Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold began as a successful merchant in New Haven,Connecticut. He served in the Continental Army, working with soldiers such as Ethan Allan to bring about the capitulation of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. The next year, he led one of the two columns invading Quebec. In October of 1776, Brigadier General Arnold stopped Guy Carleton at the Battle of Valcour Island. As a major general, he was an important part of the American victory at Saratoga. After that point, his career began to disintegrate. Arnold's debt grew after his second marriage; He was unfairly criticized by political adversaries, and felt that he was unappreciated by his fellow Americans. Possibly for these reasons, he made a secret deal with Major John André to surrender West Point to the British in exchange for a royal military commission and a large monetary payment. When his plan was discovered by the patriots, he fled to the British and was made a brigadier general of a loyalist legion. After the war, Arnold worked as a merchant shipper in England, where he died.