last=Smith |first=Justin Harvey |author-link=Justin Harvey Smith |title=Arnold's March from Cambridge to Quebec |year=1903 |publisher=G.P. Putnams Sons |location=New York |ref=SmithMarch |url=https://archive.org/details/arnoldsmarchfro02smitgoog |oclc=1013608 }}  This book includes a reprint of Arnold's diary of his march.
* {{cite book |title=Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony: Canada, and the American Revolution, Volume 1 |first=Justin Harvey |last=Smith |author-link=Justin Harvey Smith |ref=Smith14I |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |location=New York |year=1907 |isbn=9780306706332 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ls9BAAAAIAAJ |oclc=259236 }}
* {{cite book |first=Barry K |last=Wilson |year=2001 |title=Benedict Arnold: A Traitor in Our Midst |publisher=McGill Queens Press |isbn=0-7735-2150-X |ref=Wilson}}  This book is about Arnold's time in Canada both before and after his treachery.
* {{cite web |url=http://www.portmanestate.co.uk/heritage/plaques.html |title=Blue and Green Plaques |publisher=The Portman Estate |access-date=May 23, 2009 |ref=PortmanPlaques |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026150157/http://www.portmanestate.co.uk/heritage/plaques.html |archive-date=October 26, 2009 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.archives.upenn.edu/people/1700s/shippen_ed.html |title=Edward Shippen (1729–1806) |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |access-date=July 8, 2009 |ref=UPennEShippen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613155749/http://www.archives.upenn.edu/people/1700s/shippen_ed.html |archive-date=June 13, 2010 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |work=traitor |title=Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition |publisher=Philip Lief Group |year=2008 |access-date=June 4, 2009 |url=http://dictionary.classic.reference.com/browse/traitor |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104142840/http://dictionary.classic.reference.com/browse/traitor |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 4, 2013 |ref=Rogets }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/sara/s-act.htm |title=Saratoga National Historical Park – Activities |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=July 9, 2009 |ref=NHPActivities |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091106151343/http://www.nps.gov/archive/sara/s-act.htm |archive-date=November 6, 2009 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/sara/tour-7.htm |title=Saratoga National Historical Park – Tour Stop 7 |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=June 23, 2009 |ref=NPSBoot }}
* {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/vitalrecordsnor01congoog |title=Vital Records of Norwich, 1659–1848 |year=1913 |page=[https://archive.org/details/vitalrecordsnor01congoog/page/n171 153] |oclc=1850353 |publisher=Hartford: Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut |location=Norwich, CT |access-date=January 25, 2008 |ref=BirthRecord }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Arnold |first=Isaac Newton |title=The life of Benedict Arnold; his patriotism and his treason |author-link=Issac N. Arnold |publisher=Chicago, Jansen, McClurg & Co. |year=1880 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofbenedictar00inarno}}; Very old and outdated
* Burt, Daniel S. ''The Biography Book: A Reader's Guide To Nonfiction, Fictional, and Film Biographies of More Than 500 of the Most Fascinating Individuals of all Time'' (2001) pp.&nbsp;12–13; annotates 26 books and 2 films.
* Case, Stephen and Mark Jacob. ''Treacherous Beauty: Peggy Shippen, The Woman Behind Benedict Arnold's Plot To Betray America'' (2012), popular biography
* Courtwright, Julie. "Whom Can We Trust Now? The Portrayal of Benedict Arnold in American History" ''Fairmont Folio: Journal of History'' (Wichita State University) v. 2 (1998) [http://journals.wichita.edu/index.php/ff/article/viewFile/35/42 online]
* {{cite journal |last=Ducharme |first=Lori J |author2=Fine, Gary Alan |title=The Construction of Nonpersonhood and Demonization: Commemorating the Traitorous Reputation of Benedict Arnold |journal=Social Forces |issue=4 |date=June 1995 |doi=10.2307/2580449 |volume=73 |page=1309 |jstor=2580449}}; studies numerous biographies and textbooks to trace American memory of him over the centuries
* Fine, Gary Alan. ''Difficult reputations: Collective memories of the evil, inept, and controversial'' (University of Chicago Press, 2001) [https://books.google.com/books?id=DPg5_-NgbocC], chapter 1 on "Benedict Arnold and the Commemoration of Treason"
* Merrill, Jane, and John Endicott. ''The Late Years of Benedict Arnold: Fugitive, Smuggler, Mercenary, 1780-1801'' (McFarland, 2022).
* Nicolosi, Annie et al. ''Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor.: The Idea Book for Educators, Spring 2003.'' (A&E Network, 2003) [https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED480410.pdf online] teaching ideas for secondary schools.
* Palmer, Dave Richard. ''George Washington and Benedict Arnold: A Tale of Two Patriots'' (2014); Popular dual biography.
* Philbrick, Nathaniel. ''Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution'' (2016).
* {{cite book |first=Kenneth |last=Roberts |author-link=Kenneth Roberts (author) |title=Arundel |year=1995 |orig-year=1929 |publisher=Down East Enterprise |isbn=978-0-89272-364-5 |location=Camden, ME |oclc=32347225}}, a novel.
* [[Nancy Rubin Stuart|Rubin Stuart, Nancy]]. ''Defiant brides: the untold story of two revolutionary-era women and the radical men they married'', (Boston: Beacon Press, 2013). {{ISBN|978-0807001172}}
* Shalhope, Robert E. "Benedict Arnold as Hero." ''Reviews in American History'' 26.4 (1998): 668-673. [https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/29051/summary excerpt]
* Shy, John. "Arnold, Benedict (1741–1801)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' [https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/675 Arnold, Benedict (1741–1801), army officer | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]
* {{cite book |first=Jared |last=Sparks |author-link=Jared Sparks |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHIFAAAAQAAJ |title=The Life and Treason of Benedict Arnold |year=1835 |publisher=Hilliard, Gray |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-7222-8554-1 |oclc=2294719}}; The first major history, now entirely outdated
* Timmers, Christopher. "Judas of the revolution: America's most infamous traitor." ''TLS. Times Literary Supplement'', no. 6043, 25 Jan. 2019, p. 28. [http://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A631894778/AONE u=anon~cb0f2d40&sid=googleScholar&xid=49a0729d online]

