1741 – 1801Benedict Arnold died June 14, 1801 he was 62 years old. He was born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich, Connecticut. Benedict was raised by his father Benedict Arnold and mother Hannah Waterman King, a wealthy widow, before her marriage to Benedict’s father. Arnold attended school at Canterbury. While there, some of his siblings died from the Yellow Fever. Without money, Benedict Arnold was taken out of school.
Being out of school, he would get in trouble. So his mother sent him to be an apprentice for his cousins. He left his apprenticeship a couple of times to join the army for periods of time during the French and Indian War, but remained in the employ of his cousins for years. Arnold’s mother died in 1759, and his father followed his wife in death two years later. After leaving the apprenticeship, Arnold traveled to Europe, buying supplies for his own pharmacy which he established in New Haven. The only surviving member of his immediate family was Hannah, his sister, and she became his assistant.
His business dealings drifted into smuggling. . . in contempt of the customs laws of the Crown.
Margaret Mansfield became the bride of Benedict Arnold in 1767. They had three sons. Prior to the official outbreak of war, Arnold became a Captain in the Governor’s Second Company of Guards. When the word spread of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Arnold marched off to the action with his troop. He was eager for action and at Cambridge he requested permission of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety to capture Ft.
Ticonderoga. Later in his life, he was commissioned by the Continental Congress to be a colonel then later appointed major general. Ethan Allen and Benedict tried to capture Quebec also. They didn’t capture it but, Benedict still led many more attacks.
Benedict damaged his leg twice badly. Ever since that occurred, Benedict made many changes. He married his second wife Peggy Shippen. He also started selling secrets to the British, he probably felt unappreciated by his country and those he fought with, even sacrificing his own leg for the cause. In his later years he moved his family back and forth from England and Canada.
He survived by his 8 children (3 from Margaret and 5 from Peggy) and his first and second wife.
