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Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen, and the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga

An Analysis of Primary Source Quotations

Directions: Study the following quotes and excerpts from Benedict Arnold’s Navy, by James L. Nelson. I have included both the quotes and Nelson’s commentary so that you can study both the primary source quotes, and appreciate some fantastic storytelling. Think about the following questions as you read the quotes: What do they reveal about the character of Benedict Arnold? What do they reveal about the character of Ethan Allen? Do the quotes characterize Benedict Arnold as a “hero” or a “traitor”? How do you know?

Excerpt #1 (page 8)

. . . Arnold was in the West Indies in 1770 when he heard news of the Boston Massacre. In a letter written to a friend about that incident, he revealed his political leanings, as well as his penchant for unequivocal action. “Good God!” Arnold wrote, “are the Americans all asleep, and tamely yielding up their liberties, or all they all turned philosophers, that they do not take immediate vengeance on such miscreants?”

Read the quote above carefully. How does Benedict Arnold think the Americans should respond to the Boston Massacre?

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Based on the above quote, is Benedict Arnold a Patriot or a Loyalist? How do you know?

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Excerpt #2 (page 10)

. . . [Demanding the keys to the New Haven Magazine], Arnold reportedly told Wooster, “ None but Almighty God shall prevent my marching.” . . .

. . . Accepting command of the American army on June 16, 1775, George Washington would tell the Second Continental Congress, “I beg it may be remembered by every gentlemen in the room that I this day declare with utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with.” Leading his men toward Boston, Arnold seems not to have been tortured by any such self-doubts. He had his weaknesses, but a lack of confidence was not among them.

Based upon what most people think of when they hear the names Benedict Arnold and George Washington, what surprises you about what each man says above?

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Excerpt #3 (page 29)

. . . In a letter most likely written by Arnold under the pseudonym Veritas, Arnold claimed to have told the men that “he would enter [Ticonderoga] alone, if no man had the courage enough to follow him.”

In Ethan Allen’s recollection, it was he, Allen, who “harangued the officers and men” to spur them on. Allen’s speech, as he reproduced it in his autobiography, was long-winded and preposterous, saying in part, “we must this morning either quit our pretensions to valor or possess ourselves of this fortress in a few minutes; and, inasmuch as it is a desperate attempt, which none but the bravest of men dare undertake, I do not urge it on any contrary to his will.”

Another in the party remembered Allen whispering, “Let’s go,” which is probably closer to the truth. . .

Why do you think Allen’s autobiography speech is so different from what he actually said?

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Excerpt #4 (page 33)

Ethan Allen charged up the stairs, sword drawn. Seeing a pants-less officer whom he took to be Delaplace, he demanded surrender. In Allen’s own account of the meeting, preserved in the legend that Allen himself created,

. . . the Captain came immediately to the door, with his breeches in his hand, when I ordered him to deliver me the for instantly:

He asked me by what authority I demanded it.

I answered him, “In the name of the great Jehovah, and the Continental Congress.”

Presumably the great Jehovah was aware of Allen’s activities, but the Continental Congress would have been surprised to learn of their part in the affair. They were not even in session. The Second Continental Congress would meet for the first time a few hours after Ethan Allen claimed to have uttered those words.

This quote by Ethan Allen has become part of our “cultural literacy.” In other words, people know it. Allen was a very good self-promoter, and until Lieutenant Feltham’s report of the event was found among the papers of Thomas Gage in 1928, Allen’s version of the story was the only detailed account of the taking of Fort Ticonderoga.

First, it is likely that Ethan Allen thought very carefully about which words he would use when describing what he said at the door. Why do you think he chose those particular words?

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Second, considering that Allen’s account was the only one available until 1928, what does this tell you about the job of historians in determining historical fact based upon primary sources?

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Excerpt #5 (page 35)

The difference between Ethan Allen, the brawling backwoodsman, and Benedict Arnold, with his strict, prickly sense of military discipline and protocol, became clear during this encounter. According to Feltham, Allen swore that if the fort were not surrendered, or if any of the British troops fired, “neither man woman or child shall be left alive in the fort.” Allen, by his own account, offered to “sacrifice the whole garrison.”

Arnold took a more moderate tone, demanding surrender “in a genteel manner.” But of course Feltham could not surrender the fort, because he was not the commanding officer. When the Green Mountain Boys and Brown and Easton’s Massachusetts men realized this, they were ready to break in Delaplace’s door, but Benedict Arnold prevented them from doing so.

Soon Captain Delaplace, now fully dressed, appeared on the landing. Benedict Arnold asked Delaplace “to deliver up his arms, and he might expect to be treated like a gentleman.” Delaplace clearly had no choice, and he surrendered Fort Ticonderoga.

What do the above quotes reveal about the character of Ethan Allen?

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What does the above text reveal about the character of Benedict Arnold at this point in his life? (Support your answer by referring to something in the above text).

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Based upon all the sources:

In the popular mind, Ethan Allen is remembered as a hero and Benedict Arnold is remembered as a traitor. Why do you think this is so? Is this a fair assessment? (Be sure to answer both questions).

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