Calcium metabolism is the movement and regulation of calcium ions (Ca2+) in (via the gut) and out (via the gut and kidneys) of the body, and between body compartments: the blood plasma, the extracellular and intracellular fluids, and bone. Bone acts as a calcium storage center for deposits and withdrawals as needed by the blood via continual bone remodeling.
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body. The average adult body contains in total approximately 1 kg, 99% in the skeleton in the form of calcium phosphate salts. The extracellular fluid (ECF) contains approximately 22 mmol, of which about 9 mmol is in the plasma. Approximately 10 mmol of calcium is exchanged between bone and the ECF over a period of twenty-four hours.
Blood concentration
The concentration of calcium ions inside cells (in the intracellular fluid) is more than 7,000 times lower than in the blood plasma (i.e. at <0.0002 mmol/L, compared with 1.4 mmol/L in the plasma)
Normal plasma levels
The plasma total calcium concentration is in the range of 2.2–2.6 mmol/L (9–10.5 mg/dL), and the normal ionized calcium is 1.3–1.5 mmol/L (4.5–5.6 mg/dL). The amount of total calcium in the blood varies with the level of plasma albumin,
the most abundant protein in plasma, and therefore the main carrier of
protein-bound calcium in the blood. The biologic effect of calcium is,
however, determined by the amount of ionized calcium, rather than the total calcium. It is therefore the plasma ionized calcium level which is tightly regulated to remain within very narrow limits by homeostatic negative feedback systems.
Between 35 and 50% of the calcium in plasma is protein-bound, and
5–10% is in the form of complexes with organic acids and phosphates.
The remainder (50–60%) is ionized. The ionized calcium can be determined
directly by colorimetry, or it can be read off from nomograms, though the usefulness of the latter is limited when the pH and protein content of the plasma deviate widely from the normal.
It
readily binds to proteins, particularly those with amino acids whose
side chains terminate in carboxyl (-COOH) groups (e.g. glutamate
residues). When such binding occurs the electrical charges on the
protein chain change, causing the protein's tertiary structure (i.e.
3-dimensional form) to change. Good examples of this are several of the clotting factors
in the blood plasma, which are functionless in the absence of calcium
ions, but become fully functional on the addition of the correct
concentration of calcium salts.
Voltage gated sodium channels
The voltage gated sodium ion channels in the cell membranes of nerves and muscle are particularly sensitive to the calcium ion concentration in the plasma. Relatively small decreases in the plasma ionized calcium levels (hypocalcemia) cause these channels to leak sodium into the nerve cells or axons, making them hyper-excitable (positive bathmotropic effect), thus causing spontaneous muscle spasms (tetany) and paraesthesia (the sensation of "pins and needles") of the extremities and round the mouth. When the plasma ionized calcium rises above normal (hypercalcemia)
more calcium is bound to these sodium channels having a negative
bathmotropic effect on them, causing lethargy, muscle weakness,
anorexia, constipation and labile emotions.
Intracellular signalling
Because
the intracellular calcium ion concentration is extremely low (see
above) the entry of minute quantities of calcium ions from the
endoplasmic reticulum or from the extracellular fluids, cause rapid,
very marked, and readily reversible changes in the relative
concentration of these ions in the cytosol. This can therefore serve as a very effective intracellular signal (or "second messenger") in a variety of circumstances, including muscle contraction, the release of hormones (e.g. insulin from the beta cells in the pancreatic islets) or neurotransmitters (e.g. acetylcholine from pre-synaptic terminals of nerves) and other functions.
In skeletal and heart muscle, calcium ions, released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (the endoplasmic reticulum of striated muscles), bind to the troponin C protein present on the actin-containing thin filaments of the myofibrils. The troponin's 3D structure changes as a result, causing the tropomyosin to which it is attached to be rolled away from the myosin-binding sites on the actin molecules that form the back-bone of the thin filaments. Myosin
can then bind to the exposed myosin-binding sites on the thin filament,
to undergo a repeating series of conformational changes called the cross-bridge cycle, for which ATP
provides the energy. During the cycle, each myosin protein ‘paddles’
along the thin actin filament, repeatedly binding to myosin-binding
sites along the actin filament, ratcheting and letting go. In effect,
the thick filament moves or slides along the thin filament, resulting in
muscle contraction. This process is known as the sliding filament model of muscle contraction.
Sources
Not all
the calcium in the diet can be readily absorbed from the gut. The
calcium that is most readily absorbed is found in dairy products (72%),
vegetables (7%), grains (5%), legumes (4%), fruit (3%), protein (3%).
The calcium contained in vegetable matter is often complexed with phytates, oxalates, citrate and other organic acids, such as the long-chained fatty acids (e.g. palmitic acid), with which calcium binds to form insoluble calcium soaps.
Bone storage
Calcium flow to and from the bone
may be positive, negative, or neutral. When it is neutral, about
5–10 mmol is turned over a day. Bone serves as an important storage
point for calcium, as it contains 99% of the total body calcium. Calcium
release from bone is regulated by parathyroid hormone in conjunction with calcitriol manufactured in the kidney under the influence of PTH. Calcitonin
(a hormone secreted by the thyroid gland when plasma ionized calcium
levels are high or rising; not to be confused with "calcitriol" which is
manufactured in the kidney) stimulates incorporation of calcium into
bone.
Intestinal absorption
The normal adult diet contains about 25 mmol of calcium per day. Only about 5 mmol of this is absorbed into the body per day (see below).
Calcium is absorbed across the intestinal epithelial cell's brush border membrane. The TRPV6 channel was proposed to be the major player in intestinal Ca2+ uptake. However, Trpv6 KO mice didn't display significant reduction of serum calcium levels and showed only slightly reduced or even unchanged intestinal Ca2+ absorption, indicating that other absorption pathways must exist. Recently, TRPM7 was linked to intestinal calcium uptake. The authors could show that intestinal deletion of TRPM7 results in strongly reduced calcium levels in serum and bones, and intensively increased levels of calcitriol and PTH, indicating that TRPM7 is essential for the intestinal bulk uptake of calcium. After the cellular uptake, calcium is immediately bound to calbindin, a vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein. Calbindin transfers the calcium directly into the epithelial cell's endoplasmic reticulum, through which the calcium is transferred to the basal membrane on the opposite side of the cell, without entering its cytosol or intracellular fluid. From there calcium pumps (PMCA1) actively transport calcium into the body. Active transport of calcium occurs primarily in the duodenum portion of the intestine when calcium intake is low; and through passive paracellular transport in the jejunum and ileum parts when calcium intake is high, independently of Vitamin D level.
The active absorption of calcium from the gut is regulated by the calcitriol (or 1,25 dihydroxycholecalciferol, or 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3)
concentration in the blood. Calcitriol is a cholesterol derivative.
Under the influence of ultraviolet light on the skin, cholesterol is
converted to previtamin D3 which spontaneously isomerizes to vitamin D3 (or cholecalciferol). It is then converted from cholecalciferol to calcifediol in the liver. Under the influence of parathyroid hormone, the kidneys convert calcifediol into the active hormone calcitriol, which acts on the epithelial cells (enterocytes)
lining the small intestine to increase the rate of absorption of
calcium from the intestinal contents. In short the cycle is following:
Low PTH levels in the blood (which occur under physiological
conditions when the plasma ionized calcium levels are high) inhibit the
conversion of cholecalciferol into calcitriol, which in turn inhibits
calcium absorption from the gut. The opposite happens when the plasma
ionized calcium levels are low: parathyroid hormone is secreted into the
blood and the kidneys convert more calcifediol into the active
calcitriol, increasing calcium absorption from the gut.
Since about 15 mmol of calcium is excreted into the intestine via the bile per day,
the total amount of calcium that reaches the duodenum and jejunum each
day is about 40 mmol (25 mmol from the diet plus 15 mmol from the bile),
of which, on average, 20 mmol is absorbed (back) into the blood. The
net result is that about 5 mmol more calcium is absorbed from the gut
than is excreted into it via the bile. If there is no active bone
building (as in childhood), or increased need for calcium during
pregnancy and lactation, the 5 mmol calcium that is absorbed from the
gut makes up for urinary losses that are only partially regulated.
Kidneys
The kidneys filter 250 mmol of calcium ions a day in pro-urine (or glomerular filtrate),
and resorbs 245 mmol, leading to a net average loss in the urine of
about 5 mmol/d. The quantity of calcium ions excreted in the urine per
day is partially under the influence of the plasma parathyroid hormone (PTH) level - high levels of PTH decreasing the rate of calcium ion excretion, and low levels increasing it. However, parathyroid hormone has a greater effect on the quantity of phosphate ions (HPO42−) excreted in the urine. Phosphates form insoluble salts in combination with calcium ions. High concentrations of HPO42−
in the plasma, therefore, lower the ionized calcium level in the
extra-cellular fluids. Thus, the excretion of more phosphate than
calcium ions in the urine raises the plasma ionized calcium level, even
though the total calcium concentration might be lowered.
The kidney influences the plasma ionized calcium concentration in yet another manner. It processes vitamin D3 into calcitriol, the active form that is most effective in promoting the intestinal absorption of calcium. This conversion of vitamin D3 into calcitriol, is also promoted by high plasma parathyroid hormone levels.
Excretion
Intestine
Most
excretion of excess calcium is via the bile and feces, because the
plasma calcitriol levels (which ultimately depend on the plasma calcium
levels) regulate how much of the biliary calcium is reabsorbed from the
intestinal contents.
Kidneys
Urinary
excretion of calcium is normally about 5 mmol (200 mg) /day. This is
less in comparison to what is excreted via the feces (15 mmol/day).
Regulation
The plasma ionized calcium concentration is regulated within narrow limits (1.3–1.5 mmol/L). This is achieved by both the parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland, and the parathyroid glands constantly sensing (i.e. measuring) the concentration of calcium ions in the blood flowing through them.
High plasma level
When the concentration of calcium rises, the parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland increase their secretion of calcitonin,
a polypeptide hormone, into the blood. At the same time, the
parathyroid glands reduce the secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH),
also a polypeptide hormone, into the blood. The resulting high levels of
calcitonin in the blood stimulate osteoblasts in bone to remove calcium from blood plasma and deposit it as bone.
The reduced levels of PTH inhibit removal of calcium from the
skeleton. The low levels of PTH have several other effects: there is
increased loss of calcium in the urine, but more importantly, the loss
of phosphate ions through urine is inhibited. Phosphate ions will
therefore be retained in the plasma where they form insoluble salts with
calcium ions, thereby removing them from the ionized calcium pool in
the blood. The low levels of PTH also inhibit the formation of calcitriol (not to be confused with calcitonin) from cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) by the kidneys.
The reduction in the blood calcitriol concentration acts (comparatively slowly) on the epithelial cells (enterocytes) of the duodenum, inhibiting their ability to absorb calcium from the intestinal contents. The low calcitriol levels also act on bone causing the osteoclasts to release fewer calcium ions into the blood plasma.
Low plasma level
When
the plasma ionized calcium level is low or falls the opposite happens.
Calcitonin secretion is inhibited and PTH secretion is stimulated,
resulting in calcium being removed from bone to rapidly correct the
plasma calcium level. The high plasma PTH levels inhibit calcium loss
via the urine while stimulating the excretion of phosphate ions via that
route. They also stimulate the kidneys to manufacture calcitriol (a
steroid hormone), which enhances the ability of the cells lining the gut
to absorb calcium from the intestinal contents into the blood, by
stimulating the production of calbindin
in these cells. The PTH stimulated production of calcitriol also causes
calcium to be released from bone into the blood, by the release of RANKL (a cytokine, or local hormone) from the osteoblasts which increases the bone resorptive activity by the osteoclasts. These are, however, relatively slow processes
Thus fast short term regulation of the plasma ionized calcium
level primarily involves rapid movements of calcium into or out of the
skeleton. Long term regulation is achieved by regulating the amount of
calcium absorbed from the gut or lost via the feces.
A diet adequately rich in calcium may reduce calcium loss from bone with advancing (post-menopausal) age. A low dietary calcium intake may be a risk factor in the development of osteoporosis in later life; and a diet with sustained adequate amounts of calcium may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
Research
The role
that calcium might have in reducing the rates of colorectal cancer has
been the subject of many studies. However, given its modest efficacy,
there is no current medical recommendation to use calcium for cancer
reduction.
Benedict Arnold (14 January 1741 [O.S. 3 January 1740] – June 14, 1801) was an American-born military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point
in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort to British
forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled
to the British lines. In the later part of the war, Arnold was
commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army and placed in
command of the American Legion.
He led the British army in battle against the soldiers whom he had once
commanded, after which his name became synonymous with treason and
betrayal in the United States.
Arnold was born in Connecticut.
He was a merchant operating ships in the Atlantic when the war began.