* {{cite book |first=Charles Burr |last=Todd |author-link=Charles Burr Todd |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924088026350 |quote=Benedict Arnold Todd. |title=The Real Benedict Arnold |year=1903 |location=New York |publisher=A.S. Barnes |oclc=1838934}}; Old and outdated
* Trees, Andy. "Benedict Arnold, John André, and His Three Yeoman Captors: A Sentimental Journey or American Virtue Defined." ''Early American Literature'' 35.3 (2000): 246-273. [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/9686/pdf online]
* Van Doren, Carl. ''Secret History of the American Revolution: An Account of the Conspiracies of Benedict Arnold and Numerous Others Drawn from the Secret Service Papers of the British Headquarters in North America now for the first time examined and made public'' (1941) [https://archive.org/details/secrethistoryofa00vand online free]
* Wallace, Willard M. "Benedict Arnold: Traitorous Patriot." in George Athan Billias, ed., ''George Washington's Generals'' (1964): 163–193.
* Wallace, Willard M. ''Traitorous Hero The Life & Fortunes of Benedict Arnold'' (1954).
{{refend}}
===Primary sources===

* [http://clements.umich.edu/exhibits/online/spies/index-people.html "Spy Letters of the American Revolution"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528050846/http://clements.umich.edu/exhibits/online/spies/index-people.html |date=May 28, 2018 }} includes Arnold's 1779–80 letters to Clinton and André, proposing treason; from the Clements Library]
* [https://cnu.libguides.com/pspeopleamericanrevolution/benedictarnold links to primary sources about Benedict Arnold before and after his treason]

==External links==
{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage= | video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?55387-1/man-mirror-benedict-arnold ''Booknotes'' interview with Clare Brandt on ''The Man in the Mirror: Benedict Arnold'', March 20, 1994], [[C-SPAN]]}}
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{{Commonscat}}
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12687608/ Benedict Arnold : Hero Betrayed]
* [http://www.americanrevolution.org/tbios.html#anchor600591 Benedict Arnold] at AmericanRevolution.org
* [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benedict-Arnold Benedict Arnold] at ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''
* {{find a Grave|3595}}
* [https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/george-washington-benedict-arnold/benedict-arnold/ Benedict Arnold] at [[Mount Vernon|George Washington's Mount Vernon]]
* [https://www.varsitytutors.com/earlyamerica/lives-early-america/benedict-arnolds-portraits Benedict Arnold's Portraits] at varsitytutors.com
* {{Internet Archive author|name=Benedict Arnold|birth=1741|death=1801|sopt=t}}
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