"Homegrown Terror: Benedict Arnold and the Burning" Topic

… of New London Review

"Benedict Arnold is one of the most controversial figures in American history, and one of the most written about figures of the Revolutionary War. In Homegrown Terror, Eric D. Lehman examines one of the lesser-known acts of Arnold's apparent treachery, the burning of New London, Connecticut, in September 1781. Lehman, a literature professor at the University of Bridgeport, attempts to place Arnold in a network of prominent Revolutionary figures in order to better understand the burning of New London and its effects on the American psyche.

Lehman casts a wide net over a vast array of characters in his book, including Silas Deane, George Washington, and George Turnbull, but the character of Arnold is often spectral rather than actually present through large stretches of the book. Indeed, Arnold disappears in several chapters, with lesser characters providing the narrative thread that ties the book squarely to New London. In the chapters where he does appear, the traditional Arnold narrative is largely on display, with Lehman painting him as an over-ambitious narcissist who betrays his cause for personal advancement. Scholarship on Arnold, including excellent biographies by Willard Sterne Randall and James K. Martin, have proven that the reasons behind his treachery are far more nuanced than Lehman suggests here. Ironically, the best chapters of the book are the ones in which Arnold is a secondary character. Here, Lehman provides excellent context to Arnold's treason and to provide a rich view of Connecticut life during the Revolution…"

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Amicalement
Armand

This was a very good book. it looked like a lot if the raid was revenge for Arnold and slights against him from former neighbors.

Please note this annual event in New London to commemorate the raid.

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Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand