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Benedict Arnold's Army: The 1775 American Invasion of Canada During the Revolutionary War
A brilliant American combat officer and this country’s most famous traitor, Benedict Arnold is one of the most fascinating and complicated people to emerge from American history. His contemporaries called Arnold “the American Hannibal” after he successfully led more than 1,000 men through the savage Maine wilderness in 1775. The objective of Arnold and his heroic corps was the fortress city of Quebec, the capital of British-held Canada. The epic campaign is the subject of Benedict Arnold’s Army, a fascinating campaign to bring Canada into the war as the 14th colony.
The initiative for the assault came from George Washington who learned that a fast moving detachment could surprise Quebec by following a chain of rivers and lakes through the Maine wilderness. Washington picked Col. Benedict Arnold, an obscure and controversial Connecticut officer, to command the corps who signed up for the secret mission.
Arnold believed that his expedition would reach Quebec City in twenty days. The route turned out to be 270 miles of treacherous rapids, raging waterfalls, and trackless forests that took months to traverse. At times Arnold’s men were up to their waists in freezing water dragging and pushing their clumsy boats through surging rapids and hauling them up and over waterfalls. In one of the greatest exploits in American military history, Arnold led his famished corps through the early winter snow, up and over the Appalachian Mountains, and on to Quebec.
Benedict Arnold’s Army covers a largely unknown but important period of Arnold’s life. Award-winning author Arthur Lefkowitz provides important insights into Arnold’s character during the earliest phase of his military career, showing his aggressive nature, need for recognition, experience as a competitive businessman, and his obsession with honor that started him down the path to treason.
Lefkowitz extensively researched Arnold’s expedition and made numerous trips along the same route that Arnold’s army took. Benedict Arnold’s Army also contains a closing chapter with detailed information and maps for readers who wish to follow the expedition’s route from the coast of Maine to Quebec City.
There is a growing interest in the Founding Fathers and the Revolutionary War as a source of national pride and identity and the Arnold Expedition as told through Benedict Arnold’s Army is one of the greatest adventure stories in American history.
Arthur S. Lefkowitz lives in central New Jersey
The initiative for the assault came from George Washington who learned that a fast moving detachment could surprise Quebec by following a chain of rivers and lakes through the Maine wilderness. Washington picked Col. Benedict Arnold, an obscure and controversial Connecticut officer, to command the corps who signed up for the secret mission.
Arnold believed that his expedition would reach Quebec City in twenty days. The route turned out to be 270 miles of treacherous rapids, raging waterfalls, and trackless forests that took months to traverse. At times Arnold’s men were up to their waists in freezing water dragging and pushing their clumsy boats through surging rapids and hauling them up and over waterfalls. In one of the greatest exploits in American military history, Arnold led his famished corps through the early winter snow, up and over the Appalachian Mountains, and on to Quebec.
Benedict Arnold’s Army covers a largely unknown but important period of Arnold’s life. Award-winning author Arthur Lefkowitz provides important insights into Arnold’s character during the earliest phase of his military career, showing his aggressive nature, need for recognition, experience as a competitive businessman, and his obsession with honor that started him down the path to treason.
Lefkowitz extensively researched Arnold’s expedition and made numerous trips along the same route that Arnold’s army took. Benedict Arnold’s Army also contains a closing chapter with detailed information and maps for readers who wish to follow the expedition’s route from the coast of Maine to Quebec City.
There is a growing interest in the Founding Fathers and the Revolutionary War as a source of national pride and identity and the Arnold Expedition as told through Benedict Arnold’s Army is one of the greatest adventure stories in American history.
Arthur S. Lefkowitz lives in central New Jersey
384 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2007
13 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 16, 2015
I met the author of this book a few years ago @ a lecture he gave in Hackensack, NJ. He was a very nice gentleman and very passionate about Arnold. He also was the person who told me about Fraunces Tavern, in NYC which I got to visit and eat diner at this past summer. The book delves deeply into an epic even that too often is skipped over or mentioned in passing, but if undertaken today would be seen as inhumane to animals let alone humans. While I can not defend his actions, it was this book that allowed me to at least extend a feeling of some sympathy towards Benedict for his tortured feelings towards his country of origin.
November 23, 2020
Benedict Arnold = traitor. We all know this. This book details “before”, when he was a courageous and valiant patriot, the leader of the Arnold Expedition, the ill-fated attempt to capture Quebec in late 1775. This well-written, sympathetic book describes the harrowing trek of the group of hand picked volunteers who walked from Maine to Canada and then their ultimately unsuccessful attack on the well/defended city of Quebec. Daniel Morgan and Aaron Burr also have featured roles in this.
August 3, 2018
3.5 stars-- you know, if I could do that. This book inspired me to want to follow the path Arnold's soldiers took from Maine to Quebec. Of course, from my car and probably a little earlier in the year.
Very interesting and well researched account of the fatal expedition of the attempted invasion of Quebec by American revolutionaries in 1775. I think I would have appreciated a more rigorous analysis on the author's part as to why America chose -- as one of its first offensive acts in the war -- to hop north of the border and invade Canada, when it had a perfectly good British army to fight in Boston. There's some strategic discussion of the advantages invasion offered, but something clearly seems missing.
Anyway, I don't mean to dwell on the downside. The book's account is lively and the first-person accounts and journal entries that are weaved into the narrative really help to keep the story moving at a breezy pace. Worth the read.
