The bad girl of the Revolution

Published 4:25 am Saturday, March 7, 2026

Time: 1777 to 1781

Place: Philadelphia

“Treacherous Beauty” by Mark Jacob & Stephen Case

The Two Peggy’s

The main character or number one bad girl was Peggy Shippen, known as the Princess of Philadelphia. She is the youngest child of successful Philadelphian, Edwin Shippen, a lawyer and judge. Peggy proved to be the brightest star in Philadelphia and with her special friend, Peggy Chew, managed to break many hearts, both Loyalist’s and Patriot’s. And her father tried to ride the fence, at times he pretended to follow the Patriot’s and at other times, the Crown. Also her father used his beautiful and brilliant daughter to bring the right people to his talk-of-the-town parties which he threw.

To Peggy, life was a party, until it wasn’t.

She met the heart-throb of the British forces, Major John Andre, a young, suave British officer, who quoted poetry and presented Peggy with beautiful artwork, mostly drawings of herself. It was after their acquaintance which became more than a friendship that Peggy began to think more about the world of espionage, after many conversations with John Andre.  It was complicated but it seems that Andre was a spy for the British and within months, he was hanged by the Patriot’s.

Her heart was broken but within weeks she found herself in the arms of Benedict Arnold, a man twice her age and also a cripple, wounded two times in Revolutionary battles fighting for the Patriot’s.

Peggy’s world had changed from a young, spoiled girl to still a 20-year-old woman, married with an infant.

We find that the man she married had a grudge against none other than General George Washington.

Benedict Arnold was miffed. Yes, miffed with General Washington. Benedict felt as if he had not been compensated enough pertaining to his gallant efforts at The Battle of Saratoga, which was a turning point during The Revolutionary War. He wanted more prestige and especially more money.

You see after months of pleading, Arnold had been awarded a new position with the Patriot Army. He was to take command of Fort West Point, a prestigious appointment.

But at the same time, after months of needling by his wife, Peggy, Arnold furnished top-secret information to the British with the agreement that his wife and infant baby son be secretly transported to England.

And when was all of this to take take place?

It happened to be was on the morning when Arnold was to take his spy-report to the British officer. Yes, President Washington, along with his aides, decided to make a visit to Mr. and Mrs. Arnold on that very morning.

Arnold had just ridden away with the spy documents to meet his British counter-part, when Peggy, still in her night clothes and  in bed, heard a large number of horses in the driveway.

The housekeeper awakened her that President Washington had arrived for a visit. (Note: I will always wonder if Washington had gotten word about the espionage that day).

Peggy awake now and realizing the terrible happenings, quickly devised a plan.

By this time, Washington and one of his aides were ascending the steps to her bedroom.

“Oh, Mrs. Arnold, Pray that you are not ill.”

And that’s when the performance began.

She screamed, “Hot irons have been placed on my head.”

She was partially dressed and wandering around the room.

It was a scene of hysteria, with screaming and wailing,

It worked. Washington allowed her to immediately ride away with her infant to join her family but what she really did was join her husband and with the money given to Arnold for acting as a spy, the two of them plus the baby boarded a boat and sailed to England.

Arnold never returned to America and Peggy only briefly in 1889 to visit family.

Anne McKee is listed on The Mississippi Humanities Speaker’s Bureau.