Benedict Arnold's Trek Through Massachusetts

Benedict Arnold had an idea—and it’s not the one where he later traitorously handed over West Point to the British. Still an ardent American patriot in September of 1775, Arnold traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts to convince General George Washington that an American expeditionary force should invade and take possession of the British province of Quebec. Washington agreed.

After leaving Cambridge, Arnold took his roughly 1,000-man contingent on an overland trek to Newburyport, Massachusetts—where a ship would take his forces up to Maine. From there, they would again travel on foot to Quebec. 

To get to Newburyport, Arnold’s troops passed through the following Massachusetts towns: Malden, Lynn, Salem, Danvers, Beverly, Wenham, Ipswich and Rowley. In several of these locations, you can still see historical markers and milestones on their route along the old “Bay Road”. 

The Quebec expedition itself turned out to be a dismal failure—as bad maps and a treacherous Maine wilderness bogged down the Americans. Many troops turned and went home and the depleted forces could not take the province from the British—instead ineffectively laying siege to Quebec City. 

Arnold felt under-appreciated by the Continental Congress and so, in 1780, he planned to turn over the fort at West Point (which was under his command) to the British for the sum of 20,000 British pounds (about 3,000,000 pounds today). The plot was discovered and he defected to the other side, leading British troops in battle for the remainder of the war. He eventually fled to London, where he was celebrated by King George III, and died in 1801 at the age of 60.

So, this son of Connecticut—branded as a traitor forever—once led a band of men through Massachusetts towns on a decidedly patriotic mission that few remember.

An Assassin's Boston Connection

Boston’s historic Parker House Hotel has had associations with many famous people since its founding in 1855. Even some of its employees have graced the history books—Malcom X worked there bussing tables in the 1940s and Ho Chi Minh was a baker in the hotel’s kitchen in the early 1900s. The hotel was also destined to host a presidential assassin. 

Eight days before the murder of President Abraham Lincoln, his assassin—John Wilkes Booth—stayed at the Parker House (April 5-6, 1865). Booth was in town visiting his older brother Edwin Booth. The elder Booth, an actor, was in the midst of a three-week engagement at the Boston Theater. Unlike his brother, Edwin supported the Union cause in the Civil War and even voted for Lincoln. He later wrote in a letter, “When I told him [John] I had voted for Lincoln’s re-election he expressed deep regret, and declared his belief that Lincoln would be made king of America”. 

During his stay at the Parker House, John ominously frequented Rowland Edwards’ Pistol Gallery on nearby Green Street. But this was not Booth’s only time at the Parker House. In fact, the hotel had served as a meeting place for Booth and Confederate Secret Service agents back in July of 1864. On that occasion it is said that Booth first put forward his plot to kill the president.

And to further cement Booth’s connection to Boston, he was eventually tracked down and killed in Caroline County, Virginia by British-born Boston resident Thomas “Boston” Corbett. So, if you ever happen to pass by the stately Parker House on School Street in Boston, you’ll know some of the rich history that has taken place behind its walls.