Benedict Arnold
Starks, Somerset County, Maine
Marker Inscription
To commemorate Col. Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec in 1775
The Story
This marker commemorates Colonel Benedict Arnold's 1775 expedition to Quebec, a grueling march that pushed hundreds of Continental soldiers up through the Maine wilderness and along the Kennebec River. The campaign aimed to seize Quebec and bring Britain's northern province into the Revolutionary cause. Cold, hunger, and rough country made the trek one of the war's most punishing ordeals.
Why it matters
Long before his name became a byword for treason, Arnold led one of the Revolution's boldest early gambles, and this Maine site marks the hard road his men traveled.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Benedict Arnold
Related events
- · Arnold's expedition to Quebec, 1775
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
American Revolution Historical Site
Boothbay Harbor, ME
This marker stands where a stone fort and barracks once guarded the Boothbay region during the American Revolution. Along Maine's rugged coast, local soldiers manned such fortifications to watch the harbors and waters against British raids and privateers during the War for Independence.
Fort William and Mary
New Castle, NH
In December 1774, months before Lexington and Concord, New Hampshire patriots learned the Crown had banned gunpowder imports and moved to seize the royal magazine at New Castle. Over two days, local militia led by John Langdon and John Sullivan overwhelmed the small garrison at Fort William and Mary and carried off gunpowder, muskets, and cannon. The captured powder is traditionally said to have supplied later fighting.
Horse Chestnut
Portsmouth, NH
This horse chestnut was set into Portsmouth soil in 1776 by William Whipple, a New Hampshire merchant and militia general who had just returned from Philadelphia, where he added his name to the Declaration of Independence. Planting a tree was a fitting act for a moment of new beginnings: the young nation and the sapling would grow up together. Whipple's home still anchors this corner of Portsmouth's colonial seaport, and the tree's long shadow ties an everyday street to one of the boldest decisions in American history.
Wentworth Cheswell Memorial
Newmarket, NH
Wentworth Cheswell was a remarkable figure of Revolutionary-era New Hampshire — a schoolteacher, town official, and patriot of African and English descent. Widely counted among the first Americans of African ancestry elected to public office, he served his town of Newmarket for decades and is remembered for a Revolutionary alarm ride carrying word of British movements. He bridged the worlds of scholarship, public service, and the fight for independence.