About: Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1781

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The military career of Benedict Arnold in 1781 consisted of service in the British Army. Arnold had changed sides in September 1780, after his plot was exposed to surrender the key Continental Army outpost at West Point. He spent the rest of 1780 recruiting Loyalists for a new regiment called the American Legion. Arnold was then sent to Virginia with 1,600 men in late December by General Sir Henry Clinton, with instructions to raid Richmond and then establish a strong fortification at Portsmouth.

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  • The military career of Benedict Arnold in 1781 consisted of service in the British Army. Arnold had changed sides in September 1780, after his plot was exposed to surrender the key Continental Army outpost at West Point. He spent the rest of 1780 recruiting Loyalists for a new regiment called the American Legion. Arnold was then sent to Virginia with 1,600 men in late December by General Sir Henry Clinton, with instructions to raid Richmond and then establish a strong fortification at Portsmouth. He landed in Virginia on January 4, 1781 and raided Richmond the next day. They raided a few nearby communities, then returned to Portsmouth, where the troops established fortifications. They remained there until late March, when 2,000 reinforcements arrived, led by General William Phillips. Phillips took command of the forces and Arnold served under him, as they resumed raiding operations aimed at potentially establishing a permanent presence at Richmond. They fought off a spirited militia defense in the Battle of Blandford in late April, and the timely arrival of Continental forces under the Marquis de Lafayette prevented the taking of Richmond. Phillips continued to raid, but was ordered to Petersburg to effect a junction with General Charles Cornwallis, who was marching up from North Carolina. Phillips died on May 13 of a fever, and Arnold was briefly in command again until Cornwallis arrived a week later. Arnold returned to New York, suffering from a recurrence of gout. French and American movements to encircle Cornwallis at Yorktown became apparent to General Clinton, so he sent Arnold on a raiding expedition in early September to New London, Connecticut in an attempt to draw American resources away from Virginia. Arnold raided the port, but a detachment of his troops was involved in the bloody Battle of Groton Heights at a fort across the Thames River. The operation was the last command that Arnold held. General Cornwallis had been released on parole after his surrender at Yorktown, and he and Arnold sailed for England in December. During his command of British troops, Arnold did not gain a great deal of respect from other officers. His actions in Virginia and Connecticut were criticized, and allegations circulated in New York that he was primarily interested in money. On his arrival in England, he was also unable to acquire new commands, either in the British Army or with the East India Company. He resumed his business and trade activities, and died in London in 1801. (en)
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dbo:militaryBranch
dbo:militaryCommand
  • American Legion(aLoyalistregiment)
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dbo:serviceEndYear
  • 1757-01-01 (xsd:gYear)
dbo:serviceStartYear
  • 1757-01-01 (xsd:gYear)
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  • 27526505 (xsd:integer)
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  • 29017 (xsd:nonNegativeInteger)
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  • 1124709219 (xsd:integer)
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dbp:battles
  • American Revolutionary War, 1781 *Raid of Richmond *Battle of Blandford *Battle of Groton Heights (en)
dbp:birthDate
  • 1741-01-14 (xsd:date)
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dbp:caption
  • Benedict Arnold (en)
  • Copy of engraving by H.B. Hall after John Trumbull (en)
dbp:commands
  • American Legion (en)
dbp:deathDate
  • 1801-06-14 (xsd:date)
dbp:deathPlace
  • London, England (en)
dbp:name
  • Benedict Arnold V (en)
dbp:placeofburial
  • London (en)
dbp:placeofburialLabel
  • Place of burial (en)
dbp:quote
  • If he really felt in his conscience that he had done wrong in siding against his mother country, he should have sheathed his sword and served no more…. Gladly as I would have paid with my blood and my life for England's success in this war, this man remained so detestable to me that I had to use every effort not to let him perceive, or even feel, the indignation of my soul. (en)
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dbp:serviceyears
  • Continental Army: 1775–1780 (en)
  • British Army: 1780–1781 (en)
  • British colonial militia: 1757, 1775 (en)
dbp:source
  • — Hessian Captain Johann Ewald (en)
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  • 30.0
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  • The military career of Benedict Arnold in 1781 consisted of service in the British Army. Arnold had changed sides in September 1780, after his plot was exposed to surrender the key Continental Army outpost at West Point. He spent the rest of 1780 recruiting Loyalists for a new regiment called the American Legion. Arnold was then sent to Virginia with 1,600 men in late December by General Sir Henry Clinton, with instructions to raid Richmond and then establish a strong fortification at Portsmouth. (en)
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  • Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1781 (en)
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foaf:name
  • Benedict Arnold V (en)
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