Benedict Arnold forgery

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: MS-0240

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of a forgery of a note to Sir Henry Clinton stating that Major John André will furnish information. The note is undated; if authentic, it would have been written in the summer of 1780. In addition to the note itself are research materials relating the disputed origin by Lloyd A. Brown and James Thomas Flexner, including copies of hand-writing attributable to Arnold.

Dates

Creation: [1780], 1942, 1951

Creator

Arnold, Benedict, 1741-1801 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed off-site and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Contact archives@lists.johnshopkins.edu for more information.

Collection is open for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical / Historical

Benedict Arnold (January 14, 1741 – June 14, 1801) was a general during the American Revolutionary War, who fought for the American Continental Army, and later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fortifications at West Point, New York (which after 1802 would become the site of the U.S. Military Academy), overlooking the cliffs at the Hudson River (upriver from British-occupied New York City), and planned to surrender them to British forces. This plan was exposed in September 1780. He was commissioned into the British Army as a brigadier general.

Biographical information adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_arnold, accessed 2018 February 12.

Extent

.167 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Benedict Arnold (1741 – 1801) was a general during the American Revolutionary War, who fought for the American Continental Army, and later defected to the British Army. The collection consists of a forgery of a note from Arnold ([1780]) as well as later correspondence debating its authenticity from 1942 and 1951.