Competing Motives, Competing Stories: Benedict Arnold Has His Say

Posted on July 6, 2025

Competing Motives, Competing Stories: Benedict Arnold Has His Say

As news of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga spread across the colonies, so did rumors, as each participant put their own spin on the story. In our July 1 post, we shared a newspaper that published the story of the capture according to Colonel James Easton, fierce rival of Benedict Arnold, which inflated Easton’s role and erased Arnold.

Easton’s story did not have staying power. A letter from Arnold to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress arrived at their headquarters in Charlestown, MA on May 22, five days after Easton did, providing a more accurate account of the capture. However, Easton was not the only one spreading false stories involving Arnold. 250 years ago today—July 6, 1775—Arnold had to make an attempt to set the record straight.

In this letter, addressed to “The Gentlemen at Charlstown”, Arnold tries to combat a rumor from an unknown source spreading in Massachusetts. “Gentlemen,” he begins, “Col. Hinman has Just shown me a Letter, Dated at Charlston June 30…which Seems evidently Calculated by Cpt. Coughran, or some other Person, to Asperse my Character by Intimating I gave orders or rather Countenanced the Plundering [of] Major Skene’s House”. The house of Loyalist and British officer Philip Skene had been captured along with his settlement at Skenesborough on May 9. While Skenesborough was an acceptable target, stealing the Skene family’s personal goods would have been seen as ungentlemanly and against the accepted conventions of war.

By the time Arnold wrote this letter, he was no longer in Massachusetts’ employ. He had resigned his commission on June 23 rather than serve under another commander. But his reputation as an officer and a gentleman was personally and professionally important to him—he was out of military service, but he had ambitions for the future. To defend himself, Arnold provided hard evidence. “To Convince you of my Innocency in the Matter,” he writes, “herewith you have a copy [of] my Orders to Capt. Herrick, the Officer I sent to take Possession” of Skenesborough.

Learn more about Arnold’s letter (object ID 2001.0084.002) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database here.