He joined the growing American army outside of Boston and distinguished
himself by acts that demonstrated intelligence and bravery: In 1775, he captured Fort Ticonderoga. In 1776, he deployed defensive and delay tactics at the Battle of Valcour Island in Lake Champlain that gave American forces time to prepare New York's defenses. His performance in the Battle of Ridgefield
in Connecticut prompted his promotion to major general. He performed
operations that provided the Americans with relief during the siege of Fort Stanwix, and key actions during the pivotal 1777 Battles of Saratoga in which he sustained leg injuries that put him out of combat for several years.
Arnold repeatedly claimed that he was being passed over for promotion by the Continental Congress, and that other officers were being given credit for some of his accomplishments.
Some in his military and political circles charged him with corruption
and other bad acts. After formal inquiries, he was usually acquitted,
but Congress investigated his finances and determined that he was
indebted to Congress and that he had borrowed money heavily to maintain a
lavish lifestyle.
Arnold mingled with Loyalist sympathizers in Philadelphia and married into the Loyalist family of Peggy Shippen. She was a close friend of British Major John André
and kept in contact with him when he became head of the British
espionage system in New York. Many historians see her as having
facilitated Arnold's plans to switch sides; he opened secret
negotiations with André, and she relayed their messages to each other.
The British promised £20,000
for the capture of West Point, a major American stronghold. Washington
greatly admired Arnold and gave him command of that fort in July 1780.
His scheme was to surrender the fort to the British, but it was exposed
in September 1780 when American militiamen captured André carrying
papers which revealed the plot. Arnold escaped; André was hanged.
Arnold received a commission as a brigadier general in the British Army, an annual pension of £360, and a lump sum of over £6,000.[b][6] He led British forces in the Raid on Richmond and nearby areas, and they burned much of New London, Connecticut to the ground and slaughtered surrendering forces after the Battle of Groton Heights—just
a few miles downriver from the town where he had grown up. In the
winter of 1782, he and Peggy moved to London, England. He was well
received by King George III and the Tories but frowned upon by the Whigs
and most Army officers. In 1787, he moved to Canada to run a merchant
business with his sons Richard and Henry. He was extremely unpopular
there and returned to London permanently in 1791, where he died ten
years later.
Early life
Benedict Arnold was born a British subject, the second of six children of his father Benedict Arnold III (1683–1761) and Hannah Waterman King in Norwich, Connecticut, on January 14, 1741. Arnold was the fourth surviving member of his family named after his great-grandfather Benedict Arnold I, an early governor of the Colony of Rhode Island;
his grandfather (Benedict Arnold II) and father, as well as an older
brother who died in infancy, were also named for the colonial governor. Only he and his sister Hannah survived to adulthood; his other siblings died from yellow fever in childhood.
His siblings were, in order of birth: Benedict (1738–1739), Hannah
(1742–1803), Mary (1745–1753), Absolom (1747–1750), and Elizabeth
(1749–1755). Through his maternal grandmother, Arnold was a descendant
of John Lothropp, an ancestor of six presidents.
Arnold's father was a successful businessman, and the family
moved in the upper levels of Norwich society. He was enrolled in a
private school in nearby Canterbury, Connecticut, when he was 10, with the expectation that he would eventually attend Yale College.
However, the deaths of his siblings two years later may have
contributed to a decline in the family fortunes, since his father took
up drinking. By the time that he was 14, there was no money for private
education. His father's alcoholism and ill health kept him from training
Arnold in the family mercantile business, but his mother's family
connections secured an apprenticeship for him with her cousins Daniel
and Joshua Lathrop, who operated a successful apothecary and general
merchandise trade in Norwich. His apprenticeship with the Lathrops lasted seven years.
Arnold was very close to his mother, who died in 1759. His
father's alcoholism worsened after her death, and the youth took on the
responsibility of supporting his father and younger sister. His father
was arrested on several occasions for public drunkenness, was refused
communion by his church, and died in 1761.
French and Indian War
In 1755, Arnold was attracted by the sound of a drummer and attempted to enlist in the provincial militia for service in the French and Indian War, but his mother refused permission. In 1757 when he was 16, he did enlist in the Connecticut militia, which marched off toward Albany, New York, and Lake George. The French had besieged Fort William Henry
in northeastern New York, and their Indian allies had committed
atrocities after their victory. Word of the siege's disastrous outcome
led the company to turn around, and Arnold served for only 13 days. A commonly accepted story that he deserted from militia service in 1758 is based on uncertain documentary evidence.
Colonial merchant
Arnold established himself in business in 1762 as a pharmacist and bookseller in New Haven, Connecticut, with the help of the Lathrops.
He was hardworking and successful, and was able to rapidly expand his
business. In 1763, he repaid money that he had borrowed from the
Lathrops,
repurchased the family homestead that his father had sold when deeply
in debt, and re-sold it a year later for a substantial profit. In 1764,
he formed a partnership with Adam Babcock, another young New Haven
merchant. They bought three trading ships, using the profits from the
sale of his homestead, and established a lucrative West Indies trade.
During this time, Arnold brought his sister Hannah to New Haven
and established her in his apothecary to manage the business in his
absence. He traveled extensively in the course of his business
throughout New England and from Quebec to the West Indies, often in command of one of his own ships. Some sources recount how, on one of his voyages, he fought a duel in Honduras with a British sea captain who had called him a "damned Yankee, destitute of good manners or those of a gentleman".
The captain was wounded in the first exchange of gunfire, and he
apologized when Arnold threatened to aim to kill on the second. However, it is unknown whether this encounter actually happened or not.
The Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765 severely curtailed mercantile trade in the colonies. The Stamp Act prompted Arnold to join the chorus of voices in opposition, and also led to his joining the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization which advocated resistance to those and other restrictive Parliamentary measures.
Arnold initially took no part in any public demonstrations but, like
many merchants, continued to do business openly in defiance of the
Parliamentary Acts, which legally amounted to smuggling. He also faced
financial ruin, falling £16,000 in debt with creditors spreading rumors of his insolvency, to the point where he took legal action against them.
On the night of January 28, 1767, he and members of his crew roughed up
a man suspected of attempting to inform authorities of Arnold's
smuggling. He was convicted of disorderly conduct and fined the
relatively small amount of 50 shillings; publicity of the case and
widespread sympathy for his views probably contributed to the light
sentence.
On February 22, 1767, Arnold married Margaret Mansfield, daughter
of Samuel Mansfield, the sheriff of New Haven and a fellow member in
the local Masonic Lodge. Their son Benedict was born the following year and was followed by brothers Richard in 1769 and Henry in 1772. Margaret died on June 19, 1775, while Arnold was at Fort Ticonderoga following its capture. She is buried in the crypt of the Center Church on New Haven Green.
