Takes Command in Philadelphia.--Proposes joining the Navy.--Charges
against him by the Council of Pennsylvania.--His Plan for a
new Settlement in the western Part of New York.--His Trial by a
Court-martial.
Before the end of May, Arnold joined the army at Valley Forge. It was
daily expected, that the enemy would evacuate Philadelphia; and, as
the condition of his wound did not permit him to perform an active part
during the campaign, Washington had determined to appoint him to the
command of that city, as soon as the British troops should leave it.
This event occurred in a few days, and when the main army crossed the
Delaware in pursuit of the retreating enemy, Arnold established his
head-quarters in Philadelphia.
A small regiment only of Continental troops with a few militia was
attached to his command, and although in a military point of view the
post had little responsibility, yet in other respects its duties were
delicate and difficult. The enemy had held possession of the city for
more than eight months, and in that period it had been the resort of
many persons disaffected to the American cause; and indeed not a few
of the most respectable inhabitants were known to be of very doubtful
patriotism, if not wholly inclined to the interests of the King. Again,
there was much merchandise in the city belonging to this description of
persons, or at least possessing an equivocal character as to ownership,
which would naturally open a door to disputes, if not to covert and
fraudulent transactions.
But a still greater source of perplexity, and of ultimate mischief, was
the indefinable nature of the powers, with which the commandant of
the city was invested. How far did the military authority extend?
What objects did it embrace, and in what particulars was it to take
cognizance of the civil rights, condition, and acts of the people? Where
was the line to be drawn between the control of the military commander,
and that of the government of Pennsylvania, whose laws and orders the
citizens were bound to obey? These questions could not be answered by
precedent or rule; and the practical difficulties could be avoided only
by a degree of prudence, which was not to be expected from the habits
and temperament of Arnold.
The instructions to him from the Commander-in-chief were expressed
in general terms, and the mode of discharging the duties of his new
appointment was left mainly to his own discretion. By a resolve of
Congress, the removal, transfer, and sale of all goods in the city were
to be prevented, till a joint committee of that body and of the Council
of Pennsylvania should ascertain whether any of the property belonged
to the King of Great Britain or to his subjects. With the design of
carrying this resolve into effect, Arnold, as soon as he entered the
city, issued a proclamation prohibiting the sale of goods until the
inquiry should be made according to the order of Congress. Although this
measure was advised by the principal persons of the city, and was indeed
necessary for the strict discharge of his duty, yet it appeared so
arbitrary in its principles, and bore upon so large a portion of the
community, that it was unpopular, and brought some degree of odium on
its immediate author. It infused a prejudice and dislike into the minds
of the people, which neither his disposition, the weight of his personal
character, nor his manners, would be likely to remove. It was, to say
the least, an unpropitious beginning of his command, and led the way to
the unfortunate train of events that followed.
Arnold had been a month at Philadelphia, when he conceived the project
of quitting the army, and entering into the naval service.
"My wounds," said he, in writing to General Washington, "are in a fair
way, and less painful than usual, though there is little prospect of
my being able to take the field for a considerable time; which
consideration, together with that of being obliged entirely to neglect
my private affairs since I have been in the service, has induced me to
wish to retire from public business, unless an offer, which my friends
have mentioned, should be made to me of the command of the navy, to
which my being wounded would not be so great an objection as it would
to remaining in the army. I must beg leave to request your sentiments
respecting a command in the navy. I am sensible of my inability, and
of the great hazard and fatigue attending the office, and that I should
enjoy much greater happiness in a retired life; but still my wishes to
serve my country have a greater weight with me, than domestic happiness
or ease."
General Washington's reply was brief and cautious. He declined
expressing an opinion or giving advice, saying that his ignorance of
naval concerns rendered him an incompetent judge.
Whether there was a serious intention in any quarter to appoint Arnold
to the command of the navy, or whether the idea originated with himself,
and he wished to obtain the countenance of Washington in aid of his
object, it would not be easy at this time to ascertain. The above
extract from his own letter is probably the only record relative to
the subject that can be found. His pecuniary embarrassments were now
beginning to press upon him, at the moment when his extravagant habits
of living made new demands, and his fondness for display was pampered
by the adventitious consequence to which he was raised as commandant of
Philadelphia. He soon discovered, that his means bore no proportion to
his wants, and that his situation afforded him no facilities to increase
the former, while it presented many temptations to multiply the latter.
