Peggy Shippen

Peggy Shippen and daughter, by Sir Thomas Lawrence

Peggy Shippen, or Margaret Shippen (July 11 1760 - August 24 1804 or February 14 1836), was the second wife of General Benedict Arnold (following Margaret Mansfield, who died in 1775).

Early life

She was the daughter of Judge Edward Shippen of a prominent Philadelphia family.

Her brother Jthon Shippen married and had one child named John Shippen, he later grew to adulthood and married. He fathered two children Margaret Shippen and Alexander Shippen. Alexander had children ( total) 3 boys and one girl John, Alex and Edward and Peggy. They survived to adulthood but only Edward married. Edward had one child with his wife Shelia Shippen, a boy whom they named Alex because Alex was Edward's favourite brother. Alex had children. By this time it was 1897. Alex's children cannot be identified.

She was the youngest of the family, though there was two other boys after her that died in infancy. She grew up the baby of the family, but soon became the favorite of her father.

When she was very young, she learned that she could get anything she wanted from her sister, Elizabeth by throwing a tantrum. Either her mother or father would give in and allow her to have what she wanted. She used this to her advantage throughout her life.

When her family heard that Philadelphia was about to become a war zone, Peggy and her father left their house in the city to live on a farmhouse in the country, a few miles northeast of Philadelphia. They came back, when they thought it safe. The state had passed a law that all Loyalists, even Neutralists like the Shippen family, could be arrested. Judge Shippen thought they would be safer in their city home, since the country near Philadelphia was dangerous and had been the scene of numerous battles and skirmishes. During her visits to her home, she met British Major John Andre, after the British took control of Philadelphia. They became good friends, some even say there were mild flirtations. When he left, he gave her a lock of his hair in a golden locket.

Shortly after, Benedict Arnold came to reside in Philadelphia. Peggy met him at a dance. She offered to dance with him, even though he had a lame leg. The two flirted. Near the time of Elizabeth's wedding, Arnold sent a letter of engagement to Peggy. At this time, Peggy did not know that the same letter had been sent to Arnold's first love. This happened about 2-3 months before he came to Philadelphia.

In 1779, the 19-year-old Shippen married the 38-year-old Arnold. Due to her social position, Arnold began living beyond his means and was subsequently court-martialed for misusing government wagons and issuing a pass improperly to a ship.

Historic stories

The story of Arnold's changing sides in the war. It is now believed that Peggy Shippen may have instigated the correspondence between Arnold and Major John André, her friend and previous suitor, who served as aide-de-camp to General Henry Clinton. She may also have been sending information to the British before she married Arnold. Other suspects in Philadelphia, for whom there is evidence in the form of letters of correspondence with André, are loyalists Rev. Jonathan Odell and Joseph Stansbury.

General Arnold attempted to hand over pertinent information regarding the fortifications at the fort at West Point along the Hudson River. During a rendezvous with then Adjutant General, Major John Andre, a series of delays caused Major Andre to remain on shore and subsequently have to hide himself in a house whose owner was friends with General Arnold. General Arnold encouraged the Major to don a coat that was not his 'regimental' uniform coat and as he rode a horse back to Manhattan to hand over the information to General Sir Henry Clinton, he was stopped and searched, resulting in the plot being discovered.

After hearing the news of Major Andre's being captured, Arnold fled to escape his own capture. Shippen remained for a short time at West Point, long enough to convince George Washington and his staff that she had nothing to do with her husband's betrayal. From West Point she returned briefly to her parents' home in Philadelphia and then joined her husband in New York City. New evidence suggests that she confided to her friend Theodora Prevost, the widow of a British officer, that she had always hated the American cause and had actively worked to promote her husband's plan to switch allegiance.

Eventually, after a military trial, Major John Andre was condemned to death as a spy and was hung in Old Tappan, NY. Later reinterred in London's Westminster Abbey in "Poet's Corner."

Peggy Shippen rejoined Arnold and followed him to London in 1781 and resided with him in New Brunswick from 1787 until 1791 before returning to o London again. Shippen remained loyally at her husband's side in spite of financial disasters and the cool reception he received in Britain and New Brunswick. After his death, she used his estate to pay off his bad debts.

In 1784 Shippen returned to the United States for two years to care for her parents and then returned to England. She reportedly died in 1804 in England, or later in 1836, at Uxbridge, Massachusetts, according to local vital records.

Children, birth and death years

Benedict Arnold had eight children total, three with Margaret Mansfield (his former wife who died in 1775) and five with Shippen, who he married in 1779.

The children of Margaret Mansfield and Arnold:

Benedict VI Arnold (1768-1795)

Richard Arnold (1769-1847)

Henry Arnold (1772-1826)

The children of Peggy Shippen and Arnold:

Edward Shippen Arnold (1782-1813)

James Robertson (Lieutenant General) Arnold (1783-1852)

Sophia Matilda Arnold (1785-1828)

George (Lieutenant Colonel) Arnold (1784-1828)

William Fitch Arnold (1786-1828)

Another source states that Peggy Shippen returned to Massachusetts from England, to live where her Quaker ancestors had been, and died at Uxbridge on February 14, 1836 at the age of 83. Clearly both dates of death cannot be correct. [1] The vital records of Uxbridge, Massachusetts show that "Sarah Arnold", widow of Benedict Arnold, died on this date, at the age of 83, in this town and the records are also from the Quaker meetinghouse at this location.[2]One more source states that she returned to the U.S. incognito and died at Uxbridge, Mass. [3]

References

3. Beauty and the Traitor

Further reading

• Finishing Becca by Ann Rinaldi is a historical fiction novel based on the life of Peggy Shippen and Benedict Arnold, an army man. It gives much information of Peggy's life in Philadelphia during the American Revolution through the eyes of Peggy's fictional maid girl, 15-year-old Becca Syng.