Arnold was a cavalry officer in the war of 1812, later attaining the rank of captain. He was supervisor of the town of Amsterdam from 1813 to 1816 when he was elected to the New York State Assembly

Benedict Arnold of Amsterdam
By Bob Cudmore

Amsterdam's Benedict Arnold died on March 3, 1849 and likely was buried at a cemetery on Market Hill, according to research done by historian Christopher Philippo. The growing village encroached on that burial ground. Arnold's remains and others were moved to Green Hill Cemetery on Church Street after it was created in 1858.

Arnold's grandson was also buried at Green Hill. Lieutenant Benedict Arnold Leonard was killed in 1864 in his twelfth Civil War battle.
Arnold Avenue and the former Arnold Avenue School were named in honor of the good Benedict Arnold and his family.

NOT THE TRAITOR
Amsterdam's Benedict Arnold was not the Revolutionary War hero of the battle of Saratoga who later became a turncoat. General Arnold was regarded as a hero until his plans to betray the fort at West Point were found out on September 23, 1780.

The man who became Amsterdam's Benedict Arnold was born less than two weeks later, October 5 of that year. It seems that Benedict was a traditional name in the family.
One source reports the younger Arnold was born in Schaghticoke, Rennselaer County while others list his birthplace as Florida, just south of Amsterdam, or Amsterdam itself.
Arnold married Mary Bovee in 1806 and by 1808 was operating a store at Main and Bridge Streets in Amsterdam.

Arnold was a cavalry officer in the war of 1812, later attaining the rank of captain. He was supervisor of the town of Amsterdam from 1813 to 1816 when he was elected to the New York State Assembly. He was a member of Congress from 1829 to 1831 during the administration of President Andrew Jackson, although he was politically opposed to Jackson.

Arnold was one of the founders of the Amsterdam Aqueduct Company in 1829. The company laid pipes to bring water to thirsty citizens.

He was among those who campaigned to incorporate Amsterdam as a village and was the second president of the village board in 1832. He served again as town of Amsterdam supervisor and, in 1844, was one of the organizers of the Fonda Fair. He owned a distillery whose vats were purchased the year he died for what became Kelloggs and Miller, a linseed oil manufacturer.

Arnold's two story Market Street home was a landmark later torn down for construction of the Blood Building. Today the site is occupied by the downtown hotel.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH AMSTERDAM

In 1946, the Chamber of Commerce sponsored a contest called. What I Don't Like About Amsterdam.
The city's carpet mill economy was still thriving. However, the Chamber wanted to identify problems. The 850 entries were submitted anonymously. A numbering system enabled the Chamber to award cash prizes to anonymous winners.

Charles H. Schenck, Chamber Executive Secretary, said lack of recreation facilities, conditions of the streets, garbage collection, hotel accommodations, transportation, theatrical facilities and sale of alcoholic beverages were the most frequent complaints.
We are quick to criticize those who make an honest effort to do something, wrote the first prize winner. Misguided leadership has done a lot to put nationalism above civic responsibility and has tended to build up group interest with selfish motives. We are all Americans and we should work together.

The second place essay called for Sunday evening services in the churches and an end to competition among veterans groups. The writer proposed the city buy sidewalk snow plows and dedicate the planned athletic fields near the Lynch School as a World War II memorial.
The third place finisher suggested a waste disposal system so that sewage would no longer be dumped into the Mohawk River. The writer also called for beautification of the riverfront.

The Friday Conversation on The Historians

Jennet Conant discusses her book The Great Secret: The Classified World War II Disaster That Launched the War on Cancer.

On the night of December 2, 1943, the Luftwaffe bombed a critical Allied port in Bari, Italy, sinking 17 ships and killing more than a thousand servicemen and hundreds of civilians. Caught in the surprise air raid was the John Harvey, an American Liberty ship carrying a top-secret cargo of 2,000 mustard bombs to be used in retaliation if the Germans resorted to gas warfare. 

When one young sailor after another began suddenly dying of mysterious symptoms, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Alexander, a doctor and chemical weapons expert, was dispatched to investigate. He quickly diagnosed mustard gas exposure, but was overruled by British officials determined to cover up the presence of poison gas in the devastating naval disaster, which the press dubbed "little Pearl Harbor". Prime Minister Winston Churchill and General Dwight D. Eisenhower acted in concert to suppress the truth, insisting the censorship was necessitated by military security. 

Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, January 16, 2023

21 degrees in The City of Amsterdam at 7:20AM