It may be presumed, therefore, that motives of gain, rather than of
patriotism or honorable ambition, induced him to think of deserting the
theatre of action, in which he had acquired so remarkable a celebrity,
and of commencing a new career in another department, where his
experience was limited, and his professional prospects were doubtful. In
the command of the navy his ruling passion would be flattered with the
alluring hope of profitable captures. This conjecture is strengthened by
the fact, that he afterwards formed a resolution to take the command
of a privateer, although he abandoned the scheme before he attempted to
carry it into effect.
Amidst so much that was mercenary, and so many derelictions of principle
and faults of conduct, it is refreshing to discover some alleviating
incidents. The lively interest expressed by Arnold in the orphan
children of the lamented General Warren, who fell at Bunker's Hill, and
the substantial tokens of kindness, which from time to time he rendered
to them, would in any other person be regarded as noble proofs of
disinterested benevolence and goodness of heart. Let them be placed in
the scale, and allowed the weight they deserve. In what relation these
two persons had stood to each other before the war is not known, but it
is evident they were such as to inspire grateful recollections in the
breast of Arnold.
A name, made illustrious by patriotic ardor in the cause of his country
and the sacrifice of his life on the altar of liberty, was the
only inheritance left by Warren to four young children. Through the
instrumentality of Samuel Adams, a resolve of Congress was passed, that
the eldest son should be educated at the expense of the United States.
It was presumed that the State of Massachusetts would provide for the
other children. This latter expectation, however, was disappointed. The
three younger children were put under the charge of Miss Mercy Scollay,
of Boston, to whom Arnold wrote in the following terms, a few days after
he took the command at Philadelphia.
"About three months ago I was informed," said he, "that my late worthy
friend General Warren left his affairs unsettled, and that, after paying
his debts, a very small matter, if any thing, would remain for the
education of his children, who, to my great surprise, I find have been
entirely neglected by the State. Permit me to beg your continuing your
care of the daughter, and that you will at present take charge of the
education of the son. I make no doubt that his relations will consent
that he shall be under your care. My intention is to use my interest
with Congress to provide for the family. If they decline it, I make no
doubt of a handsome collection by private subscription. At all events,
I will provide for them in a manner suitable to their birth, and the
grateful sentiments I shall ever feel for the memory of my friend. I
have sent to you by Mr. Hancock five hundred dollars for the present. I
wish you to have Richard clothed handsomely, and sent to the best school
in Boston. Any expense you are at, please call on me for, and it shall
be paid with thanks."
These generous sentiments were steadily maintained, and occasional
supplies of money were forwarded according to the promise in this
letter. He obtained private subscriptions, but apparently to no great
amount. He made an application to Congress, which was referred to a
committee, who reported, that the three younger children of General
Warren should be maintained at the public expense in a manner suitable
to their rank in life, till they should come of age, and at that time
one thousand pounds should be given to each as a portion. If this report
was ever called up, it did not receive the sanction of Congress. Arnold
persevered, however, in his solicitation, and at last the point was
carried to allow for the support of these children the half-pay of a
major-general from the date of their father's death, till the youngest
should be of age.
General Warren had been dead five years, and the annual amount of
half-pay was somewhat more than thirteen hundred dollars, making the
sum due nearly seven thousand dollars besides the future stipend. In the
congratulatory letter, which Arnold wrote to Miss Scollay on this event,
only six weeks before the consummation of his treachery, he reiterated
his ardent concern for the welfare of the children, but complained that
his application to Congress had been opposed from the beginning by all
the Massachusetts delegates except one. They looked upon the case as
appertaining only to the State of Massachusetts, and as not coming
within the jurisdiction of Congress. Others had the same opinion.
The success of the measure, which every benevolent mind must heartily
approve, may be fairly ascribed to the zeal and perseverance of Arnold.
On various occasions, from the first week of his arrival in
Philadelphia, he had contrived to involve himself in difficulties with
the President and Council of Pennsylvania, which, at the end of seven
months, had become so formidable and aggravated as to draw from that
body a severe public censure upon his conduct. At a meeting of the board
it was unanimously resolved, that the tenor and course of his military
command in the city had been "in many respects oppressive, unworthy of
his rank and station, highly discouraging to those who had manifested an
attachment to the liberties and interests of America, and disrespectful
to the supreme executive authority of the State." At the same time the
attorney-general was authorized to prosecute him for such "illegal and
oppressive acts, as were cognizable in the courts of law." To show the
grounds of these proceedings, and to present the subject in a tangible
form, the Council issued eight articles, or charges, containing an
enumeration of his offensive acts. Some of these were set forth as of a
criminal nature, and they all implied a wilful abuse of power, disregard
of the rights of the people, or an unjustifiable interference with the
government of Pennsylvania.
