The Notorious Benedict Arnold

Zakh N. Oleksyuk - Period 5

The Notorious Benedict Arnold

The biography “The Notorious Benedict Arnold”, by Steve Sheinkin, narrates and describes the childhood and adulthood of Benedict Arnold, one of the biggest American heroes as well as villains.

Benedict Arnold was the sixth generation of the Benedict Arnold line. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1741. His father, Captain Arnold, owned a shipping business and the family enjoyed an classy lifestyle. Benedict, however, was an unruly child and difficult to control. He often got into trouble and refused to obey rules. Hoping that he would learn respect and some discipline, his parents sent him away to a boarding school when he was only eleven, but this did little to cure his wild ways.

Economic hardships turned the Arnold’s fortunes to ruin. His father’s shipping business suffered greatly and creditors were demanding their money. Arnold’s father was jailed for not paying his debts and he quickly turned to drinking. No longer able to afford the boarding school, Benedict’s mother had him return. Now a teenager the rebellious boy was humiliated when he had to deal publicly with his drunken father. A grim determination settled over Benedict who vowed to never be poor or suffer humiliation again. He focused his attention on learning business and become a successful tradesman himself. His ambition and reckless drive brought him great success and helped prepare him to become a fearless military man when he threw his support in favor of the American Revolution.

As September, in 1780, approached, Benedict Arnold was a Major General in the Continental Army. He was also commander of West Point, which at this point was a strategically important American fort on the Hudson River. By the end of the same month, he becomes a traitor who tries to perform treason. The price of the bounty on his head becomes twenty