14 January: Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold was born on this date in 1741. His name has become synonymous with “traitor”, as he’s famous for switching sides during the American war of Independence. 10 facts about him:

1. He was a British subject by birth. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut, and was the fifth in his family to be given the name of Benedict Arnold. His father was Benedict Arnold III. His great-grandfather, Benedict Arnold, was once governor of the colony of Connecticut. Rhode Island's first colonial governor was also one of his ancestors.

2. He had to drop out of school at the age of 14 as his father fell on hard times and became an alcoholic. Young Benedict took a job as an apprentice to an apothecary and after eight years opened his own general store.

3. He also got into trading in Canada and the Caribbean, owning three ships by his mid 20s. When the Sugar and Stamp Acts started eating at his profits, he avoided taxation by smuggling untaxed Rum and molasses, as many businessmen of the time did. When someone tried to report him he had the man publicly whipped.

4. He had a bad temper and was known to challenge people who slighted or disrespected him to a duel. An example took place in Honduras. Arnold forgot to respond to an invitation to a gathering hosted by a British sea captain named Croskie. Fair play to Arnold, when he realised this he went to Croskie’s ship to apologise, only for Croskie to remark, “a damned Yankee, destitute of good manners.” To which Arnold responded by challenging him to a duel. After being hit in the arm and missing his first shot, Croskie apologised for the insult.

5. Before his defection to the British, Arnold was one of the Continental Army’s greatest fighting generals. He led the militia to Boston after the Battles of Lexington and Concord to help with the siege there. He received a commission to attack Fort Ticonderoga and took it in one of the first major victories for the colonies. As a colonel he led an attack on Quebec City. In fact, George Washington valued him so much as a general that when Arnold tried to resign from the army, Washington wouldn’t let him.

6. He was wounded in the leg twice, once in Canada and again at the Battle of Saratoga when he was shot in the thigh. The injuries left him with a permanent limp and one leg that was two inches shorter than the other. There is a monument at Saratoga which commemorates his leg, in the shape of a boot. The marker includes a dedication to the “brilliant soldier” who was “desperately wounded” during the Battle of Saratoga, but doesn’t mention him by name.

7. In May 1779, Arnold secretly contacted British General Henry Clinton to discuss the possibility of switching his allegiance back to the Crown. He demanded £20,000 for doing so, but greed and financial gain were possibly not the only reason he turned traitor. He was offended because five junior officers had been promoted over him and thought some of his colleagues were trying to damage his reputation. In 1780, Arnold became the commander of the fort at West Point. Arnold agreed to surrender the fort to the British for a £20,000 fee. He passed information to the British about the fort, such as troop movements and the locations of supply depots.

8. It’s possible there was a woman involved in all of this, too. Arnold’s first wife, Margaret Mansfield, had died in 1775. In 1779, while living in Philadelphia and being a prominent member of the social scene there, an 18 year old girl with the reputation of being the most beautiful woman in town caught his eye. Her name was Peggy Shippen, the 18-year-old daughter of Judge Edward Shippen, who’d done business with the British while they occupied the city. It’s thought that the methods used by Peggy and her friends to keep in touch with their boyfriends in the army, in spite of communication bans, including codes and invisible ink, were now used by Arnold and his contacts.

9. Arnold led several successful campaigns on the British side before settling in London after the war. However, he wasn’t much more popular in Britain than he was in America. He was regarded as an unprincipled mercenary who’d been directly responsible for the death of his associate Major Andre. Arnold and Peggy were hissed at in public; the press lambasted him and the British army and East India Company refused to employ him. To cap it all, he only got £6,000 for his trouble, not the £20,000 he’d been promised. Arnold eventually resumed his old career as a merchant ship-owner in Canada and the Caribbean.

10. He died on June 14, 1801, at the age of 60. Legend has it that, his last words were: "Let me die in this old uniform in which I fought my battles. May God forgive me for ever having put on another," but this might not be true. He was buried at St Mary's Church, Battersea. Arnold’s tomb is embedded in the wall of a Sunday School classroom, right next to a fish tank. The inscription reads: reads: “The Two Nations Whom he Served In Turn in the Years of their Enmity Have United in Enduring Friendship.”