General Arnold being a United States' officer, it was deemed proper
to make an appeal to Congress; and accordingly a list of the charges,
accompanied by a letter from the President of Pennsylvania and divers
other papers, was laid before that assembly. In the usual course of
business these documents were referred to a committee of inquiry. The
result was a vindication of General Arnold from any criminality in
the matters charged against him. It appeared, however, that a
misunderstanding existed between the committee and the Council, which
prevented the latter from furnishing such testimony as was necessary to
sustain their articles of censure. For this reason, probably, the report
of the committee was not acted upon by Congress; but, in accordance with
an agreement between the parties, the subject was referred anew to
a joint committee of Congress and of the Assembly and Council of
Pennsylvania.
After some progress had been made in the investigation, and the business
was found to be clogged with many embarrassments, it was proposed by
the Council, that the affair should be put into the hands of the
Commander-in-chief, and submitted to a military tribunal. This
arrangement, having been agreed to by the joint committee, was approved
by Congress; but it was decided that four of the charges only were
cognizable by a court-martial. These were transmitted to General
Washington, who ordered a court to be convened, appointed the time of
trial, and gave notice of the same to the respective parties.
With this course Arnold was highly displeased, and he expressed himself
in no measured terms of dissatisfaction, both in his letters to Congress
and to General Washington. He affected to regard this disposition of
the matter as a compromise between Congress and the authorities of
Pennsylvania, and insinuated that he was sacrificed by the former to
prevent a serious breach or collision with the latter. He complained of
the injustice and partiality of Congress, in throwing aside the report
of their own committee, by which he had been fully acquitted, and
listening to the proposals of men, who, he said, were moved by personal
enmity, and had practised unworthy artifices to cause delay. He
acquiesced, however, and desired that the trial might be brought on
as soon as possible, declaring his conviction, that justice would be
rendered to him by a court-martial.
The Council of Pennsylvania were not ready for the trial at the time
first appointed by General Washington, and it was put off at their
request to give them time to collect evidence. Arnold considered this
a subterfuge and an additional grievance. More than three months had
elapsed since the charges were presented to Congress, a space of time
amply sufficient in his opinion for making every necessary preparation.
The demand of a longer period he represented as a pretence to delay the
trial, and to keep him under the odium of a public accusation.
The form of the trial, as notified by the Commander-in-chief, was not
acceptable to the Council. They were called on as the accusing party to
defend their charges before the court-martial.
President Reed wrote a letter to General Washington, in the name of the
Council, expressing surprise that such a turn should be given to
the affair, and that they should be looked upon in the light of the
prosecuting party. He said it had never been their intention to exhibit
charges, but only to convey their sense of the conduct of General
Arnold, and to state their reasons. It was no part of their purpose to
become prosecutors. Duty required them to make known their opinion to
General Arnold's superiors and to the public, but farther than this they
did not consider themselves bound to go. And, indeed, they conceived
it to be inconsistent with the dignity of the executive authority of a
state to appear before a military tribunal and prosecute an individual,
who was amenable to another power for his conduct. They thought it the
business of Congress, or of the Commander-in-chief, to institute a form
of trial, which should put the prosecution upon a different footing.
That the course of justice might not be obstructed, however, by points
of etiquette or punctilious scruples, they professed a willingness
to proceed with the trial, according to the mode appointed by the
Commander-inchief, requesting only such delay as would enable them to
procure the proper testimony.
As soon as the committee of Congress had reported on the charges
submitted by the Council of Pennsylvania, General Arnold resigned his
command in Philadelphia. This occurred on the 18th of March, 1779. He
had obtained permission of the Commander-in-chief to resign in January,
but had deferred it, as he said in his letter to Congress, till the
charges should be examined by that body, lest his enemies should
misrepresent his motives, and ascribe his resignation to the fear of a
disgraceful suspension in consequence of those charges. He was the more
disappointed and vexed, therefore, that Congress, instead of calling up
and sanctioning the report, yielded to the solicitation of his enemies
for a military trial.
The day finally agreed upon for the assembling of the court-martial was
the 1st of June. Head-quarters were then at Middlebrook. Unfortunately
just at that time the enemy in New York gave indications of a sudden
movement, either into New Jersey, or up the North River; and a council
of war decided, that the exigency of the service required every officer
to be at his post, and rendered it necessary to defer the courtmartial,
till, in the judgment of the Commander-in-chief, the state of affairs
would permit the members to be assembled. This renewed disappointment
was severely felt by Arnold, as there was now but a slender hope, that
the trial could take place during the campaign; while he in the mean
time would be destitute of employment, and his character must suffer
from the suspicions excited in the public mind by the charges, which had
been promulgated against him. Patience was his only resource; and, while
practising this virtue so adverse to his habits, he had ample leisure to
brood over his ills, cherish the bitter recollections of the past, and
mature schemes for the future, which opened the way and hurried him
onward to his ruin.
