43°0′30.2″N73°38′21.7″W / 43.008389°N 73.639361°W | |
Location | Saratoga National Historical Park |
---|---|
Designer | George Edwin Bissell |
Dedicated to | Benedict Arnold, although it does not mention his name |
The Boot Monument is an American Revolutionary War memorial located in Saratoga National Historical Park, New York. Erected during 1887 by John Watts de Peyster and sculpted by George Edwin Bissell, it commemorates Major General Benedict Arnold's service at the Battles of Saratoga while in the Continental Army, but does not mention him on the monument because Arnold later betrayed the Continental Army to the British Army. Instead, it commemorates Arnold as the "most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army".
While fighting at the Battle of Bemis Heights, the second of the Saratoga engagements, Arnold was shot and severely injured in his left leg. His horse was also hit by gunfire and fell on Arnold, crushing his already injured leg. After this, Arnold continued to grow ever more bitter towards the Continental Army when he was passed over for promotion and was court-martialed. He later attempted to help the British capture the fortification of West Point but was discovered and fled to the British army.
American Major General Benedict Arnold contributed to both Battles of Saratoga, two crucial engagements of the American Revolutionary War that took place near Saratoga, New York. [1] The extent of his contributions to the first battle, the Battle of Freeman's Farm, are disputed. [a] [3] [4] In the second conflict, the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7, 1777, Arnold unexpectedly joined the fighting [5] [6] even after disagreements between him and Major General Horatio Gates resulted in Arnold's command being removed and given to Major General Benjamin Lincoln. [7] Gates attempted to send Arnold back to camp, but Gates's orders did not reach Arnold until the battle was over. Arnold led the American Continental Army in taking a redoubt commanded by Lord Balcarres. [8] At the end of the conflict, Arnold's left leg and horse were shot. When the horse fell, Arnold's leg shattered. [3] Arnold refused to have his leg amputated and instead had it faultily set. [9]
Gates did not make much mention of Arnold's contributions in his report of the aftermath of the battle, which angered Arnold. [10] In addition, his combat wounds, not having been promoted by Congress, [11] and eight court-martial charges of abusing his military commander of Philadelphia role further embittered him. [12] These troubles, along with the fact that his wife, Peggy Shippen, came from a family of Loyalists, caused Arnold to start communicating with the British army. Sir Henry Clinton, a British General, finally offered Arnold £20,000 (equivalent to £3,353,000in 2023) for the capture of West Point, [13] a fortification that was important to the control of the Hudson River. [14] Arnold met with British Major John André so he could pass on information on how to best attack West Point. [15] André was captured on his way back to New York and the plans for the West Point attack were discovered. [16] Arnold fled to New York City to join the British army [17] and remained as a general there until the war ended in 1783. [18] [19]
After years of financial problems that delayed the creation of the Saratoga Battle Monument, the Saratoga Monument Association (SMA), a group formed to discuss the creation of a monument for the Battles of Saratoga, held a meeting in July 1882. During the meeting, there was an announcement by Ellen Hardin Walworth, chairman of the Committee of Tablets, that the spot where Arnold injured his leg was marked by a stake. No one at the meeting objected to the stake being placed. [20]
John Watts de Peyster, a former Major General, American Civil War veteran, military historian, [21] and a vice president of the SMA, [22] wanted to commemorate Arnold's contribution to the Continental Army's victory over the British. [23] He was unsatisfied that the niche on the Saratoga Battle Monument where a statue of Arnold should have gone would remain empty. [24] De Peyster considered Arnold a traitor but still recognized his contributions at Saratoga. According to Arnold biographer Jim Murphy, he wanted to "honor some of Arnold's deeds without honoring the man" [23] but thought that simply a slab of granite to commemorate Arnold "would not do." [22]
De Peyster decided on a boot for the monument because he had heard of a story where Arnold asked an American he met in London what the Americans thought of him, to which the American said that they would make a monument out of Arnold's leg and hang the rest of his body in effigy. [25] [26] The historian Michael L. Lear said that he decided on Arnold's boot as a suitable monument because "the leg was the only part of Arnold not to later turn traitor and since it was sacrificed in winning the battle of Saratoga, it should be commemorated." [23] He commissioned George Edwin Bissell, [22] [27] who had designed other statues that de Peyster had erected, [23] to sculpt a marker in white marble. [22] The monument was then erected during 1887 in Saratoga National Historical Park. [23] It is the only monument to Arnold in the United States [28] and the only monument in Saratoga National Historical Park that does not show the name of its honoree. [27]
The toe of the Boot Monument was hammered off [29] and stolen by college boys on a visit [30] [31] and they were only discovered when an anonymous informer (described as "a graduate of a New York State educational institution") told the battlefield official in 1931 that the toe had been stolen. [26] The monument underwent restoration after Adolph S. Ochs, publisher of The New York Times , financed it. [32] [33]
The monument was originally located further to the north at the top of the hill at the Breymann Redoubt site, but after further research as to where Arnold injured his leg, the monument was moved south to where the main fortifications of the redoubt were. [34] The time at which this happened is disputed with some sources saying 1975 [27] [35] while others say 1972. However, the monument was still at the Breymann Redoubt before the time of its move and is still at the southern end of the redoubt. [23] [36] [37]
