Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich, Connecticut, on January 14, 1741. He married Margaret Mansfield, but she died on June 19, 1775. Four years later he married Peggy Shippen.

Arnold opened a druggist shop that also sold books. He also did a lot of traveling for his business. He was in the West Indies when he learned about the Boston Massacre. He reacted by saying, "Are the Americans all asleep and tamely giving up their liberties?" He wrote that the Colonists should take "immediate vengeance!"

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Benedict Arnold was an American general. At the beginning of the Revolution, Benedict Arnold was one of the bravest. Benedict Arnold tricked the British into thinking that thousands and thousands of American forces were heading to Fort Schuyler. There were really less than a thousand were going to the fort. The Americans entered the fort with no enemy, thanks to Benedict Arnold's trick. By 1779, Arnold had been making deals with the British. He did this because he was angry at the American Government for court-marshalling him because they found him guilty of using the army for his own personal reasons. He also went to the British because he wanted more money and he was in debt. The British gave Benedict Arnold a lot of money to become a British spy. They also promised to make him a British officer but they never fully trusted him.

Arnold offered to turn West Point over to the British. West Point was an important American fort, and Arnold was the general there. John André was a major in the British army. John André and Benedict Arnold exchanged letters about the plans for West Point. John André was caught by the Americans, and they found the documents in his sock. The documents showed that Benedict Arnold was a traitor. Benedict Arnold escaped from the Americans, and he was never caught. For the rest of his life, he lived in Canada and England.

He died in London, England, on June 14, 1801.