Benedict Arnold, Fighting for the English in the Napoleonic Wars, Writes Prime Minister William Pitt Seeking Compensation for His Military Services in the Caribbean
The swan song of America's traitor, whose thirst for fame and profit would remain with him to the end
After the British withdrew from Philadelphia in June 1778, Washington appointed Benedict Arnold military commander of the city. He arrived on June 19, 1778. Arnold lived extravagantly in Philadelphia, and was a prominent figure on the social scene. He married the daughter of a noted loyalist. Arnold was also trying to capitalize...
After the British withdrew from Philadelphia in June 1778, Washington appointed Benedict Arnold military commander of the city. He arrived on June 19, 1778. Arnold lived extravagantly in Philadelphia, and was a prominent figure on the social scene. He married the daughter of a noted loyalist. Arnold was also trying to capitalize financially on the war and was engaging in a variety of business deals designed to profit from war-related supply movements and benefiting from the protection of his authority. These schemes were sometimes frustrated by powerful local politicians, 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 [such] ungrateful returns”.
In 1779 Arnold was court martialed, and charged with 13 counts of misbehavior, including misusing government wagons and illegally buying and selling goods. Although Arnold was cleared of most charges, Washington issued a reprimand against him, which made Arnold increasingly angered.
In May 1779 Arnold opened channels to the British, and by July was providing the British with troop locations and strengths, as well as the locations of supply depots, all the while negotiating with them over his compensation. By October 1779, the negotiations had ground to a halt.
Arnold resigned his post in Philadelphia in April 1780. In August he gained command at West Point, where he entered into negotiations with the British to surrender that place. He transferred money to British forces and passed on information that would aid the British in capturing West Point, while weakening the fort’s defenses and thinning out its supplies. John Andre, Arnold’s British contact, was captured and the plot was discovered. Andre was ultimately executed for his role in the plot. Arnold narrowly avoided capture by the Americans and eventually fled to England.
Arnold longed for new command, recognition and wealth in England. When the Reign of Terror gripped France, he agitated for a command in the approaching war. None forthcoming, he equipped and armed his own ship and went privateering in the West Indies. Again, he profited from war.
The French West Indian colonies during the Napoleonic Wars were almost completely cut off from France due to the British naval strategy of close blockade: squadrons of British Royal Navy warships patrolled the coasts of both France itself and the West Indian islands under French control. France was on the defensive, fending off attacks against Guadeloupe.
George Rose mentioned in the letter was Chancellor of the Exchequer and Clerk of Parliament. William Pitt was the Prime Minister.
Autograph letter signed, March 17, 1800, Prime Minister William Pitt, seeking to get the British government to pay his invoices. “I am informed by Mr. Rose that my Memorial to the Lords of His Majesty’s treasury dated the 22nd of May last praying to be paid for salt provisions and flour supplied the army in Guadeloupe, with the vouchers and sundry other papers, which Mr. Rose gave to you last fall, have been lost or mislaid. I have therefore by his desire given him a list of the same and duplicates of some few papers that I was possessed of, which Mr. Rose has not to lay before you sir, for your consideration and determination. The principal original papers being mislaid, I have taken the liberty to inclose copies of my letters to Mr. Rose dated 1st July 1799 and 10th of February last, which with Sir Charles Grey’s letter to him dated the 23rd June last, and such papers as I have now transmitted to him, will state this matter in a clear point of view, and I have no doubt will induce you Sir to order the payment of my claim.”
This is the first ALS of Arnold we have ever carried, and that it is to the Prime Minister, and on the subject dearest to Arnold – money -, makes it all the more interesting. This letter has been professionally conserved.
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