The household was dominated by Arnold's sister Hannah, even while
Margaret was alive. Arnold benefited from his relationship with
Mansfield, who became a partner in his business and used his position as
sheriff to shield him from creditors.
Arnold was in the West Indies when the Boston Massacre
took place on March 5, 1770. He wrote that he was "very much shocked"
and wondered "good God, are the Americans all asleep and tamely giving
up their liberties, or are they all turned philosophers, that they don't
take immediate vengeance on such miscreants?"
Arnold began the war as a captain in the Connecticut militia, a
position to which he was elected in March 1775. His company marched
northeast the following month to assist in the siege of Boston that followed the Battles of Lexington and Concord. He proposed an action to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety
to seize Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York, which he knew was poorly
defended. They issued him a colonel's commission on May 3, 1775, and he
immediately rode off to Castleton in the disputed New Hampshire Grants (Vermont) in time to participate with Ethan Allen and his men in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. He followed up that action with a bold raid on Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River north of Lake Champlain.
A Connecticut militia force arrived at Ticonderoga in June; Arnold had a
dispute with its commander over control of the fort, and resigned his
Massachusetts commission. He was on his way home from Ticonderoga when
he learned that his wife had died earlier in June.
Quebec expedition
The Second Continental Congress authorized an invasion of Quebec, in part on the urging of Arnold—but he was passed over for command of the expedition. He then went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and suggested to George Washington a second expedition to attack Quebec City via a wilderness route through Maine. He received a colonel's commission in the Continental Army for this expedition
and left Cambridge in September 1775 with 1,100 men. He arrived before
Quebec City in November, after a difficult passage in which 300 men
turned back and another 200 died en route. He and his men were joined by
Richard Montgomery's small army and participated in the December 31 assault on Quebec City in which Montgomery was killed and Arnold's leg was shattered. His chaplain Rev. Samuel Spring
carried him to the makeshift hospital at the Hôtel Dieu. Arnold was
promoted to brigadier general for his role in reaching Quebec, and he
maintained an ineffectual siege of the city until he was replaced by
Major General David Wooster in April 1776.
Arnold then traveled to Montreal where he served as military
commander of the city until forced to retreat by an advancing British
army that had arrived at Quebec in May. He presided over the rear of the
Continental Army during its retreat from Saint-Jean, where he was
reported by James Wilkinson
to be the last person to leave before the British arrived. He then
directed the construction of a fleet to defend Lake Champlain, which was
overmatched and defeated in the October 1776 Battle of Valcour Island.
However, his actions at Saint-Jean and Valcour Island played a notable
role in delaying the British advance against Ticonderoga until 1777.
During these actions, Arnold made a number of friends and a
larger number of enemies within the army power structure and in
Congress. He had established a decent relationship with George
Washington, as well as Philip Schuyler and Horatio Gates, both of whom had command of the army's Northern Department during 1775 and 1776. However, an acrimonious dispute with Moses Hazen, commander of the 2nd Canadian Regiment,
boiled into Hazen's court martial at Ticonderoga during the summer of
1776. Only action by Arnold's superior at Ticonderoga prevented his own
arrest on countercharges leveled by Hazen. He also had disagreements with John Brown
and James Easton, two lower-level officers with political connections
that resulted in ongoing suggestions of improprieties on his part. Brown
was particularly vicious, publishing a handbill which claimed of
Arnold, "Money is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would
sacrifice his country".
General Washington assigned Arnold to the defense of Rhode Island following the British seizure of Newport in December 1776, where the militia were too poorly equipped to even consider an attack on the British.
He took the opportunity to visit his children while near his home in
New Haven, and he spent much of the winter socializing in Boston, where
he unsuccessfully courted a young belle named Betsy Deblois.
In February 1777, he learned that he had been passed over by Congress
for promotion to major general. Washington refused his offer to resign,
and wrote to members of Congress in an attempt to correct this, noting
that "two or three other very good officers" might be lost if they
persisted in making politically motivated promotions.
Arnold was on his way to Philadelphia to discuss his future when he was alerted that a British force was marching toward a supply depot in Danbury, Connecticut. He organized the militia response, along with David Wooster and Connecticut militia General Gold Selleck Silliman. He led a small contingent of militia attempting to stop or slow the British return to the coast in the Battle of Ridgefield, and was again wounded in his left leg.
He then continued on to Philadelphia, where he met with members
of Congress about his rank. His action at Ridgefield, coupled with the
death of Wooster due to wounds sustained in the action, resulted in his
promotion to major general, although his seniority was not restored over
those who had been promoted before him.
Amid negotiations over that issue, Arnold wrote out a letter of
resignation on July 11, the same day that word arrived in Philadelphia
that Fort Ticonderoga had fallen to the British. Washington refused his resignation and ordered him north to assist with the defense there.
Saratoga campaign
Arnold arrived in Schuyler's camp at Fort Edward, New York, on July 24. On August 13, Schuyler dispatched him with a force of 900 to relieve the siege of Fort Stanwix, where he succeeded in a ruse to lift the siege. He sent an Indian messenger into the camp of British Brigadier General Barry St. Leger
with news that the approaching force was much larger and closer than it
actually was; this convinced St. Leger's Indian allies to abandon him,
forcing him to give up the effort.
Arnold returned to the Hudson where General Gates had taken over
command of the American army, which had retreated to a camp south of Stillwater. He then distinguished himself in both Battles of Saratoga,
even though General Gates removed him from field command after the
first battle, following a series of escalating disagreements and
disputes that culminated in a shouting match.
During the fighting in the second battle, Arnold disobeyed Gates'
orders and took to the battlefield to lead attacks on the British
defenses. He was again severely wounded in the left leg late in the
fighting. Arnold said that it would have been better had it been in the
chest instead of the leg.
Burgoyne surrendered ten days after the second battle on October 17,
1777. Congress restored Arnold's command seniority in response to his
valor at Saratoga.
However, he interpreted the manner in which they did so as an act of
sympathy for his wounds, and not an apology or recognition that they
were righting a wrong.
Arnold spent several months recovering from his injuries. He had his
leg crudely set, rather than allowing it to be amputated, leaving it 2
inches (5 cm) shorter than the right. He returned to the army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in May 1778 to the applause of men who had served under him at Saratoga. There he participated in the first recorded Oath of Allegiance, along with many other soldiers, as a sign of loyalty to the United States.
Residence in Philadelphia
The British withdrew from Philadelphia in June 1778, and Washington appointed Arnold military commander of the city. Historian John Shy states:
Washington then made one of the worst decisions of his career,
appointing Arnold as military governor of the rich, politically divided
city. No one could have been less qualified for the position. Arnold
had amply demonstrated his tendency to become embroiled in disputes, as
well as his lack of political sense. Above all, he needed tact,
patience, and fairness in dealing with a people deeply marked by months
of enemy occupation.
Arnold began planning to capitalize financially on the change in
power in Philadelphia, even before the Americans reoccupied their city.
He engaged in a variety of business deals designed to profit from
war-related supply movements and benefiting from the protection of his
authority.
Such schemes were not uncommon among American officers, but Arnold's
schemes were sometimes frustrated by powerful local politicians such as Joseph Reed,
who eventually amassed enough evidence to publicly air charges against
him. Arnold demanded a court martial to clear the charges, writing to
Washington in May 1779: "Having become a cripple in the service of my
country, I little expected to meet ungrateful returns".
Arnold lived extravagantly in Philadelphia and was a prominent figure on the social scene. During the summer of 1778, he met Peggy Shippen, the 18-year-old daughter of Judge Edward Shippen (III), a Loyalist sympathizer who had done business with the British while they occupied the city; Peggy had been courted by British Major John André during the British occupation of Philadelphia. She married Arnold on April 8, 1779.
Shippen and her circle of friends had found methods of staying in
contact with paramours across the battle lines, despite military bans on
communication with the enemy. Some of this communication was effected through the services of Joseph Stansbury, a Philadelphia merchant.
Plotting to change sides
Historians have identified many possible factors contributing to
Arnold's treason, while some debate their relative importance. According
to W. D. Wetherell, he was:
[A]mong the hardest human beings to
understand in American history. Did he become a traitor because of all
the injustice he suffered, real and imagined, at the hands of the
Continental Congress and his jealous fellow generals? Because of the
constant agony of two battlefield wounds in an already gout-ridden leg?
From psychological wounds received in his Connecticut childhood when his
alcoholic father squandered the family's fortunes? Or was it a kind of
extreme midlife crisis, swerving from radical political beliefs to
reactionary ones, a change accelerated by his marriage to the very
young, very pretty, very Tory Peggy Shippen?
Wetherell says that the shortest explanation for his treason is that he "married the wrong person".
Arnold had been badly wounded twice in battle and had lost his
business in Connecticut, which made him profoundly bitter. He grew
resentful of several rival and younger generals who had been promoted
ahead of him and given honors which he thought he deserved. Especially
galling was a long feud with the civil authorities in Philadelphia which
led to his court-martial. He was also convicted of two minor charges of
using his authority to make a profit. General Washington gave him a
light reprimand, but it merely heightened Arnold's sense of betrayal;
nonetheless, he had already opened negotiations with the British before
his court martial even began. He later said in his own defense that he
was loyal to his true beliefs, yet he lied at the same time by insisting
that Peggy was totally innocent and ignorant of his plans.
Arnold had an extremely ambitious and jealous personality. He
knew that he was distrusted and disliked by senior military officers on
both sides. Washington was one of the few who genuinely liked and
admired him, but Arnold thought that Washington had betrayed him.
As early as 1778, there were signs that Arnold was unhappy with
his situation and pessimistic about the country's future. On November
10, 1778, Major General Nathanael Greene wrote to Brigadier General John Cadwalader, "I am told General Arnold is become very unpopular among you oweing to his associateing too much with the Tories."
A few days later, Arnold wrote to Greene and lamented over the
"deplorable" and "horrid" situation of the country at that particular
moment, citing the depreciating currency, disaffection of the army, and
internal fighting in Congress, while predicting "impending ruin" if
things did not change soon. Biographer Nathaniel Philbrick argues:
Peggy Shippen… did have a
significant role in the plot. She exerted powerful influence on her
husband, who is said to have been his own man but who actually was
swayed by his staff and certainly by his wife. Peggy came from a
loyalist family in Philadelphia; she had many ties to the British. She…
was the conduit for information to the British.
Early in May 1779, Arnold met with Philadelphia merchant Joseph Stansbury who then "went secretly to New York with a tender of [Arnold's] services to Sir Henry Clinton".
Stansbury ignored instructions from Arnold to involve no one else in
the plot, and he crossed the British lines and went to see Jonathan Odell in New York. Odell was a Loyalist working with William Franklin, the last colonial governor of New Jersey and the son of Benjamin Franklin. On May 9, Franklin introduced Stansbury to Major André, who had just been named the British spy chief.
This was the beginning of a secret correspondence between Arnold and
André, sometimes using his wife Peggy as a willing intermediary, which
culminated more than a year later with Arnold's change of sides.
Secret communications
André conferred with Clinton, who gave him broad authority to pursue
Arnold's offer. André then drafted instructions to Stansbury and Arnold.
This initial letter opened a discussion on the types of assistance and
intelligence that Arnold might provide, and included instructions for
how to communicate in the future. Letters were to be passed through the
women's circle that Peggy Arnold was a part of, but only Peggy would be
aware that some letters contained instructions that were to be passed on
to André, written in both codeandinvisible ink, using Stansbury as the courier.
By July 1779, Arnold was providing the British with troop
locations and strengths, as well as the locations of supply depots, all
the while negotiating over compensation. At first, he asked for
indemnification of his losses and £10,000, an amount that the Continental Congress had given Charles Lee for his services in the Continental Army.
Clinton was pursuing a campaign to gain control of the Hudson River
Valley, and was interested in plans and information on the defenses of West Point
and other defenses on the Hudson River. He also began to insist on a
face-to-face meeting, and suggested to Arnold that he pursue another
high-level command. By October 1779, the negotiations had ground to a halt.
Furthermore, revolutionary mobs were scouring Philadelphia for
Loyalists, and Arnold and the Shippen family were being threatened.
Arnold was rebuffed by Congress and by local authorities in requests for
security details for himself and his in-laws.
Court martial
Arnold's court martial on charges of profiteering began meeting on
June 1, 1779, but it was delayed until December 1779 by Clinton's
capture of Stony Point, New York, throwing the army into a flurry of activity to react.
Several members on the panel of judges were ill-disposed toward Arnold
over actions and disputes earlier in the war, yet Arnold was cleared of
all but two minor charges on January 26, 1780.