Very interesting and well researched account of the fatal expedition of the attempted invasion of Quebec by American revolutionaries in 1775. I think I would have appreciated a more rigorous analysis on the author's part as to why America chose -- as one of its first offensive acts in the war -- to hop north of the border and invade Canada, when it had a perfectly good British army to fight in Boston. There's some strategic discussion of the advantages invasion offered, but something clearly seems missing.
Anyway, I don't mean to dwell on the downside. The book's account is lively and the first-person accounts and journal entries that are weaved into the narrative really help to keep the story moving at a breezy pace. Worth the read.
February 19, 2024
The name Benedict Arnold is obviously synonymous with the word traitor. I remember reading years ago in a short encyclopedia about US wars about Arnold's campaign in Canada. The author wrote if Arnold had been killed in Canada, his name would have been better remembered. Now it is the complete opposite.
Arthur Lefkowitz wrote an excellent book about Arnold's career in the American Revolution. I really enjoyed this book and have to put it in my favorites. First, the book was captivating. I never found myself skimming and wanted to continue reading. I also learned a lot about Arnold's campaign in Canada. The absolute hell these men endured during this campaign. Lack of food and terrible weather conditions made the journey a strenuous one. In addition to that, lack of good maps and lugging equipment through the Maine wilderness were challenges for Arnold and his men. There was a quote stated by a soldier that death was a welcome because the men were suffering so much in these horrendous conditions. After traveling for 350 miles, Arnold and his finally reached Quebec. The men cheered and Arnold was the "American Hannibal." However, the attack on Quebec failed and Arnold's Canadian campaign ended in a debacle.
This book demonstrated Arnold's strengths and flaws. It was very readable and covers a part of the American Revolution that does not get a lot of attention.
Arthur Lefkowitz wrote an excellent book about Arnold's career in the American Revolution. I really enjoyed this book and have to put it in my favorites. First, the book was captivating. I never found myself skimming and wanted to continue reading. I also learned a lot about Arnold's campaign in Canada. The absolute hell these men endured during this campaign. Lack of food and terrible weather conditions made the journey a strenuous one. In addition to that, lack of good maps and lugging equipment through the Maine wilderness were challenges for Arnold and his men. There was a quote stated by a soldier that death was a welcome because the men were suffering so much in these horrendous conditions. After traveling for 350 miles, Arnold and his finally reached Quebec. The men cheered and Arnold was the "American Hannibal." However, the attack on Quebec failed and Arnold's Canadian campaign ended in a debacle.
This book demonstrated Arnold's strengths and flaws. It was very readable and covers a part of the American Revolution that does not get a lot of attention.
April 20, 2021
Before you decide to read this book I suggest that you have interest in the subject. I will not deny that there were times where I thought it was slow but the book does pick up turning into an extraordinary story. At the end of the day, the gentleman who wrote this book did his research! I would recommend it.
August 23, 2020
Well written and researched, this very focused and detailed account of Arnold’s ‘75 campaign to Quebec is a must for Arnold fans. Plenty of good first person quotes, and excellent notes. Recommended for the deep dive.
October 23, 2012
Since learning about my ancestor's diary chronicling the March through the Wilderness and Battle of Quebec, I've been reading about this event and the time period. The best account I've read is Benedict Arnold's Army: The 1775 American Invasion of Canada During the Revolutionary War by Arthur S. Lefkowitz. Detailed and well-documented, Lefkowitz provides fascinating insights into the time period, key people, and events. [return][return]It was exciting to read Lefkowitz's account side by side with William Preston's diary. At times, Lefkowitz filled in the gaps of the diary. For instance the diary simply stated "Nov 9. Took a prisoner here". On page 194, Lefkowitz identified this person as Capt. MacKenzie. In other places, my diary contained more detail about specific events such as the description of the number of people diagnosed with small pox. [return][return]I highly recommend this book Benedict Arnold's Army for anyone interested in the American Revolution.
January 29, 2025
Full of historic moments as men ill equipped walked from Boston ( many from as far away as PA) to Canada as the weather turned from balmy to blizzards and waist deep snow. No food, lost weapons, carrying boats hundreds of pounds, sickness, inaccurate directions, they were led by the American Revolution’s most infamous traitor under orders of General George Washington. I was spellbound until the end-Such tragedy for so many soldiers but Arnold lived another day. He was one of my ancestors but I take comfort in knowing his ancestors were not traitors. They gave their best to others and one was the Colonial Governor of RI. Benedict Arnold wanted to be rich, influential and looked up to. His legacy is the opposite of our founding fathers.
March 10, 2013
How little twists in the big picture can change one's life forever. Arnold should have received his nations laurels for Saratoga. His "failure" in the Canadian campaign was more probably the failure of others who were to have met him there and didn't. Leaving him with an under force army for the task at hand. Neglected by those he had impoverished himself to lead, overlooked in promotion, and the husband of an ambitious wife with British sympathies, Armolds place in history still came so close to triumph. This book gives us a perspective that was lacking in the mythical histories we learned in grade school. A must read for any serious reader of history.
July 10, 2010
The incredible story of Arnold's leadership of 1,000 volunteers through 270 mile of savage Maine wilderness in late fall/early winter of 1775. It is entirely possible that if they had reached Quebec (then the capital of British controlled Canada) as little as a few days earlier, they may have been successful and all of Canada could perhaps be part of the US today. The book is well-researched and well-written.
December 19, 2010
What a trek!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews