179. Connecticut's Benedict Arnold: America's Most Hated Man

  179. Connecticut's Benedict Arnold: America's Most Hated Man This is our first new episode for 2024 and we've got some big news! Thanks to you-our listeners-we had 30,106 downloads in 2023! That's our best year ever! We have brand new Facebook and Instagram pages under Grating the Nutmeg-please follow us and you'll get behind the scenes photos, sneak peeks of new content, and info on how to purchase our new merchandise!   In today's episode, we discuss one of the most well-known sons of Connecticut and one that is one of the most perplexing! My guest is Jack Kelly, historian and author of the new book God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America's Most Hated Man. Kelly believes a reevaluation of Arnold's career with his string of heroic achievements as well as his betrayal of the American patriot cause is needed. In Connecticut, Benedict pivots from being a greatly admired hero of the Battle of Ridgefield on the American side to being the commander of the British troops that burned New London and massacred American militia men at Fort Griswold. How could this happen? Jack Kelly is an award-winning historian and novelist. His books about Revolution and early America include Band of Giants and Valcour. Kirkus Reviews described his latest book, God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America's most Hated Man as "a dazzling addition to the history of the American Revolution."  Jack has received the DAR History Medal. He is a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow in Nonfiction Literature and has appeared on NPR, C-Span and the History Channel. He lives and works in New York's Hudson Valley.   To find out more, go to his website: https://JackKellyBooks.com  and newsletter: https://jackkellyattalkingtoamerica.substack.com   To find out more about Benedict Arnold, check out these Connecticut Explored stories- https://www.ctexplored.org/benedict-arnold-and-the-battle-of-ridgefield/   https://www.ctexplored.org/benedict-arnold-turns-and-burns-new-london/   --------------------------------------------------------- From New Haven's world-renowned pizza, to Connecticut's connection to the Bauhaus, and uncovering the suffrage work of African American women in Connecticut, listen to all ten of Grating the Nutmeg's most streamed episodes now! We've been podcasting for nine years - that's nearly 200 episodes of sharing Connecticut's big stories. To celebrate, tune in to our top-streamed episodes of all time and then explore the rest! All you need to do is visit ctexplored.org/listen, click "Listen Here," and look for our post of the top 10 most streamed episodes for your next good story (or 10!). Enjoy!    Please use your Power of Giving to help us continue to offer the podcast at no charge to our listeners-students, teachers, and CT history fans around the country.   Could you make a $5 or $10 dollar monthly donation? To make your monthly or one-time donation go to ctexplored.org and look for the Grating the Nutmeg link under the donation tab! This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at https://www.highwattagemedia.com/   Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history.