![[REVOLUTIONARY WAR]. ARNOLD, Benedict (1741-1801), patriot, traitor. Autograph letter signed ("Benedt. Arnold") to Thomas Walker in Montreal, Crown Point, [New York], 24 May 1775. 1 full page, folio, integral address leaf with panel in Arnold's hand.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2007/NYR/2007_NYR_01851_0295_000(021722).jpg?w=1)
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[REVOLUTIONARY WAR]. ARNOLD, Benedict (1741-1801), patriot, traitor. Autograph letter signed ("Benedt. Arnold") to Thomas Walker in Montreal, Crown Point, [New York], 24 May 1775. 1 full page, folio, integral address leaf with panel in Arnold's hand.
TWO WEEKS AFTER HIS DARING CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA, ARNOLD SEEKS INTELLIGENCE FROM A SPY IN MONTREAL
A remarkable letter written at a critical moment in Arnold's eventful military career. Arnold reports that he has about 1,000 men at Crown
Point and at Ticonderoga and is in expectation of about 2,000 more in a few days. New carriages are being made for the captured cannon and tools and artificers will arrive at "any minute to repair and put Tie [Ticonderoga] in a formidable Condition." But, to his "great
mortification" a report that 400 regulars were making preparations at
St. John's to join him have been contradicted. Arnold also states that he "omitted being very particular" in a previous letter since "I
suspected it would fall into the hands of the Enemy." He strongly urges Walker to "advise me from time to time the number of British troops" in Montreal, "their movements and designs and if they have been joined by any Canadians or Indians and to let the Canadians know that they will soon "see an Army of Pumkinshire Men in the Heart of their Country."
On the night of 10-11 May 1775, just two weeks before the present
letter, Connecticut and Massachustts troops captained by Benedict
Arnold and Ethan Allen seized Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain in a
surprise attack. This constituted the first organized offensive action by the American rebels; the 100 cannon captured there were transported overland to George Washington for use in the siege of Boston. The smaller British fort at Crown Point was taken two days after Ticonderoga, giving the Americans control of Lake Champlain, a key link between Canada and the St. Lawrence and Lake George and the Hudson. In the next few years, the lake would serve both the Americans and the British as a key strategic highway along which they could mount major military offensive operations.
Arnold's correspondent, Thomas Walker (1715-1794), was a Montreal merchant in Montreal with very strong republican convictions. A friend of Arnold from pre-War commercial dealings, Walker encouraged French Canadians in Quebec to join the American forces against the British and when General James Montgomery advanced on Montreal, he raised several hundred Canadians to join the American army. But at this date, Walker was invaluable as a source of critical intelligence regarding British troop strength and intentions.
TWO WEEKS AFTER HIS DARING CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA, ARNOLD SEEKS INTELLIGENCE FROM A SPY IN MONTREAL
A remarkable letter written at a critical moment in Arnold's eventful military career. Arnold reports that he has about 1,000 men at Crown
Point and at Ticonderoga and is in expectation of about 2,000 more in a few days. New carriages are being made for the captured cannon and tools and artificers will arrive at "any minute to repair and put Tie [Ticonderoga] in a formidable Condition." But, to his "great
mortification" a report that 400 regulars were making preparations at
St. John's to join him have been contradicted. Arnold also states that he "omitted being very particular" in a previous letter since "I
suspected it would fall into the hands of the Enemy." He strongly urges Walker to "advise me from time to time the number of British troops" in Montreal, "their movements and designs and if they have been joined by any Canadians or Indians and to let the Canadians know that they will soon "see an Army of Pumkinshire Men in the Heart of their Country."
On the night of 10-11 May 1775, just two weeks before the present
letter, Connecticut and Massachustts troops captained by Benedict
Arnold and Ethan Allen seized Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain in a
surprise attack. This constituted the first organized offensive action by the American rebels; the 100 cannon captured there were transported overland to George Washington for use in the siege of Boston. The smaller British fort at Crown Point was taken two days after Ticonderoga, giving the Americans control of Lake Champlain, a key link between Canada and the St. Lawrence and Lake George and the Hudson. In the next few years, the lake would serve both the Americans and the British as a key strategic highway along which they could mount major military offensive operations.
Arnold's correspondent, Thomas Walker (1715-1794), was a Montreal merchant in Montreal with very strong republican convictions. A friend of Arnold from pre-War commercial dealings, Walker encouraged French Canadians in Quebec to join the American forces against the British and when General James Montgomery advanced on Montreal, he raised several hundred Canadians to join the American army. But at this date, Walker was invaluable as a source of critical intelligence regarding British troop strength and intentions.