ments. Despite this initial failure, Congress
promoted him to brigadier general on January
1776.
Arnold’s position deteriorated rapidly in
the spring when British reinforcements under
Gen. Sir Guy Carletonarrived at Quebec and
slowly pushed the Americans out of Canada.
An assault on Albany, weakly defended,
seemed imminent, but Arnold conducted a
brilliant delaying action by building a fleet of
gunboats on Lake Champlain to contest Car-
leton’s advance. The Americans were de-
feated at Valcour Island on October 11–13,
1776, but Carleton sustained such heavy
losses that his invasion was postponed indefi-
nitely. Once again, Arnold had distinguished
himself in battle, but Congress callously pro-
moted five brigadier generals with less senior-
ity than Arnold for political reasons. Stung by
this lack of recognition, he threatened to re-
sign, but Washington convinced him to perse-
vere. Feeling unappreciated, Arnold returned
to Connecticut, where on April 25, 1777, he re-
pulsed a British attack on Danbury. Congress
finally relented and promoted him to major
general, but without seniority. Arnold again
threatened to leave the army, but Washington
interceded and persuaded him to stay a sec-
ond time.
Arnold sulked inactively until July 1777,
when a British Army under Gen. Sir John
Burgoyne advanced down the Champlain
Valley into New York. Arnold hastily joined
the army of Gen. Philip Schuyler and marched
to the relief of a besieged Fort Stanwix.
Arnold’s approach sent a British and Indian
force under Col. Barry St. Legerin full re-
treat, and he marched back to join the main
army. However, in his absence, the command
of the Northern Department had passed to a
new leader, Gen. Horatio Gates, and the two
men formed an immediate dislike for each
other. Burgoyne, meanwhile, continued ad-
vancing until the Battle of Freeman’s Farm on
September 19, 1777, where Arnold stopped
him cold. However, Arnold was convinced
that reinforcements that could have won the
battle were deliberately withheld by Gates.
Relations between the two leaders plum-
meted until Gates relieved Arnold of his com-
mand. Nevertheless, Arnold remained in
camp until the decisive engagement at Bemis
Heights on October 7. Upon hearing that the
battle was going badly, Arnold left his tent,
rallied the men, and drove the British back to
their camp. He sustained a second serious leg
injury, crippling him for life, but Burgoyne’s
fate was sealed and he surrendered soon
after. Consequently, Congress finally restored
Arnold’s backdated seniority and appointed
the general commander of the Philadelphia
garrison.
Arnold was comfortably situated in
Philadelphia, but—brimming with indignation
over his past treatment—he continued mak-
ing enemies. Allegations of financial impropri-
ety had always dogged him, and in 1779 he
became the object of a congressional investi-
gation. Although eventually cleared of all but
two minor charges, Arnold received a writ-
ten rebuke from his erstwhile benefactor,
George Washington. At this point, he began
weighing his involvement with the Revolu-
tion. Arnold’s behavior seems to have been
fueled by genuine resentment at being unap-
preciated and unrewarded for his sacrifices.
Partly out of financial distress and partly be-
cause of his new wife, Margaret Arnold
(the 18-year-old Margaret “Peggy” Shippen),
the daughter of a well-known Loyalist,
Arnold began secretly corresponding with
British Gen. Sir Henry Clinton in New York.
When the unsuspecting Washington ap-
pointed him commander of the strategic post
of West Point, New York, he offered to betray
it for a 10,000 pounds. The British dis-
patched Maj. John Andreas a spy to con-
clude formal negotiations, but when Andre
was caught and hanged, Arnold fled to the
safety of a British warship. He concluded his
military career as brigadier general in the
Royal Army and conducted successful raids
into Virginia and Connecticut. In 1782,
Arnold was forced to sail to England, where
he met King George III and received a pen-
sion for services to the English Crown.ARNOLD, BENEDICT