Hitherto the intimacy and correspondence of Arnold with officers of the British army had been without definite aim, and apparently incidental. His marriage with the daughter of Mr. Shippen (who was afterward chief justice of Pennsylvania) was no doubt a link of the greatest importance in the chain of his treasonable operations. That family was disaffected to the American cause. Shippen's youngest daughter, then eighteen years of age, remarkable, as we have observed, for her beauty, gayety, and general attractions, had been admired and flattered by the British officers, and was a leading personage in the splendid fete called the Mischianza, which was given in honor of Sir William Howe when he was about leaving the army for Europe. She was intimate with Major Andre, and corresponded with him after the British army had retired to New York. This was the girl who, attracted by the station, equipage, and brilliant display of Arnold, gave him her hand; this was the girl he loved so passionately. From that moment he was peculiarly exposed to the influence of the enemies of his country, and they, no doubt, kept alive the feelings of discontent which disturbed him after his first rupture with the authorities of Pennsylvania. His wife may not have been his confidant; but through her intimacy with Major Andre his correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton was effected. Whether she was cognizant of the contents of the letters of her husband is not known; probably she was not.
West Point was an object of covetous desire to Sir Henry Clinton. Arnold knew that almost any amount of money and honors would be given to the man who should be instrumental in placing that post in the hands of the enemy. He resolved, therefore, to make this the subject of barter for British gold. Hitherto he had pleaded the bad state of his wounds in justification of comparative inaction; now they healed rapidly. Though he could not endure the fatigues of active service on horseback, he thought he might fulfill the duties of commander at West Point. Hitherto he was sullen and indifferent; now his patriotism was aroused afresh, and he was eager to rejoin his old companions in arms. He was ready to make the sacrifice of domestic ease for an opportunity to again serve his bleeding country. With language of such import he addressed his friends in Congress, particularly General Schuyler, and others who he knew had influence with Washington. He intimated to Schuyler his partiality for the post at West Point. He also prevailed upon Robert R. Livingston, then a member of Congress from New York, to write to Washington and suggest the expe-
* M. de Marbois, who was the secretary of the French legation, has preserved a vivid picture of this interview in his account of the treason of Arnold, an excellent translation of which may be found in the American Register, 1817. He says Luzerne listened to Arnold's discourse with pain, but he answered with frankness. You desire of me a service," he said, "which it would be easy for me to render, but which would degrade us both. When the envoy of a foreign power gives, or, if you will, lends money, it is ordinarily to corrupt those who receive it, and to make them the creatures of the sovereign whom he serves; or, rather, he corrupts without persuading; he buys and does not secure. But the firm league entered into between the king and the United States is the work of justice and the wisest policy. It has for its basis a reciprocal interest and good will. In the mission with which I am charged, my true glory consists in fulfilling it without intrigue or cabal, without resorting to any secret practices, and by the force alone of the condition of the alliance."
Arnold's Visit to the American Camp.—Washington Deceived by him.—Obtains the Command at West Point.
diency of giving Arnold the command of that station. Livingston cheerfully complied, but his letter had no appearance of being suggested by Arnold himself. Scarcely had Livingston's letter reached the camp, before Arnold appeared there in person. Under pretense of having private business in Connecticut, he passed through the camp, to pay his respects to the commander-in-chief. He made no allusion to his desire for an appointment to the command of West Point, and pursued his journey. On his return, he again called upon Washington at his quarters, and then suggested that, on joining the army, the command of that post would be best suited to his feelings and the state of his health. Washington was a little surprised that the impetuous Arnold should be willing to take command where there was no prospect of active operations. His surprise, however, had no mixture of suspicion Arnold visited and inspected all the fortifications, in company with General Robert Howe and then returned to Philadelphia.
Having resolved to join the army, Arnold applied to Congress for arrearages of pay, to enable him to furnish himself with a horse and equipage. Whether his application was successful no record explains. He reached the camp on the last day of July, while the army was crossing the Hudson from the west side, at King's Ferry (Verplanck's Point).
On the arrival of the French at Newport, Sir Henry Clinton made an effort to attack them before they could land and fortify themselves. The result we have already considered. This movement caused Washington, who was encamped between Haverstraw and Tappan, to cross the river, with the intention of attacking New York in the absence of Clinton. Arnold met Washington on horseback, just as the last division was crossing over, and asked if any place had been assigned to him. The commander-in-chief replied that he was to take command of the left wing, the post of honor. Arnold was disappointed, and perceiving it, Washington promised to meet him at his quarters, and have further conversation on the subject. He found Arnold's heart set upon the command of West Point. He was unable to account for this strange inconsistency with his previous ambition to serve in the most conspicuous place. Still he had no suspicion of wrong, and he complied with Arnold's request. The instructions which gave him command of "that post and its dependencies, in which all are included from Fishkill to King's Ferry," * were dated at Peekskill on the 3d of August, 1780. Arnold repaired immediately to the Highlands, and established his quarters at Colonel Robinson's house. Sir Henry Clinton having abandoned his expedition against the French at'= Newport, the American army retraced its steps, and, crossing the Hudson, marched down to Tappan and encamped, where it remained for several weeks. General Greene commanded the right wing, and Lord Stirling the left; six battalions of light infantry, stationed in advance, were commanded by La Fayette.
Thus far Arnold's plans had worked admirably. He had now been in correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton for eighteen months, ** both parties always writing over fictitious names, and, for a great portion of the time, without a knowledge, on the part of the British commander, of the name and character of the person with whom he was in communication. Arnold corresponded with Clinton through the hands of Major Andre. Writing in a dis-
* Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, viii., 139.
** It is not positively known how early Arnold's correspondence with officers of the British army commenced, or at what precise period he first conceived the idea of betraying his country. The translator of the Marquis de Chastellux's Travels in North America, an English gentleman of distinction, and a resident here during our Revolution, says (i., page 97), "There is every reason to believe that Arnold's treachery took its date from his connection with Lieutenant Hele, killed afterward on board the Formidable, in the West Indies, and who was undoubtedly a very active and industrious spy at Philadelphia in the winter of 1778, whither he was sent for that purpose in a pretended flag of truce, which being wrecked in the Delaware, he was made prisoner by Congress, a subject of much discussion between them and the commander at New York. That the intended plot was known in England, and great hopes built upon it long before it was to take place, is certain. General Mathews and other officers, who returned in the autumn of 1780, being often heard to declare 'that it was all over with the rebels; that they were about to receive an irreparable blow, the news of which would soon arrive, &c., &c.' Their silence, from the moment in which they received an account of the failure of the plot and the discovery of the traitor, evidently pointed out the object of their allusions."