The Highest-paid Spy in the American Revolution

I first became interested in Margaret “Peggy” Shippen after watching the AMC series TURN, a Revolutionary War-era drama based on the same-named Alexander Rose novel. As always when presented with an intelligent, mischievous, courageous woman from the past I start digging. Peggy was not at all shallow like she is portrayed to be. She really understood how men thought and operated, a great asset I’m sure given that period in history.

She was born on July 11, 1760, to one of the most prominent families in Philadelphia, which included two Philadelphia mayors and the founder of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Her mother Margaret was the daughter of prominent lawyer Tench Francis and her father Edward Shippen IV was a judge, who tried to remain neutral during the American Revolution, but the family was well-known for their loyalist tendencies, meaning loyal to the British. With the creation of the state of Pennsylvania in 1776, Shippen lost his judgeship and other political offices he had held under the royal government. As a girl, Peggy enjoyed music, drawing and needlework; however, her main interests were in newspapers and political jargon. She had a loving admiration of her father and from him she learned about politics and the Revolution. The Shippen family held many social gatherings at their home. A favorite among British officers during the British occupation of Philadelphia, Peggy met and had at least a flirtation with Major John Andre, an officer under General William Howe’s command. He became a regular visitor to the Shippen household and favored Peggy among the girls. In June 1778, the British withdrew from the city, but Peggy stayed in contact with Andre.

Soon after, Peggy Shippen became acquainted with widower and Revolutionary War General Benedict Arnold, the hero of the Battle of Saratoga and the new military governor of Philadelphia. In spite of the differences in their political views, the two began a courtship, and Arnold soon sent Peggy’s father a letter asking for her hand. Edward Shippen was skeptical of Arnold, but eventually consented to the engagement. On April 8, 1779, 37-year-old Arnold married 18-year-old Peggy. After the British withdrew from Philadelphia in June 1778, General George Washington appointed Arnold military commander of the city. Even before the Americans reoccupied Philadelphia, Arnold began planning to capitalize financially on the change in power there, engaging in a variety of business deals designed to profit from war-related supply movements and benefiting from the protection of his authority. However things were about to change.

In 1779, the Council of Pennsylvania filed charges of corruption and mishandling of government money against Arnold that occurred during his previous military campaigns. Arnold demanded a court martial to clear his name. In spite of the fact that a number of members of the panel of judges were ill-disposed to Arnold over actions and disputes earlier in the war, Arnold was cleared of all but two minor charges on January 26, 1780. Arnold worked over the next few months to publicize this fact; however, Washington published a formal rebuke of Arnold’s behavior. A Congressional inquiry into his expenditures concluded that Arnold had failed to fully account for his expenses incurred during the Quebec invasion, and that he owed the Congress some £1000, largely because he was unable to document them. Angry, frustrated and deeply in debt, Arnold resigned his military command of Philadelphia in late April 1780.

During this time, Peggy Arnold was also keeping in contact with Major John Andre, who had been made British General Henry Clinton’s spy chief. Peggy’s favoring of the British began to re-emerge. With her husband furious at his countrymen and their social circle increasingly including those with British sympathies, the opportunity arose to switch sides. Historians are divided as to who was the original instigator of communications between Andre and Arnold: while some point to Peggy’s close relationship with Andre, others suspect Jonathan Odell or Joseph Stanbury, both Loyalists affiliated with the Arnolds. Regardless of who started it, the undisputed fact is that Arnold began communications with the British in May 1779, sharing information on troop locations, supply lines, and other vital military intelligence. Peggy did play some part in these exchanges: she facilitated some of the communications, and some of the surviving letters include portions written in her handwriting, with her husband’s messages on the same sheet, written in invisible ink. n 1792, it would be revealed that Peggy was paid £350 for handling some messages. Around this time, however, Peggy became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son, Edward, in March 1780. The family moved to a home near West Point, the crucial military post where Arnold had gained command — and was providing the British with information about troop locations and strengths, as well as the locations of supply depots, all the while negotiating over compensation.

In September 1780, the plot fell apart. On September 21, Andre and Arnold met so that Arnold could hand over significant documents related to the West Point plot. As Andre attempted to return to British territory, however, he was persuaded by his go-between that it would be safer to ride in plain clothes; as a result, he was captured on September 23 and deemed a spy instead of an enemy officer. Arnold fled on September 25, leaving Peggy and their son behind. George Washington and his aides, including Alexander Hamilton, were scheduled to have a breakfast with the Arnolds that morning, and they discovered his treason as they arrived to find Peggy alone. Peggy became hysterical upon “discovering” her husband’s treason, which may have helped buy Arnold time to escape. She returned to her family in Philadelphia and feigned ignorance until a letter between Andre and Peggy was discovered, upon which she was sent to British-occupied New York with her husband, where their second son, James, was born. Andre was executed as a spy. The Arnolds fled to London in December 1781, and Peggy was presented at the royal court in February 1782. It was here that she was paid for her services in the war — an annual pension for her children, plus £350 on the orders of King George III himself. In 1789, Peggy visited family in Philadelphia, and she was made very unwelcome in the city. By the time the Arnolds left Canada to return to England in 1791, they were unwelcome in Canada, too, where mobs met them with protests as they departed. Arnold died in 1801, and Peggy auctioned off much of their property to cover his debts. She died in London of 1804, possibly from cancer.

Although history remembers her husband as the ultimate traitor, historians have also come to conclude that Peggy played a role in that treason. Her legacy is a mysterious one, with some believing she was just a British sympathizer and others believing she orchestrated the whole betrayal. Either way, Peggy Shippen Arnold went down in history as party to one of the most infamous actions in American history. Sometimes it’s the woman behind the man that holds the answers.

Citations

“Peggy Shippen Arnold.” History of American Women, 2 Apr. 2017, www.womenhistoryblog.com/2011/04/peggy-shippen-arnold.html.

Prahl, Amanda. “Peggy Shippen: The Socialite Complicit in Benedict Arnold’s Treason.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 5 Oct. 2018, www.thoughtco.com/peggy-shippen-biography-4176715.