Arnold, Benedict, Continental General and Traitor

Autograph letter signed ("B Arnold" and "B A"), 3 pages, (13 x 8 1/4 in.; 330 x 210 mm), Crown Point, New York, 19 May 1775, to the Albany Committee of Safety, reporting on the seizure or destruction of British boats, artillery, and ordnance at St. John's on Lake Champlain; washed and pressed, numerous paper and cloth tape repairs to fold separations and tears, some obscuring the text.

"[W]ith 50 Men Inlisted on the Road, they having taken Possession of a Small Schooner at Skenesborough, we imidiately proceeded ... for St. Johns ..."  After seizing Ticonderoga 10 May 1775, a small detachment captured the nearby Fort Crown Point on 11 May.  Seven days later, Arnold and 35 men boldly raided Fort Saint John on the Richelieu River in southern Quebec, seizing military supplies, cannons, and the largest military vessel on Lake Champlain. He describes his exploits at St. John to the Albany Committee of Safety: "[A]t 6 Clock arrived at St. Johns & Surprised and took a Majr & his party of 12 Men, the Kings Sloop of Abt. 70 tons with 2 Brass 6 Pounders & & 7 Men without any loss on either side." 

The fort was situated on the shores of Lake Champlain, a strategically important route between the thirteen colonies and the British-controlled northern provinces. Gage, writing from Boston after the Battles of  Lexington and Concord, instructed Quebec's governor, General Guy Carleton, to rehabilitate the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point but Carleton did not receive this letter until 19 May, well after the forts had fallen to the Americans. Arnold too realized the importance of fortifying Ticonderoga but admits inadequate qualifications to manage the task. Instead, he reported favorably on Bernard Romans as an engineer in this service. He also mentions his plans to carry the cannon to Albany as well as Cambridge. This in fact was carried out by Henry Knox.