Benedict Arnold's Army: The 1775 American Invasion of Canada During the Revolutionary War

by Arthur S. Lefkowitz

Overview

A brilliant American combat officer and this country’s most famous traitor, Benedict Arnold is one of the most fascinating and complicated people to emerge from American history. His contemporaries called Arnold “the American Hannibal” after he successfully led more than 1,000 men through the savage Maine wilderness in 1775. The objective of Arnold and his heroic corps was the fortress city of Quebec, the capital of British-held Canada. The epic campaign is the subject of Benedict Arnold’s Army, a fascinating campaign to bring Canada into the war as the 14th colony.

The initiative for the assault came from George Washington who learned that a fast moving detachment could surprise Quebec by following a chain of rivers and lakes through the Maine wilderness. Washington picked Col. Benedict Arnold, an obscure and controversial Connecticut officer, to command the corps who signed up for the secret mission.

Arnold believed that his expedition would reach Quebec City in twenty days. The route turned out to be 270 miles of treacherous rapids, raging waterfalls, and trackless forests that took months to traverse. At times Arnold’s men were up to their waists in freezing water dragging and pushing their clumsy boats through surging rapids and hauling them up and over waterfalls. In one of the greatest exploits in American military history, Arnold led his famished corps through the early winter snow, up and over the Appalachian Mountains, and on to Quebec.

Benedict Arnold’s Army covers a largely unknown but important period of Arnold’s life. Award-winning author Arthur Lefkowitz provides important insights into Arnold’s character during the earliest phase of his military career, showing his aggressive nature, need for recognition, experience as a competitive businessman, and his obsession with honor that started him down the path to treason.

Lefkowitz extensively researched Arnold’s expedition and made numerous trips along the same route that Arnold’s army took. Benedict Arnold’s Army also contains a closing chapter with detailed information and maps for readers who wish to follow the expedition’s route from the coast of Maine to Quebec City.

There is a growing interest in the Founding Fathers and the Revolutionary War as a source of national pride and identity and the Arnold Expedition as told through Benedict Arnold’s Army is one of the greatest adventure stories in American history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611214185
Publisher:	Savas Beatie
Publication date:	01/18/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Arthur S. Lefkowitz is an award-winning writer on the American Revolution. He lives in central New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgement xi

Introduction xv

Chapter 1 Benedict Arnold Was Never a Laggard in the Path of Ambition 1

Chapter 2 The Distance and the Difficulties of the Way Were much Underestimated 21

Chapter 3 King Neptune Raised his Taxes Without the Least Difficulty Where King George Had Failed 55

Chapter 4 All About Them Stood the Forest Primeval, Dark, Silent and Mysterious 89

Chapter 5 The Sky Looked Down Through the Dense Forest… Upon a Broad Arrow Struck Through its Very Heart 115

Chapter 6 A Direful Howling Wilderness Not Describable 131

Chapter 7 All Regard for Order Lost 153

Chapter 8 The Heartrending Entreaties of the Sick and Helpless 173

Chapter 9 Beyond the River the Beautiful City of Quebec, Hemmed in by her Lofty Precipices 217

Chapter 10 The Very Flower of the Colonial Youth 261

Appendix: Following the Trail of The Arnold Expedition 273

Notes 277

Bibliography 354

Index 364

Mustrations

A selection of photos and illustrations have been distributed throughout this book for the convenience of the reader.

Maps

The Arnold Expedition: Fort Western to the Great Carry 99

The Arnold Expedition: The Great Carry to Lake Megantic 116

Editorial Reviews

"…an excellent campaign history that is difficult to put down… a fine narrative that is certain to find a wide audience among scholars of the War of Independence and more popular audiences as well."

On Point: The Journal of Army History

"…highly recommended to American History shelves and anyone who would want to learn more about this enigmatic figure of American History."

Midwest Book Review

"…In short, BENEDICT ARNOLD’S ARMY is brilliant. The prose sparkles, the research shines, and the historical fog enveloping this obscure expedition lifts to reveal the military gamble across a barely-charted wilderness... hard to put down."

Magweb.com

"…an excellent campaign history that is difficult to put down… a fine narrative that is certain to find a wide audience among scholars of the War of Independence and more popular audiences as well."

On Point: The Journal of Army History

"…an excellent campaign history that is difficult to put down… a fine narrative that is certain to find a wide audience among scholars of the War of Independence and more popular audiences as well."

On Point

. . . In short, BENEDICT ARNOLD'S ARMY is brilliant. The prose sparkles, the research shines, and the historical fog enveloping this obscure expedition lifts to reveal the military gamble across a barely-charted wilderness... hard to put down.

John R. Magweb.com