The topic of this week’s The History Twins podcast is Benedict Arnold, the American General who sold the plans for New York’s West Point to the British. In this episode, storytelling duo Carla and Keyes search for possible reasons for his defection during the American Revolutionary War. [Read more…] about Benedict Arnold, American Traitor (Podcast)
Benedict Arnold
Peggy Shippen, Wife of Benedict Arnold (Podcast)
The topic of the latest The History Twins podcast is Peggy Shippen, the wife of American General Benedict Arnold. Storytelling duo Carla and Keyes discuss Shippen’s involvement in the Revolutionary spy plot in which Arnold sold the plans to West Point to British Major John Andre. [Read more…] about Peggy Shippen, Wife of Benedict Arnold (Podcast)
Peggy Shippen, Benedict Arnold’s Wife & Co-Conspirator
In the latest episode of The History Twins podcast, storytelling duo Carla Lynne Hall and Jim Keyes discuss General Benedict Arnold, American Commander of West Point, as well as his wife Peggy Shippen, whose family was loyal to the Crown. Together they conspired with Major Andre to betray the American side during the American Revolutionary War. [Read more…] about Peggy Shippen, Benedict Arnold’s Wife & Co-Conspirator
Revolutionary Albany: The Battles of Saratoga & Loyalist Opposition
In the first days of August, 1777, Albany seemed doomed to be overrun by the British. General John Burgoyne had taken Crown Point, Fort Ticonderoga, Fort George, Fort Anne, Fort Edward and Fort Miller, the last substantial fortified place protecting the city from the north. To the west at Fort Stanwix, a siege was underway requiring many of General Philip Schyuler’s troops being sent to that fort’s defense from their camp on Van Schaick Island, now in the city of Cohoes.
Burgoyne however, had severely stretched his supply line. He was now having problems bringing up food and supplies over primitive roads that had been severely rutted and nearly destroyed by the Revolutionaries. He had to slow down to wait for food and had to keep his supply line protected all the way back to Canada, spreading his troops more thinly. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: The Battles of Saratoga & Loyalist Opposition
Revolutionary Albany: Supplying Ticonderoga, Dealing With Loyalists & Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Relations
In early May, 1775 the Revolutionary War was underway on largely local scale. The attack on the British forces leaving Lexington and Concord had happened less than a month earlier, and 4,500 British troops had landed in Boston.
The lightly defended Fort Ticonderoga was taken on the morning of May 10, 1775, in a surprise attack by the Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, with the help of Benedict Arnold. The fort had been held by the British for 16 years, since it was taken from the French in 1759. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: Supplying Ticonderoga, Dealing With Loyalists & Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Relations
Did the Nation Betray Benedict Arnold?
This week’s guest on The Historians Podcast is James Kirby Martin, executive producer of the documentary Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed.
The film is based on Martin’s 1997 book Benedict Arnold Revolutionary Hero. The documentary, streaming on several TV platforms, is narrated by Martin Sheen and stars Peter O’Meara. Three men from the Mohawk Valley area created the documentary: Niskayuna native Chris Stearns, Saratoga Springs native Tom Mercer and Fort Johnson native Anthony Vertucci. [Read more…] about Did the Nation Betray Benedict Arnold?
New Film Seeks To Rehabilitate Benedict Arnold
Legacy Distribution will debut Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed, a documentary that claims to capture “the brutal hardships of the revolutionary war and the heroic deeds of a man scorned by history.”
The feature-length film challenges the long-standing narrative of Benedict Arnold as a traitor and places him among the names of American war heroes, with its in-depth interviews with historians and re-enactments featuring Peter O’Meara (Knightfall, Band of Brothers) and narrated by Martin Sheen (The West Wing, The Departed). [Read more…] about New Film Seeks To Rehabilitate Benedict Arnold
Andre-Arnold Project Highlighting Westchester Co Treason Sites
From Philadelphia, on July 3rd, 1776, John Adams mailed a letter to his wife, Abigail, in Boston. The letter explained the historic decisions agreed upon by the Continental Congress and the plans for celebration.
“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” ~ John Adams
[Read more…] about Andre-Arnold Project Highlighting Westchester Co Treason Sites
Jack Kelly Talks About His New Book On Battle of Valcour Island
This week on The Historians Podcast, Jack Kelly discusses his new book Valcour: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty (St. Martins Press, 2021). Rebel forces were led by Benedict Arnold in this key naval battle with Great Britain around Valcour Island on Lake Champlain in Northern New York. [Read more…] about Jack Kelly Talks About His New Book On Battle of Valcour Island
A Benedict Arnold Letter That Changed History
On October 9th, 1777, Nathaniel Bacheller, a militia adjutant from New Hampshire, wrote a letter to his wife, Suzanna. It was discovered by historians when it appeared on the auction site eBay this past winter and was sold to an unknown buyer for $2,925. A digital copy was downloaded and a transcript of the letter was made before it went to join the buyer’s private collection.
What the letter holds is a first-hand, historically unbiased account of the conversations, command decisions and field actions of General Horatio Gates and General Benedict Arnold during the ongoing 1777 Battle of Saratoga. [Read more…] about A Benedict Arnold Letter That Changed History