On October 7, 1780, just five days after his accomplice, British Army Major John Andre had been hanged as a spy, Benedict Arnold released his “Letter to the Inhabitants of America” in which he outlined—disingenuously, many historians say—his reasons for switching sides in America’s War for Independence.

The colonists, Arnold maintained in the letter, had been duped by their leaders, who chose to align themselves with their erstwhile bitter enemy, the French, rather than seek peace with their mother country.

“Some may think I continued in the struggle of those unhappy days too long, and others that I quitted it too soon,” Arnold wrote. “To the first I reply, that I did not see with their Eyes, nor perhaps had so favorable a situation to look from, and that to one Common Master I am willing to stand or fall. In behalf of the Candid among the latter, some of whom I believe serve blindly but honestly in the Ranks I have left, I pray God to give them all the lights requisite to their Own Safety before it is too late; and with respect to that kind of Censurers whose Enmity to me Originates in their hatred to the Principles, by which I am now led to devote my life to the Reunion of the British Empire, as the best and only means to dry up the streams of misery that have deluged this country, they may be assured that, Conscious of the Rectitude of my Intentions, I shall treat their Malice and Calumnies with Contempt and neglect.”

As a Brigadier General in the British Army, Arnold would go on to lead attacks on a number of American cities, including a devastating assault on New London, CT, in which the city was nearly burned to the ground, and the destruction of several communities along the James River.

Connecticut historian Andew Fowler, writing for the Yankee Institute in an article entitled, “Benedict Arnold: Connecticut’s Traitor,” notes that following the British surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, Arnold and his wife Peggy made their way to Great Britain, where they found life less grand than anticipated.

“Arnold lived unhappily for the remainder of his days,” Fowler writes. “Unpopular, he failed to obtain commissions in the East India Company. When he moved to Canada in 1785, Arnold had moderately successful business ventures, but ‘Debts, disputes, and litigation soured his acceptance in St. John,’ according to ‘God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America’s Most Hated Man.’ After six years, the Arnolds moved back to London, and he returned to a life he knew before the Revolutionary War: sailing to various markets across the Caribbean. 

“Nevertheless, Arnold was constantly in debt, and the financial woes weakened his health. According to family legend, the American traitor, on his deathbed, asked to be clothed in his Continental Army uniform, saying, ‘Bring me, I beg you, the epaulettes and sword-knots which Washington gave me; let me die in my old American uniform, the uniform which I fought my battles. God forgive me for ever putting on any other.’

“He died on June 14, 1801, at 60 years old, ‘tormented with despair and regret.’”

Benedict Arnold’s story is a complex and convoluted one, and since it was recently discovered that he and his father had a financial interest in Cushetunk, the first permanent European settlement in the Upper Delaware region, bits and pieces of that story have become a small part of the engaging narratives at the living history museum at Fort Delaware in Narrowsburg, NY.

Arnold and his father—also named Benedict Arnold—were among the investors from Norwich, CT, who formed the original Delaware Company and in three separate transactions in 1754 and 1755, purchased 30 miles of riverfront property on both sides of the Delaware in an effort to sell lots to those who wanted to own farmland but couldn’t find any in or around Norwich. That enormous tract of land became known as Cushetunk, an English variation of the Lenape word for the region.

To the best of anyone’s knowledge, the Arnolds never traveled to Cushetunk—a yellow fever epidemic that hit Norwich in the 1750s and ravaged the family saw to that—but they were nonetheless linked here as much as the more commonly known investors as the Skinners and Tylers and Thomases. And the saga of the younger Benedict from battlefield hero to successful American General to traitor to British officer makes for compelling storytelling.

This weekend marks the last chance to experience Fort Delaware this year as it will conclude its 2025 season, opening on Saturday and Sunday, October 11 and 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with no one admitted after 4 p.m.  A tour of the Fort and conversations with its staff of knowledgeable docents is sure to convince the visitor that the contention “we live history!” is more than just a promotional slogan.

Fort Delaware is located on the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway at 6615 Route 97 in Narrowsburg. It is owned by Sullivan County and operated by The Delaware Company.

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian and a founder and president of The Delaware Company. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com.