Benedict Arnold, 1781

Artist: du Simitière, Pierre-Eugène (1735-1804/1809)
Engraver: Prévost, Benoît-Louis (1735-1804)

Medium: engraving
Dimensions: 16.8 x 12.1 cm (sheet)

Benedict Arnold (1741/1742-1801) is known as a traitor. He was one of George Washington's ablest commanders during the American Revolution, until he conspired to trade military secrets to the British, was found out and escaped to the British side. In 1785, he took up residence in Saint John, New Brunswick, where he established a trading partnership, but left for England in the early 1790s. His ambitious and abrasive nature made him few friends in either the American colonies or in Saint John.

This print was published in Collections des Portraits des Généraux, Ministres, et Magistrats... (Paris, 1781), a set of portrait engravings based on drawings taken from life. Arnold's portrait was done in Philadelphia before his defection to the British.

National Archives of Canada, negative no. C-139530