The monument is made of white marble [22] [38] and is 4 feet (1.2 m) tall. [39] Because of Arnold's defection to the British it does not mention him by name, [b] [3] [40] [41] and De Peyster was worried that the monument would be defaced if it mentioned Arnold directly. [42] [31] It features a howitzer barrel with a left-footed horseman's riding boot [3] [40] [41] and a two-star epaulette on top of the barrel, representing a Major General. A laurel leaf wreath sits atop the howitzer. [43] [44] [45] As a sign of dishonor, the howitzer barrel is pointed downwards. [46] One error in the inscription is that Arnold did not earn the rank of Major General after, and because of, Saratoga, but he became more senior than the other officers who had been promoted before him. [23] The inscription was edited after its erection to say "erected 1887 by" before De Peyster's name to make it clear that he is not the honoree of the boot. [29] The monument faces the battlefield. [47]
The inscription on the monument reads:
Erected 1887 By
JOHN WATTS de PEYSTER
Brev: Maj: Gen: S.N.Y.
2nd V. Pres't Saratoga Mon't Ass't'n:
In memory of
the "most brilliant soldier" of the
Continental Army
who was desperately wounded
on this spot the sally port of
BURGOYNES GREAT (WESTERN) REDOUBT
7th October, 1777
winning for his countrymen
the decisive battle of the
American Revolution
and for himself the rank of
Major General. [24] [48]
As with the absence of Arnold's name from the Boot Monument, the Saratoga Battle Monument honors Gates, General Philip Schuyler, Colonel Daniel Morgan, and Arnold, but the place where Arnold's statue should stand in the monument is an empty niche. [49] [50] [51] In an old cadet chapel at West Point, Revolutionary War generals are honored with a plaque on the wall, but Arnold's plaque does not have his name on it, and only mentions his birth and death dates. [52]
The Battles of Saratoga marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion army of 7,200–8,000 men southward from Canada in the Champlain Valley, hoping to meet a similar British force marching northward from New York City and another British force marching eastward from Lake Ontario; the goal was to take Albany, New York. The southern and western forces never arrived, and Burgoyne was surrounded by American forces in upstate New York 15 miles (24 km) short of his goal. He fought two battles which took place 18 days apart on the same ground 9 miles (14 km) south of Saratoga, New York. He gained a victory in the first battle despite being outnumbered, but lost the second battle after the Americans returned with an even larger force.
The Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a naval engagement that took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and Valcour Island. The battle is generally regarded as one of the first naval battles of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the first fought by the United States Navy. Most of the ships in the American fleet under the command of Benedict Arnold were captured or destroyed by a British force under the overall direction of General Guy Carleton. However, the American defense of Lake Champlain stalled British plans to reach the upper Hudson River valley.
West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 during the American Revolutionary War, and later called it "the most important Post in America" in 1781 following the war's end. West Point also was the site of General Benedict Arnold's failed attempt at treason during the Revolutionary War.
The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, began September 28, 1781, and ended on October 19, 1781, at exactly 10:30 am in Yorktown, Virginia. It was a decisive victory by a combined force of the American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington with support from the Marquis de Lafayette and French Army troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau and a French naval force commanded by the Comte de Grasse over the British Army commanded by British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis.
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved. It was the original objective of both the colonial and British troops, though the majority of combat took place on the adjacent hill which became known as Breed's Hill.
Horatio Lloyd Gates was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battles of Saratoga (1777) – a matter of contemporary and historical controversy – and was blamed for the defeat at the Battle of Camden in 1780. Gates has been described as "one of the Revolution's most controversial military figures" because of his role in the Conway Cabal, which attempted to discredit and replace General George Washington; the battle at Saratoga; and his actions during and after his defeat at Camden.
Daniel Morgan was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Virginia. One of the most respected battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783, he later commanded troops during the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791–1794.
Henry Dearborn was an American military officer and politician. In the Revolutionary War, he served under Benedict Arnold in his expedition to Quebec, of which his journal provides an important record. After being captured and exchanged, he served in George Washington's Continental Army. He was present at the British surrender at Yorktown. Dearborn served on General George Washington's staff in Virginia.
The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British high command for North America to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of the British army, which historian Edmund Morgan argues, "was a great turning point of the war, because it won for Americans the foreign assistance which was the last element needed for victory."
