Peggy Shippen

Born July 11, 1760, Peggy Shippen was the youngest daughter of a prominent Philadelphian family. While missing the presents of her current suitor Captain John Andre, Peggy was introduced to widower named Benedict Arnold. Peggy fell head over heals for Arnold, even though he was about 20 years her senior. Peggy’s father on the other hand did not approved of the matched and wished to find a wealthier and more suitable groom for his youngest daughter.

To please her father, and in hopes of marrying the young Shippen girl, Arnold obtained enough funds to buy Mount Pleasant, a 96 acre estate overlooking the Schuykill River, which he immediately signed over Peggy. This seemingly satisfied her father and the couple was married on April 8, 1779, Peggy was 19 and Arnold 39.

Due to Peggy’s high social status, the newly wedded Arnold’s began to live well beyond their means from the very start. To accommodate his new lifestyle, Arnold miss used government items and goods which landed him in a mess of trouble, but this was only to be the beginning. Before their marriage, Peggy was corresponding with the British providing them with useful information and it is thought that it was Peggy who introduced Arnold to the enemy.

After Arnold’s escape from West Point, Peggy remained and try to convince George Washington and his cabinet that she was innocent and not responsible for her husbands actions and eventual betrayal. She left West Point to her fathers house for a short period of time until in 1780 Peggy was banished from Pennsylvania and her father accompanied her to the British Territory in New York. Realizing neither one of them could now make a home in America due to their traitorous dealings, the Arnolds headed for England in December of 1781.

After four years of living in London, Arnold left an expecting Peggy and their two young sons and headed off to Saint John, New Brunswick with his son Richard to establish a trading business at Lowers Cove. The father and son team purchased a great deal of property, a ship, a lumber yard and a shipyard in perpetrations to use to trade in the West Indies. Once his business became successful, Arnold decided it was time to move Peggy and their sons to Saint John.

Upon her arrival, she was met with quite a surprise. Arnold introduced his beautiful wife to John Sage, a product of an affair Arnold was having while Peggy was tucked safely away and alone in London. Peggy, who adored her husband dearly was devastated at the news, and no longer referred to Arnold as “the best of all husbands”.

After the shock of Arnold’s infidelity, Peggy settled down in Saint John easily and lived a very pleasant life with an abundance of friends and extended family. This life would come to a screeching halt when on July 11, 1788 Arnold’s store and warehouses burned to the ground. Upon the destruction of his livelihood, Arnold proceeded to sue his partner Munson Hayt for future funds owed in 1790. Hayt not all to happy with the legal battle began to spread word to the people that Arnold burnt his own warehouse down to collect insurance money. Arnold retaliated by taking Hayt back to court and sued him for slander, Arnold won the case, but it did failed to clear his already tainted name. Realizing they could never be accepted once again into society in Saint John, Peggy and her husband once again packed their bags and sailed back to England where the couple spent the rest of their lives in London.

After Arnold’s death in 1801, Peggy sold his estate and quickly paid off his mounting debts. In 1804 at the age of forty three, Peggy died in London and was buried next to her husband at St. Marys. During her banishment from her home state, Peggy returned to America only once to care for her parents in 1784. She most remembered as a boisterous and beautiful woman who was always loyal to The Crown.

For Further Reading

America’s First Conspiracy : The Story of Peggy Shippen and Benedict Arnold

Finishing Becca: A Story about Peggy Shippen and Benedict Arnold (Great Episodes)

The Exquisite Siren: The Romance of Peggy Shippen and Major John Andre