Arnold worked over the next few months to publicize this fact; however,
Washington published a formal rebuke of his behavior in early April,
just one week after he had congratulated Arnold on the birth of his son
Edward Shippen Arnold on March 19:
The Commander-in-Chief would have
been much happier in an occasion of bestowing commendations on an
officer who had rendered such distinguished services to his country as
Major General Arnold; but in the present case, a sense of duty and a
regard to candor oblige him to declare that he considers his conduct [in
the convicted actions] as imprudent and improper.
Shortly after Washington's rebuke, a Congressional inquiry into
Arnold's expenditures concluded that he had failed to account fully for
his expenditures incurred during the Quebec invasion, and that he owed
the Congress some £1,000, largely because he was unable to document them.
Many of these documents had been lost during the retreat from Quebec.
Angry and frustrated, Arnold resigned his military command of
Philadelphia in late April.
Offer to surrender West Point
Early in April, Philip Schuyler had approached Arnold with the
possibility of giving him the command at West Point. Discussions had not
borne fruit between Schuyler and Washington by early June. Arnold
reopened the secret channels with the British, informing them of
Schuyler's proposals and including Schuyler's assessment of conditions
at West Point. He also provided information on a proposed
French-American invasion of Quebec that was to go up the Connecticut River
(Arnold did not know that this proposed invasion was a ruse intended to
divert British resources). On June 16, Arnold inspected West Point
while on his way home to Connecticut to take care of personal business,
and he sent a highly detailed report through the secret channel.
When he reached Connecticut, Arnold arranged to sell his home there and
began transferring assets to London through intermediaries in New York.
By early July, he was back in Philadelphia, where he wrote another
secret message to Clinton on July 7 which implied that his appointment
to West Point was assured and that he might even provide a "drawing of
the works ... by which you might take [West Point] without loss".
André returned victorious from the siege of Charleston
on June 18, and both he and Clinton were immediately caught up in this
news. Clinton was concerned that Washington's army and the French fleet
would join in Rhode Island, and he again fixed on West Point as a
strategic point to capture. André had spies and informers keeping track
of Arnold to verify his movements. Excited by the prospects, Clinton
informed his superiors of his intelligence coup, but failed to respond
to Arnold's July 7 letter.
Arnold next wrote a series of letters to Clinton, even before he
might have expected a response to the July 7 letter. In a July 11
letter, he complained that the British did not appear to trust him, and
threatened to break off negotiations unless progress was made. On July
12, he wrote again, making explicit the offer to surrender West Point,
although his price rose to £20,000 (in addition to indemnification for his losses), with a £1,000
down payment to be delivered with the response. These letters were
delivered by Samuel Wallis, another Philadelphia businessman who spied
for the British, rather than by Stansbury.
Command at West Point
On August 3, 1780, Arnold obtained command of West Point. On August
15, he received a coded letter from André with Clinton's final offer:
£20,000
and no indemnification for his losses. Neither side knew for some days
that the other was in agreement with that offer, due to difficulties in
getting the messages across the lines. Arnold's letters continued to
detail Washington's troop movements and provide information about French
reinforcements that were being organized. On August 25, Peggy finally
delivered to him Clinton's agreement to the terms.
Arnold's command at West Point also gave him authority over the
entire American-controlled Hudson River, from Albany down to the British
lines outside New York City. While en route to West Point, Arnold
renewed an acquaintance with Joshua Hett Smith, who had spied for both sides and who owned a house near the western bank of the Hudson about 15 miles south of West Point.
Once Arnold established himself at West Point, he began
systematically weakening its defenses and military strength. Needed
repairs of the chain across the Hudson
were never ordered. Troops were liberally distributed within Arnold's
command area (but only minimally at West Point itself) or furnished to
Washington on request. He also peppered Washington with complaints about
the lack of supplies, writing, "Everything is wanting."
At the same time, he tried to drain West Point's supplies so that a
siege would be more likely to succeed. His subordinates, some long-time
associates, grumbled about Arnold's unnecessary distribution of supplies
and eventually concluded that he was selling them on the black market
for personal gain.
On August 30, Arnold sent a letter accepting Clinton's terms and
proposing a meeting to André through yet another intermediary: William
Heron, a member of the Connecticut Assembly whom he thought he could
trust. In an ironic twist, Heron went into New York unaware of the
significance of the letter and offered his own services to the British
as a spy. He then took the letter back to Connecticut, suspicious of
Arnold's actions, where he delivered it to the head of the Connecticut
militia. General Parsons laid it aside, seeing a letter written as a
coded business discussion. Four days later, Arnold sent a ciphered
letter with similar content into New York through the services of the
wife of a prisoner of war.
Eventually, a meeting was set for September 11 near Dobbs Ferry. This
meeting was thwarted when British gunboats in the river fired on his
boat, not being informed of his impending arrival.
Plot exposed
Arnold and André finally met on September 21 at the Joshua Hett Smith House. On the morning of September 22, from their position at Teller's Point, two American rebels (under the command of Colonel James Livingston), John "Jack" Peterson and Moses Sherwood, fired on HMS Vulture, the ship that was intended to carry André back to New York.
This action did little damage besides giving the captain, Andrew
Sutherland, a splinter in his nose—but the splinter prompted the Vulture to retreat,
forcing André to return to New York overland. Arnold wrote out passes
for André so that he would be able to pass through the lines, and he
also gave him plans for West Point.
André was captured near Tarrytown, New York, on Saturday, September 23, by three Westchester militiamen. They found the papers exposing the plot to capture West Point and passed them on to their superiors, but André convinced the unsuspecting Colonel John Jameson, to whom he was delivered, to send him back to Arnold at West Point—but he never reached West Point. Major Benjamin Tallmadge was a member of the Continental Army's Culper Ring, a network of spies established under Washington's orders,
and he insisted that Jameson order the prisoner to be intercepted and
brought back. Jameson reluctantly recalled the lieutenant who had been
delivering André into Arnold's custody, but he then sent the same
lieutenant as a messenger to notify Arnold of André's arrest.
Arnold learned of André's capture the morning of September 24
while waiting for Washington, with whom he was going to have breakfast
at his headquarters in British Colonel Beverley Robinson's former summer house on the east bank of the Hudson.
Upon receiving Jameson's message, however, he learned that Jameson had
sent Washington the papers which André was carrying. Arnold immediately
hastened to the shore and ordered bargemen to row him downriver to where
HMS Vulture was anchored, fleeing on it to New York City. From the ship, he wrote a letter to Washington requesting that Peggy be given safe passage to her family in Philadelphia—which Washington granted.