Simon Fraser was a British general during the American War of Independence. He was killed in the Battle of Bemis Heights during the Saratoga Campaign. The shot that killed Fraser is often attributed to Timothy Murphy, of Daniel Morgan's Rifle Corps, which was assigned to the Left and under the command of Benedict Arnold, who was leading Morgan's men as well as Dearborn, Cilley, Poor, and the rest of the American left wing, which was attempting to push back the reconnaissance in force led by Simon Fraser on the Barber Wheatfield.
Major John André was a British Army officer who served as the head of Britain's intelligence operations during the American War for Independence. In September 1780, he negotiated with Continental Army officer and turncoat Benedict Arnold, who secretly offered to turn over control of the American fort at West Point, New York to the British. Due to a series of mishaps and unforeseen events, André was forced to return to British lines from a meeting with Arnold through American-controlled territory while wearing civilian clothes.
Benedict Arnold was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled to the British lines. In the later part of the war, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army and placed in command of the American Legion. He led British forces in battle against the army which he had once commanded, and his name became synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.
Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built to guard a portage known as the Oneida Carry during the French and Indian War. Fort Stanwix National Monument, a reconstructed structure built by the National Park Service, now occupies the site.
Saratoga National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in the Town of Stillwater in eastern New York, 30 miles north of Albany. The park preserves the site of the Battles of Saratoga.
John Watts de Peyster, Sr. was an American author on the art of war, philanthropist, and the Adjutant General of New York. He served in the New York State Militia during the Mexican–American War and American Civil War. He was one of the first military critics and noted for his histories of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and also published works of drama, poetry, military history, military biography and military criticism.
The siege of Fort Stanwix began on August 2, 1777, and ended on August 22, 1777. Fort Stanwix, at the western end of the Mohawk River Valley, was a primary defense point for the Continental Army against the British and indigenous forces aligned against them during the American Revolutionary War. The fort was occupied by Continental Army forces from New York and Massachusetts under the command of Colonel Peter Gansevoort. The besieging force was composed of British regulars, Loyalist soldiers, Hessians, and indigenous warriors, under the command of Brigadier General Barry St. Leger. St. Leger's expedition was a diversion in support of Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's campaign to take control of the Hudson River Valley to the east.
The military career of Benedict Arnold in 1775 and 1776 covers many of the military actions that occurred in the northernmost Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolutionary War. Arnold began the war as a captain in Connecticut's militia, a position to which he was elected in March 1775. Following the outbreak of hostilities at Lexington and Concord the following month, his company marched northeast to assist in the siege of Boston that followed. Arnold proposed to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety an action to seize Fort Ticonderoga in New York, which he knew was poorly defended. They issued a colonel's commission to him on May 3, 1775, and he immediately rode off to the west, where he arrived at Castleton in the disputed New Hampshire Grants in time to participate with Ethan Allen and his men in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. He followed up that action with a bold raid on Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River north of Lake Champlain. He then resigned his Massachusetts commission after a command dispute with the head of a detachment of Connecticut militia troops that arrived in June to reinforce Ticonderoga.
The military career of Benedict Arnold from 1777 to 1779 was marked by two important events in his career. In July 1777, Arnold was assigned to the Continental Army's Northern Department, where he played pivotal roles in bringing about the failure of British Brigadier Barry St. Leger's siege of Fort Stanwix and the American success in the battles of Saratoga, which fundamentally altered the course of the war.
The military career of Benedict Arnold in 1781 consisted of service in the British Army. Arnold had changed sides in September 1780, after his plot was exposed to surrender the key Continental Army outpost at West Point. He spent the rest of 1780 recruiting Loyalists for a new regiment called the American Legion. Arnold was then sent to Virginia with 1,600 men in late December by General Sir Henry Clinton, with instructions to raid Richmond and then establish a strong fortification at Portsmouth.
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor is a 2003 American television film directed by Mikael Salomon and starring Aidan Quinn, Kelsey Grammer, Flora Montgomery and John Light. It portrays the career of Benedict Arnold in the American Revolutionary War and his dramatic switch in 1780 from fighting for American Independence to being a Loyalist trying to preserve British rule in America. Arnold's relationships with his wife Peggy Shippen and the British officer John André are focused on. The friction between Arnold and General Horatio Gates, portrayed near the beginning of the film, was historically accurate. The movie points out that, before his treason, Arnold was considered a patriot and a hero. A letter from General Washington is read at the beginning where he enthusiastically recommends Arnold for promotion saying that there is no general in the army more deserving and even comparing him to Hannibal. The movie briefly documents Arnold's final years of exile in England in which he laments his treasonous acts, realizing that he is despised and that people compare him with Judas and Lucifer.