Following the defeat on Lake Champlain, Arnold accompanied Major General Horatio Gates as he led a portion of the army at Ticonderoga south to assist General Washington in the defense of New Jersey. On December 7, 1776, a large British force under Lieutenant General Henry Clinton occupied Newport, Rhode Island. In response Washington ordered Arnold to go back to New England to raise militia and coordinate the defense of Rhode Island. Arnold was made Deputy Commander of the Eastern Department of the Continental Army under Major General Joseph Spencer, and left Washington's camp in Pennsylvania on December 22.