Benedict Arnold

His first marriage was to Margaret Mansfield, daughter of Samuel Mansfield, the sheriff of New Haven, in 1767. They had three sons. His wife died in 1775.

He married Peggy Shippen, daughter of Judge Edward Shippen, a Loyalist sympathizer, in 1779. This marriage produced seven children, of whom five survived to adulthood.

He suffered from ill health during the later years of his life. He was plagued by gout since 1775 and became ill with dropsy later on. He died on June 14, 1801, at the age of 60.

Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Colony of Connecticut, British America. His father was also called Benedict Arnold and his mother’s name was Hannah Waterman King. He was the second of the couple’s six children.

His father was a successful businessman and young Benedict had a comfortable childhood. Unfortunately several of Benedict’s siblings died young and unable to bear the grief, his father took up drinking and became addicted to alcohol. Eventually his business floundered and the family’s fortunes declined.

Benedict could not afford to go to college and was thus apprenticed at a successful apothecary and general merchandise trade ran by his mother’s relatives. His apprenticeship lasted seven years.

He lost his mother in 1759 following which his father’s alcoholism worsened. Benedict struggled to support his father and a lone surviving sibling. His father too died in 1761.

Benedict Arnold established himself in business as a pharmacist and bookseller in New Haven, Connecticut with the help of relatives. Hard working and intelligent, he soon became a successful merchant. He formed a partnership with Adam Babcock in 1764 and ventured into a business operating ships on the Atlantic Ocean. However, the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act the following year restricted mercantile trade in the colonies

As a result, he joined the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization opposed to implementation of unpopular Parliamentary measures.

In 1775, the American Revolutionary War broke out. It was the armed conflict between Great Britain and 13 of its North American colonies, which had declared themselves the independent United States of America. Arnold volunteered for service with the American Continental Army.

He accompanied Ethan Allen in the successful colonial attack on British-held Fort Ticonderoga, New York. Then he participated in the raid on Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River north of Lake Champlain.

Impressed by his courage, General George Washington appointed him to command an expedition to capture Quebec. He led 700 men through the Maine wilderness and attacked the well-fortified city. The assault however failed and Arnold was severely wounded.

The Boot Monument, an American Revolutionary War memorial located in Saratoga National Historical Park, New York commemorates Major General Benedict Arnold's service at the Battles of Saratoga in the Continental Army.