Whether weary of a military life, or impelled by his pecuniary
necessities, or from whatever cause, it appears that Arnold had actually
meditated leaving the army before the difficulties with the Pennsylvania
government had assumed the shape of a public censure upon his character.
He had formed a project of obtaining a grant of land in the western
part of New York, and of establishing a settlement for the officers and
soldiers, who had served under him, and for such other persons as might
choose to unite in the enterprise. The New York delegation in Congress
approved his plan, and wrote a joint letter on the subject to Governor
Clinton, soliciting his aid and counsel to obtain suitable patronage
from the legislature. "To you, Sir," say they in the letter, "or to
our State, General Arnold can require no recommendation; a series of
distinguished services entitle him to respect and favor." They likewise
represented, on general grounds, the policy of strengthening and
guarding the frontier, by such a settlement as was contemplated.
Mr. Jay, then President of Congress, enforced the same application in a
private letter to Governor Clinton, "How far his plan may coincide with
the views of the legislature," he wrote, "I am at a loss to say. I wish,
however, that in treating with him they may recollect the services he
has rendered to his country, and the value of such a citizen to any
state that may gain him. Several other general officers have thoughts of
settling in our state, and the prevailing reason they assign for it
is the preference of our constitution to that of other states. They
consider it as having the principles of stability and vigor, as well
as of liberty; advantages which the loose and less guarded kinds of
government cannot promise. It certainly is our interest to encourage
these predilections, by attention to those who hold them; and I have no
doubt but that generosity to Arnold will be justice to the State." These
testimonies show, that there was a division of opinion in Congress,
and that Arnold numbered among his friends some of the ablest and best
members. The spirit of party never raged with more violence within
the walls of the old Congress, than at this period. Arnold's case was
doubtless made worse, and his feelings irritated, by this circumstance.
He visited General Washington's camp in February, and it is supposed he
extended his journey to the State of New York, and consulted Governor
Clinton; but we hear no more of his project. It was absorbed at the
time in the more engrossing concerns of his trial, and there was no
subsequent opportunity for reviving it.
After resigning his command at Philadelphia, he continued to reside in
that city, holding his commission in the army, but filling no public
office. Either by the unpopularity of his character, or by his
disagreeable manners, he rendered himself odious to the inhabitants,
and one day when abroad he was assaulted by the populace. He immediately
complained to Congress. "A mob of lawless ruffians," said he, "have
attacked me in the street; and they threaten my life, now I am in my
house, for defending myself when attacked. As there is no protection
to be expected from the authority of the State for an honest man, I
am under the necessity of requesting Congress to order me a guard of
Continental troops. This request I presume will not be denied to a man,
who has so often fought and bled in the defence of the liberties of
his country." He asked for a guard of twenty men. Congress declined
interfering, and referred him to the executive authority of
Pennsylvania, not without a hint of displeasure at the insinuation in
his note against the government of that State.
In reply he modified his meaning, and said he did not doubt the
disposition of the executive of Pennsylvania to protect honest citizens,
but he had no confidence in their ability to do it; since
several persons had already been killed and wounded in an affray,
notwithstanding the attempts of the civil authority to quell the
disturbance. He renewed his request for a guard, and declared his
belief, that his life was in danger from a mad, ignorant, and deluded
rabble, whose rage and infatuation would drive them to any extreme of
violence. As usual, he reminded Congress of his rank and services, and
claimed to be protected by the troops, whom it had formerly been his
happiness to command. This second application was unavailing, and he
was left to such protection as he could obtain from the civil power of
Pennsylvania.
The summer and autumn passed away, and his trial was still in suspense.
At length, when the campaign was closed, and the army had retired
into winter-quarters, General Washington gave notice to the parties
concerned, that a court-martial would be assembled on the 20th of
December in the vicinity of Morristown. The trial was commenced at that
place accordingly, and it continued, with some short intermissions, till
the 26th of January, 1780, when the court pronounced their verdict.
Several witnesses and much written testimony were patiently examined.
Considering the grave purport of the charges, it must be allowed that
the proofs, as they appear in the published proceedings, are not so
clear and strong as might have been expected. Arnold's defence was
studied, elaborate, and characteristic. He took up, one by one, the
eight charges of the Council of Pennsylvania, although four of them only
had been referred to the court, and attempted to refute them in detail.
