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The military career of Benedict Arnold in 1781 consisted of service in the British Army. Arnold had changed sides in September 1780, after his plot to surrender the key Continental Army outpost at West Point was exposed. After spending the rest of 1780 recruiting Loyalists for a new regiment called the American Legion, Arnold was sent with 1,600 men in late December by General Sir Henry Clinton to Virginia, with instructions to raid Richmond and then establish a strong fortification at Portsmouth. Landing in Virginia on January 4, 1781, he raided Richmond the next day. After raiding a few nearby communities, he returned to Portsmouth, where his troops established fortifications. They remained there until late March, when 2,000 reinforcements led by General William Phillips arrived. Phillips took command of the forces, and Arnold served under him as they resumed raiding operations aimed at potentially establishing a permanent presence at Richmond. Although they fought off a spirited militia defense in the Battle of Blandford in late April, the timely arrival of Continental forces under the Marquis de Lafayette prevented the taking of Richmond. Phillips continued to raid, but was ordered to Petersburg to effect a junction with General Charles Cornwallis, who was marching up from North Carolina. Phillips died on May 13 of a fever, and Arnold was briefly in command again until Cornwallis arrived a week later. Arnold returned to New York, suffering from a recurrence of gout. When French and American movements to encircle Cornwallis at Yorktown became apparent to General Clinton, he sent Arnold on a raiding expedition in early September to New London, Connecticut in an attempt to draw American resources away from Virginia. Arnold raided the port, but a detachment of his troops was involved in the bloody Battle of Groton Heights at a fort across the Thames River. The operation was the last command Arnold held. In December, he and General Cornwallis, who had been released on parole after his surrender at Yorktown, sailed for England. During his command of British troops, Arnold did not command a great deal of respect from other officers. His actions in Virginia and Connecticut were criticized, and allegations that he was primarily interested in money circulated in New York. On his arrival in England he was also unable to acquire new commands either in the army or with the British East India Company. He resumed his business and trade activities, and died in London in 1801. ==Background== Benedict Arnold was born in 1741 into a well-to-do family in the port city of Norwich in the British colony of Connecticut.〔Brandt (1994), p. 4–6〕 He was interested in military affairs from an early age, serving briefly (without seeing action) in the colonial militia during the French and Indian War in 1757.〔Flexner (1953), p. 8〕 He embarked on a career as a businessman, first opening a shop in New Haven, and then engaging in overseas trade. He owned and operated ships, sailing to the West Indies, New France and Europe.〔Flexner (1953), p. 13〕 When the British Parliament began to impose taxes on its colonies, Arnold's businesses began to be affected by them and the resulting, sometimes violent, opposition, which he eventually joined.〔Randall (1990), p. 49–53〕 In 1767 he married a local woman, with whom he had three children, one of whom died in infancy.〔Brandt (1994), p. 14〕〔Randall (1990), p. 62〕 She died in 1775, and Arnold left his children under the care of his sister Hannah at his home in New Haven.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1781」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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