Peggy Shippen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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).
Contents |
[edit] Early life
She was the daughter of Judge Edward Shippen of a prominent Philadelphia family.
{{Her brother Jonathon Shippen got married and had one child named John Shippen, he later grew up and got married, they had children Margaret Shippen and Alexander Shippen Alexander grew older, and also had children 4 3 boys and one girl John, Alex and Edward and Peggy They all gre old and only Edward got married. Edward had one child with his wife Shelia Shippen, a boy whom they named Alex because Alex was Edward's favourite brother. Alex grew old and also had children. By this time it was 1897. Alex's children could not 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 how she could get anything she wanted. She learned from her sister, Elizabeth, that if she threw a tantrum, then 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 to live on a farmhouse in the country, a few miles northeast of Philadelphia. They came back when they thought the battle was over, and because 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. They left a short time aferward, and when they returned, they came into one of the largest turning points of the Revolutionary War.
During her visits to her home, she met Andre, when 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, where she offered him to dance, even though he had a lame leg. The two flirted and somewhere near Elizabeth's (Peggy's sister) 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.
[edit] Historic stories
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.[1]
After Arnold fled to escape 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.
Peggy Shippen rejoined Arnold and followed him to London, New Brunswick, and back to 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.[2][3]
[edit] 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 (1768-1795)
- Richard (1769-1847)
- Henry (1772-1826)
The children of Peggy Shippen and Arnold:
- Edward Shippen Arnold (1782-1813)
- James Robertson (Lieutenant General) Arnold (1783-1852)
- Sophia (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][3]
[edit] References
- ^ People of the Revolution
- ^ Milton Lomask (October 1967). Benedict Arnold: The Aftermath of Treason. American Heritage Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
- ^ a b Baldwin, Thomas Williams (1916). "Vital Records of Uxbridge, Massachusetts to the Year 1850. Boston: Wright and Potter Printing, p. 356.
3. Beauty and the Traitor
[edit] 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.
