細節
ARNOLD, Benedict (1741-1801), General, traitor. Autograph letter signed ("B. Arnold") to Jonathan Bliss, Esq., St. Pierre, Martinique, 3 January 1795. 1¼ page, large folio, verso with 5-line initialed postscript. In superb condition.
A TRAITOR'S VIEW OF MODERN WARFARE, "CARRIED ON WITH A BRUTALITY UNKNOWN TO FORMER TIMES"
A letter which vividly portrays Arnold's restless and disappointing last years. After his treason and a few years in British military service, Arnold and his wife, the former Peggy Shippen, had been politely received in London by George III and his Queen. But with the end of the war, Arnold found himself a pariah, even in Britain. For some years he operated as a merchant, based in St. John, Nova Scotia, but so antagonized even his fellow Loyalists that his home was sacked by a mob and he was burned in effigy.
Writing to one of his few remaining friends, an attorney, Arnold reports that certain letters have arrived, "as Mrs. A. has recently acknowledged," and expresses gratitude "for the care you have been so good as to take of my affairs in St. John and in saving the debts you mention...I wish I could realize all the little property I have at, & near St. John." He asks about the health of Bliss and his family, and, comments on the carnage of the French Revolution: "you are doubtless free from the dangers of War, which is a great happiness at this time, when it is carried on with a brutality unknown to former times, and very little to the honor of humanity or the cause of freedom." As to his own affairs, "my situation has often been dangerous & critical; my affairs some times have prospered, & sometimes not, I have made & lost a great deal of money here, but I hope to return to England in April."
A TRAITOR'S VIEW OF MODERN WARFARE, "CARRIED ON WITH A BRUTALITY UNKNOWN TO FORMER TIMES"
A letter which vividly portrays Arnold's restless and disappointing last years. After his treason and a few years in British military service, Arnold and his wife, the former Peggy Shippen, had been politely received in London by George III and his Queen. But with the end of the war, Arnold found himself a pariah, even in Britain. For some years he operated as a merchant, based in St. John, Nova Scotia, but so antagonized even his fellow Loyalists that his home was sacked by a mob and he was burned in effigy.
Writing to one of his few remaining friends, an attorney, Arnold reports that certain letters have arrived, "as Mrs. A. has recently acknowledged," and expresses gratitude "for the care you have been so good as to take of my affairs in St. John and in saving the debts you mention...I wish I could realize all the little property I have at, & near St. John." He asks about the health of Bliss and his family, and, comments on the carnage of the French Revolution: "you are doubtless free from the dangers of War, which is a great happiness at this time, when it is carried on with a brutality unknown to former times, and very little to the honor of humanity or the cause of freedom." As to his own affairs, "my situation has often been dangerous & critical; my affairs some times have prospered, & sometimes not, I have made & lost a great deal of money here, but I hope to return to England in April."