"The intelligence transmitted in both of your letters shows the resources of Congress to be nearly exhausted, and their cause universally sinking, notwithstanding the boasted succors of their ally; and I am fully persuaded, that, were any disgrace at this time to happen to Mr. Washington's army, the inhabitants of many of the provinces would declare their wishes for peace with Great Britain, by returning to their allegiance; and it is the most distant from the intention of the King and of Parliament to abridge those liberties essential to their interests and happiness."
The nature of the intelligence, which afforded so much encouragement to the minister, is no further indicated. It is enough to know, however, that it was false and deceptive, and produced a mischievous influence. Misled by an erroneous impression, thus communicated, of the strength of the American army, and the condition and temper of the people, and willing to foster the smallest germ of hope, the ministry relaxed from exertion, at a moment when the full exercise of all their energies was most necessary. The man, now their friend and a faithful subject of the King, but who had been in a high station with the enemy from the beginning of the war, and a principal actor, they took it for granted must be well informed; and, strange to tell, they relied on his veracity. The consequences were severely felt by the British commander, who, in the bitterness of his disappointment, afterwards complained of this facility of faith and easy confidence on the part of his superiors.
Arnold made such slow progress in recruiting his regiment, that he was impatient for more active service. Two months after he joined the British, he was appointed to the command of an expedition against Virginia, consisting of sixteen hundred effective troops. General Leslie had recently sailed from the Chesapeake, with the detachment under his command, to unite with Lord Cornwallis in the Carolinas. It was thought important to send another detachment to take his place in the waters of Virginia, and thus create a diversion in that quarter in, favor of Cornwallis, and prevent the Virginia troops from marching to the aid of General Greene.
At the head of this division Arnold sailed from New York about the middle of December. In addition to his general directions to invade the country wherever an opportunity presented itself, he was particularly instructed to establish a post at Portsmouth on Elizabeth River, and to prepare materials for constructing a number of boats to be used in Albemarle Sound, and afterwards in the waters of the Chesapeake, when the season should be too far advanced for acting farther southward. He was also directed to assemble and arm the loyalists, but not to encourage any to join him, till there should be the fairest prospect of protecting them.
Sir Henry Clinton proceeded with more caution than the ministry. He was not prepared to put implicit trust in a man, who had shown himself such an adept in the arts of dissimulation, so destitute of principle, and so regardless of honor. Colonel Dundas and Colonel Simcoe, two officers of tried ability and experience, and possessing the entire confidence of their commander, were sent in the expedition; and Arnold was expressly ordered not to adopt any measure, nor to undertake any important operation, without first consulting them and obtaining their approbation.
A violent gale separated the fleet in which the detachment was embarked, but the scattered vessels united at the capes of the Chesapeake and entered Hampton Road on the 30th of December; except one armed ship and three transports, with upwards of four hundred men on board, which did not arrive till five days later. One half of the cavalry horses were lost, and several of the large guns were thrown into the sea to prevent the vessels from foundering.
Without waiting for the arrival of the transports that were missing, Arnold pushed up James River with his fleet aided by wind and tide, and immediately found himself in the heart of the country. His effective force consisted of about twelve hundred men. The burnings and plunderings, the destruction of public and private property, the ravages and distresses, which marked all his movements, were consistent with his character, and such as were to be expected. The inhabitants were not prepared for so sudden an invasion; the militia could not be rallied in time to resist it. A small force was assembled under Baron Steuben, on the south side of James River, but too distant to act efficiently till it was too late. After striking at every assailable point, Arnold called his troops back to the ships, descended the river, and took his station at Portsmouth.
The attempts to defeat and capture him in that post; the spirited and well conducted enterprise under Lafayette; the French naval armament sent from Newport, and commanded by M. de Tilly; the more formidable one under M. Destouches; his rencounter with the fleet of Admiral Graves; the movements of General Phillips's detachment of British troops; and the subsequent operations in Virginia; all these are matters of history and not suited to the present narrative.
Strong hopes were entertained by Washington, that Lafayette in concert with M. de Tilly would succeed in seizing Arnold, before any reinforcement could arrive from New York; but these hopes were disappointed by incidents, that could not have been foreseen or prevented. After entering Hampton Road, M. de Tilly found the depth of water in Elizabeth River not sufficient to receive his ships. Arnold was therefore beyond his reach at Portsmouth; and the detachment of Lafayette could not act without a naval superiority in the Chesapeake.
Had Arnold been captured, it was the intention of Washington, that he should be immediately executed; and in his instructions to Lafayette, he enjoined it upon him to admit no terms of capitulation, which should screen a traitor from the punishment justly due to his crimes. Several weeks afterwards, when, upon the death of General Phillips, the command of the British troops in Virginia devolved temporarily upon Arnold, he attempted to correspond with Lafayette, and sent an officer to him with a flag of truce. When Lafayette opened the letter, and saw Arnold's name at the bottom, he refused to read it, saying to the officer that he would hold no correspondence whatever with him. Lord Cornwallis told Lafayette afterwards, that, as soon as he joined the army in Virginia, he took the first occasion to send Arnold down to Portsmouth, and expressed disgust at the idea of associating with a person of his character.