Benedict Arnold in Canada
by Roger Daene
The summer of 1775 began with the Americans laying siege to Boston. The Battle of Bunker Hill was a British victory, but the severe losses prevented them from being able to lift the siege. To the north, in the Hudson River Valley, a combined force under Captain Benedict Arnold and Colonel Ethan Allen of Vermont, had surprised the British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga. Following the capture of Ticonderoga, Arnold led a bold attack on the British fleet on Lake Champlain. He either captured or destroyed all the British ships there. He was soon to prove that these two earlier successes were just portents of future events.
Arnold’s detractors accused him of misuse of the government funds that he had used to pay his troops and build a flotilla of ships. In the midst of these allegations of financial mismanagement, his beloved wife, Margaret, on July 19th died suddenly and without any apparent reason. He was left to raise three young sons. The summer of 1775 ended with personal and professional turmoil for Arnold.
https://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/revolutionarywar/articles/benedictarnoldincanada.aspx
