Benedict Arnold: A Fascinating History of An American Revolution Hero

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold had quite the heritage. William Arnold, his great-great-grandfather, had been one of the founders of Rhode Island. His great-grandfather, Benedict Arnold I, was elected to serve as governor of the colony ten times. Benedict Arnold II had squandered the majority of the family's then-vast fortune. Then, his own father, Benedict III, migrated to Connecticut in 1730 as a cooper or barrel maker. There, he married the daughter of one of Norwich's founders and rose through the ranks, becoming a successful sea captain and trader. On the 14th of January 1741, Benedict Arnold IV, the star of our tale, was born. He was his parent's only surviving son. Two of his sisters were lost during his youth. During this time the English were at war with the French, Native Americans and colonists were trapped in a cycle of raids and counter-raids. Additionally, illnesses like yellow fever regularly swept Connecticut. This time of general upheaval-political, religious, and the everyday-was the environment into which he was born.