Benedict Arnold: A Code of Honor ?

1. Benedict Arnold:A Code of Honor ? Leah Hanna Houston Elementary 2003

2. Benedict Before the War Apprentice to cousin’s apothecary business Married and opened apothecary andbook shop Born in 1741, Norwich, Connecticut Captain in the Governor's Second Company of Guards Began career as an American Patriot in May, 1775

3. Benedict’s Battles • Battle of Fort Ticonderoga • Battle of Quebec • Battle of Valcour Island • Battle of Freeman’s Farm • Battle of Saratoga • West Point, New York • New London, Conn.

4. West Point…The Bargaining Chip In 1780, Arnold asked General Washington for command of the American fortress at West Point, New York, which he was given. Shortly thereafter, on 23 September 1780, Arnold’s attempt to surrender West Point to the British was uncovered with the arrest of Major John Andre’, the British spy with whom he plotted.

5. Act of Treason 1780 • Arnold was in command of West Point and planned to hand over the base to British commander Sir Henry Clinton. • A secret code was sent to commander Sir Henry Clinton delivered by British Major John Andre`. • Andre` was captured, exposing Arnold’s act of treason.

6. Secret Code to Treason • Arnold & Andre` sent their secret messages using a number code to look like a business transaction.

7. Crack the Code • No one wants to be a Benedict Arnold, but try sending a secret message to a friend. • First, write out your message. • Look up the first word of your message in the dictionary. Write down the page number the word appears on. • From the top of the page count down the number of lines until you get to the word. Write this number down. • Dictionaries usually have words listed in columns on each page. Write down the number of the column where the word appears. These three numbers represent the word. • For example, “Beware” might be written as “34.9.3.”) Continue for the rest of your message.

8. Major Andre` was hung as a spy.Benedict Arnold now fought for the British.

9. Arnold as a Redcoat Now, a Brigadier General in the King’s army, Arnold led many raids in Virginia and New York. His successful attacks against the Americans marked him as a traitor forever. After Cornwallis surrendered in Yorktown, Virginia in 1781, Arnold and his family sailed back to England. In Britain he was not trusted and failed as a merchant. He died in London in 1801.

10. Credits: All images are courtesy of the American Memory CollectionLibrary of Congress • Slide # 7 The AmericanRevolution for Kids • Slide #8 Library of Congress