Washington remained calm when he was presented with evidence of
Arnold's treason. He did, however, investigate its extent, and suggested
that he was willing to exchange André for Arnold during negotiations
with Clinton concerning André's fate. Clinton refused this suggestion;
after a military tribunal, André was hanged at Tappan, New York,
on October 2. Washington also infiltrated men into New York City in an
attempt to capture Arnold. This plan very nearly succeeded, but Arnold
changed living quarters prior to sailing for Virginia in December and
thus avoided capture. He justified his actions in an open letter titled "To the Inhabitants of America", published in newspapers in October 1780.
He also wrote in the letter to Washington requesting safe passage for
Peggy: "Love to my country actuates my present conduct, however it may
appear inconsistent to the world, who very seldom judge right of any
man's actions."
The British gave Arnold a brigadier general's commission with an
annual income of several hundred pounds, but they paid him only £6,315
plus an annual pension of £360 for his defection because his plot had failed. In December 1780, he led a force of 1,600 troops into Virginia under orders from Clinton, where he captured Richmond by surprise and then went on a rampage through Virginia, destroying supply houses, foundries, and mills. This activity brought out Virginia's militia led by Colonel Sampson Mathews, and Arnold eventually retreated to Portsmouth to be reinforced or to evacuate.
The pursuing American army included the Marquis de Lafayette,
who was under orders from Washington to hang Arnold summarily if he was
captured. British reinforcements arrived in late March led by Major
General William Phillips
who served under Lieutenant General John Burgoyne at Saratoga. Phillips
led further raids across Virginia, including a defeat of Baron von Steuben at Petersburg, but he died of fever on May 12, 1781. Arnold commanded the army only until May 20, when Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis
arrived with the southern army and took over. One colonel wrote to
Clinton concerning Arnold: "There are many officers who must wish some
other general in command." Cornwallis ignored Arnold's advice to locate a permanent base away from the coast, advice that might have averted his surrender at Yorktown.
On his return to New York in June, Arnold made a variety of
proposals for attacks on economic targets to force the Americans to end
the war. Clinton was uninterested in most of his aggressive ideas, but
finally authorized him to raid the port of New London, Connecticut.
He led a force of more than 1,700 men which burned most of New London
to the ground on September 4, causing damage estimated at $500,000. They also attacked and captured Fort Griswold across the river in Groton, Connecticut, slaughtering the Americans after they surrendered following the Battle of Groton Heights—and
all these deeds were done just a few miles down the Thames River from
Norwich, where Arnold grew up. However, British casualties were high;
nearly one quarter of the force was killed or wounded, and Clinton
declared that he could ill afford any more such victories.
British surrender and exile in England
Even before Cornwallis's surrender in October, Arnold had requested permission from Clinton to go to England to give Lord George Germain his thoughts on the war in person.
He renewed that request when he learned of the surrender, which Clinton
then granted. On December 8, 1781, Arnold and his family left New York
for England.
In London, Arnold aligned himself with the Tories, advising Germain and King George III to renew the fight against the Americans. In the House of Commons, Edmund Burke
expressed the hope that the government would not put Arnold "at the
head of a part of a British army" lest "the sentiments of true honour,
which every British officer [holds] dearer than life, should be
afflicted". The anti-war Whigs had gained the upper hand in Parliament, and Germain was forced to resign, with the government of Lord North falling not long after.
Arnold then applied to accompany Lieutenant General Guy Carleton, who was going to New York to replace Clinton as commander-in-chief, but the request went nowhere. Other attempts all failed to gain positions within the government or the British East India Company over the next few years, and he was forced to subsist on the reduced pay of non-wartime service.
His reputation also came under criticism in the British press,
especially when compared to Major André who was celebrated for his
patriotism. One critic said that he was a "mean mercenary, who, having
adopted a cause for the sake of plunder, quits it when convicted of that
charge". George Johnstone
turned him down for a position in the East India Company and explained:
"Although I am satisfied with the purity of your conduct, the
generality do not think so. While this is the case, no power in this
country could suddenly place you in the situation you aim at under the
East India Company."
To Canada, then back to England
In 1785, Arnold and his son Richard moved to Saint John, New Brunswick,
where they speculated in land and established a business doing trade
with the West Indies. Arnold purchased large tracts of land in the Maugerville area, and acquired city lots in Saint John and Fredericton. Delivery of his first ship the Lord Sheffield
was accompanied by accusations from the builder that Arnold had cheated
him; Arnold replied that he had merely deducted the contractually
agreed amount when the ship was delivered late.
After her first voyage, Arnold returned to London in 1786 to bring his
family to Saint John. While there, he disentangled himself from a
lawsuit over an unpaid debt that Peggy had been fighting while he was
away, paying £900 to settle a £12,000 loan that he had taken while living in Philadelphia. The family moved to Saint John in 1787, where Arnold created an uproar with a series of bad business deals and petty lawsuits.
The most serious of these was a slander suit which he won against a
former business partner; and following this, townspeople burned him in
effigy in front of his house, as Peggy and the children watched. The family left Saint John to return to London in December 1791.
In July 1792, Arnold fought a bloodless duel with the Earl of Lauderdale after the Earl impugned his honor in the House of Lords. With the outbreak of the French Revolution, Arnold outfitted a privateer,
while continuing to do business in the West Indies, even though the
hostilities increased the risk. He was imprisoned by French authorities
on Guadeloupe amid accusations of spying for the British, and narrowly eluded hanging by escaping to the blockading British fleet
after bribing his guards. He helped organize militia forces on
British-held islands, receiving praise from the landowners for his
efforts on their behalf. He hoped that this work would earn him wider
respect and a new command; instead, it earned him and his sons a
land-grant of 15,000 acres (6,100 ha) in Upper Canada, near present-day Renfrew, Ontario.
Death and funeral
In January 1801, Arnold's health began to decline. He had suffered from gout since 1775,
and the condition attacked his unwounded leg to the point where he was
unable to go to sea. The other leg ached constantly, and he walked only
with a cane. His physicians diagnosed him as having dropsy, and a visit to the countryside only temporarily improved his condition. He died after four days of delirium on June 14, 1801, at the age of 60.
Legend has it that, when he was on his deathbed, he said, "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 story may be apocryphal. Arnold was buried at St. Mary's Church in Battersea, England.
As a result of a clerical error in the parish records, his remains were
removed to an unmarked mass grave during church renovations a century
later. His funeral procession boasted "seven mourning coaches and four state carriages"; the funeral was without military honors.