On some points he was successful, but, unfortunately for his cause,
he weakened the force of his arguments and diminished the value of his
facts, by making a parade of his patriotism, services, sacrifices, and
wounds, and by enumerating his wrongs imaginary and real. He introduced
letters from General Washington and resolves of Congress to show, that
his conduct in the war had not only been approved but applauded, and
thus aimed to draw the attention of the court aside from the true merits
of the case by a series of particulars, which had no connexion with it.
"When the present necessary war against Great Britain commenced,"
said he, "I was in easy circumstances, and enjoyed a fair prospect of
improving them. I was happy in domestic connexions, and blessed with a
rising family, who claimed my care and attention. The liberties of
my country were in danger. The voice of my country called on all her
faithful sons to join in her defence. With cheerfulness I obeyed the
call. I sacrificed domestic ease and happiness to the service of my
country, and in her service have I sacrificed a great part of a handsome
fortune. I was one of the first that appeared in the field, and from
that time to the present hour I have not abandoned her service.
"When one is charged with practices, which his soul abhors, and
which conscious innocence tells him he has never committed, an honest
indignation will draw from him expressions in his own favor, which, on
other occasions, might be ascribed to an ostentatious turn of mind. The
part which I have acted in the American cause has been acknowledged by
our friends and by our enemies to have been far from an indifferent one.
My time, my fortune, and my person have been devoted to my country in
this war; and, if the sentiments of those, who are supreme in the United
States in civil and military affairs, are allowed to have any weight, my
time, my fortune, and my person have not been devoted in vain." Again,
in another part of his address to the court, after censuring his
opponents, he added;--"On this occasion I think I may be allowed to say
without vanity, that my conduct from the earliest period of the war to
the present time has been steady and uniform. I have ever obeyed the
calls of my country and stepped forth in her defence in every hour of
danger, when many were deserting her cause, which appeared desperate. I
have often bled in it; the marks that I bear are sufficient evidence of
my conduct. The impartial public will judge of my services, and
whether the returns I have met with are not tinctured with the basest
ingratitude. Conscious of my own innocence, and the unworthy methods
taken to injure me, I can with boldness say to my persecutors in
general, and to the chief of them in particular, that in the hour of
danger, when the affairs of America wore a gloomy aspect, when our
illustrious General was retreating through New Jersey with a handful of
men, I did not propose to my associates basely to quit the General and
sacrifice the cause of my country to my personal safety, by going over
to the enemy and making my peace."
The boastfulness and malignity of these declarations are obvious enough,
but their consummate hypocrisy can be understood only by knowing the
fact, that, at the moment they were uttered, he had been eight months in
secret correspondence with the enemy, and was prepared, if not resolved,
when the first opportunity should offer, to desert and betray his
country. No suspicions of such a purpose being entertained, these
effusions were regarded as the offspring of vanity and the natural
acerbity of his temper. They now afford a remarkable evidence of the
duplicity of his character, and of the art with which he concealed the
blackest schemes of wickedness under the guise of pretended virtue, and
boast of immaculate innocence.
After the trial was finished, the court took due time to consider
the testimony, and decided apparently without passion or bias. Of two
charges he was wholly acquitted. The two others were sustained in part,
but not so far as to imply, in the opinion of the court, a criminal
intention. When Arnold was at Valley Forge, a short time before the
evacuation of Philadelphia, he gave a written protection for a vessel
then at that city to proceed to sea and enter any port within the
United States. The vessel belonged to persons, who had taken the oath of
allegiance to the State of Pennsylvania. Considering the circumstances
of the case, and especially that the vessel was in a port held by the
enemy, and that the protection was granted without the knowledge of
the Commander-in-chief, who was then in camp, the proceeding was deemed
irregular and at variance with one of the articles of war.
Again, while acting in his official station, General Arnold had employed
the public wagons of Pennsylvania for the transportation of private
property from Egg Harbor. This was looked upon as a serious offence by
the Council, and as of a very dangerous tendency, since the demands
for this kind of service in transporting supplies for the army were so
constant and pressing, as to excite a good deal of repugnance to it in
the minds of the people, by whom it must be performed; and, should they
receive the impression that their efforts, ostensibly solicited for
public objects, were secretly diverted to private purposes, it would be
extremely difficult to secure them in times of necessity. On the other
hand it was proved to the court, that, although the wagons had been
employed for transporting private property, they were nevertheless used
at private expense, without any design to defraud the public, or impede
the military service. The court were of the opinion, however, that,
considering the high station in which General Arnold acted at the time,
and the effect of his requests under the circumstances in which he was
placed, the transaction was imprudent and improper.
On these grounds, and with reference to these two charges only, the
Court sentenced him to be reprimanded by the Commander-in-chief.