Arnold left a small estate, reduced in size by his debts, which Peggy undertook to clear. Among his bequests were considerable gifts to one John Sage, perhaps an illegitimate son or grandson.
Legacy
Benedict Arnold became permanently synonymous with "traitor" soon after his betrayal became public.
Biblical themes were often invoked. One 1794 textbook stated that "Satan entered into the heart of Benedict." Benjamin Franklin wrote that "Judas sold only one man, Arnold three millions", and Alexander Scammell described his actions as "black as hell".
In Arnold's home town of Norwich, Connecticut, someone scrawled "the
traitor" next to his record of birth at city hall, and all of his
family's gravestones have been destroyed except his mother's.
Arnold was aware of his reputation in his home country, and French statesman Talleyrand described meeting him in Falmouth, Cornwall in 1794:
The innkeeper at whose place I had
my meals informed me that one of his lodgers was an American general.
Thereupon I expressed the desire of seeing that gentleman, and, shortly
after, I was introduced to him. After the usual exchange of greetings … I
ventured to request from him some letters of introduction to his
friends in America. "No," he replied, and after a few moments of
silence, noticing my surprise, he added, "I am perhaps the only American
who cannot give you letters for his own country … all the relations I
had there are now broken … I must never return to the States." He dared
not tell me his name. It was General Arnold.
Talleyrand continued, "I must confess that I felt much pity for him,
for which political puritans will perhaps blame me, but with which I do
not reproach myself, for I witnessed his agony".
Early biographers attempted to describe Arnold's entire life in terms
of treacherous or morally questionable behavior. The first major
biography of his life was The Life and Treason of Benedict Arnold, published in 1832 by historian Jared Sparks; it was particularly harsh in showing how Arnold's treacherous character was formed out of childhood experiences.
George Canning Hill authored a series of moralistic biographies in the
mid-19th century and began his 1865 biography of Arnold: "Benedict, the
Traitor, was born…".
Social historian Brian Carso notes that, as the 19th century
progressed, the story of Arnold's betrayal was portrayed with
near-mythical proportions as a part of the national history. It was
invoked again as sectional conflicts increased in the years before the American Civil War. Washington Irving used it as part of an argument against dismemberment of the union in his 1857 Life of George Washington,
pointing out that the unity of New England and the southern states
which led to independence was made possible in part by holding West
Point. Jefferson Davis
and other southern secessionist leaders were unfavorably compared to
Arnold, implicitly and explicitly likening the idea of secession to
treason. Harper's Weekly
published an article in 1861 describing Confederate leaders as "a few
men directing this colossal treason, by whose side Benedict Arnold
shines white as a saint".
Fictional invocations of Benedict Arnold's name carry strongly negative overtones.
A moralistic children's tale entitled "The Cruel Boy" was widely
circulated in the 19th century. It described a boy who stole eggs from
birds' nests, pulled wings off insects, and engaged in other sorts of
wanton cruelty, who then grew up to become a traitor to his country.
The boy is not identified until the end of the story, when his place of
birth is given as Norwich, Connecticut, and his name is given as
Benedict Arnold.
However, not all depictions of Arnold were so negative. Some theatrical
treatments of the 19th century explored his duplicity, seeking to
understand rather than demonize it.
Canadian historians have treated Arnold as a relatively minor
figure. His difficult time in New Brunswick led historians to summarize
it as full of "controversy, resentment, and legal entanglements" and to
conclude that he was disliked by both Americans and Loyalists living
there.
Historian Barry Wilson points out that Arnold's descendants established
deep roots in Canada, becoming leading settlers in Upper Canada and Saskatchewan. His descendants are spread across Canada, most of all those of John Sage, who adopted the Arnold surname.
Honors
The Boot Monument at Saratoga National Historical Park pays tribute to Arnold but does not mention his name. It was donated by Civil War General John Watts DePeyster,
and its inscription reads: "In memory of the most brilliant soldier of
the Continental army, who was desperately wounded on this spot, winning
for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution, and
for himself the rank of Major General." The victory monument at Saratoga
has four niches, three of which are occupied by statues of Generals
Gates, Schuyler, and Morgan. The fourth niche is pointedly empty.
There are plaques on the grounds of the United States Military Academy
at West Point, New York, commemorating all of the generals who served
in the Revolution. One plaque bears only a rank and a date but no name:
"major general… born 1740".Historical markers in Danvers, Massachusetts, and Newburyport, MA commemorate Arnold's 1775 expedition to Quebec. There are also historical markers bearing his name at Wyman Lake Rest Area on US-201 north of Moscow, Maine, on the western bank of Lake Champlain, New York, and two in Skowhegan, Maine.
The house where Arnold lived at 62 Gloucester Place in central London bears a plaque describing him as an "American Patriot". He was buried at St Mary's Church, Battersea, England which has a commemorative stained glass window. The faculty club at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, has a Benedict Arnold Room in which letters written by Arnold hang on the walls.
Marriages and children
Arnold had three sons with Margaret Mansfield:
Benedict Arnold (1768–1795) (Captain, British Army in Jamaica)
Richard Arnold (1769–1847) (Lieutenant, American Legion cavalry)
Henry Arnold (1772–1826) (Lieutenant, American Legion cavalry)
He had five children with Peggy Shippen:
Edward Shippen Arnold (1780–1813) (Lieutenant, British Army in India; see Bengal Army)
James Robertson Arnold (1781–1854) (Lieutenant General, Royal Engineers)
George Arnold (1787–1828) (Lieutenant Colonel, 2nd (or 7th) Bengal Cavalry)
Arnold left significant bequests in his will to John Sage (born
1786), who has been identified by some historians as a possible
illegitimate son, but may also have been a grandchild.
Benedict Arnold, played by Curtis Caravaggio, is a one-time
character in the episode "The Capture of Benedict Arnold" in the
2016–2018 TV series Timeless.
Benedict Arnold, voiced by Dustin Hoffman, appeared only in 4 episodes from the 2002–2003 TV series Liberty's Kids.
Benedict Arnold, voiced by Jim Meskimen, appeared only in 2 episodes from the 2010–2013 TV series Mad.
Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed, a 2021 TV documentary film directed by Chris Stearns and played by Peter O'Meara.
The final episode of the first season of The Scooby-Doo Show, "The Spirits of '76," features the ghosts of Arnold, Major André and ensign William Demont as the villains' disguises.
In Kingsley Amis' 1976 alternate history novel, The Alteration, Arnold is remembered as a hero by the Republic of New England, whose major city is named "Arnoldstown."
Appears in Season 7, Episode 7 of the series, Outlander.