Treacherous Beauty
Page 27
Chapter 7
234 Elizabeth Tilghman to Betsy Shippen Burd, April 14, 1779, Shippen Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
235 Browning, Americans of Royal Descent, 138.
236 Neddy Burd to Jasper Yeates, Jan. 3, 1779, in Walker, 25:36.
237 Neddy Burd to Jasper Yeates, Dec. 22, 1778, in Walker, 25:34.
238 Judge Edward Shippen to Edward Shippen of Lancaster, Dec. 28, 1778, in Lewis, 29.
239 Benedict Arnold to Judge Edward Shippen, Sept. 1778, in I. N. Arnold, Life, 228.
240 Elizabeth Tilghman to Betsy Shippen Burd, Jan. 29, 1779, in Walker, 25:37–38.
241 Norton, 42. Pamela Dwight Sedgwick, an upper-crust New Englander, actually wrote “dark leep,” according to Norton, but this book’s style corrects such jarring spellings.
242 Lyons, 15; Norton, 45–46.
243 Norton, 58.
244 Neddy Burd to Jasper Yeates, Jan. 3, 1779, in Walker, 25:35–36.
245 Randall, 431. James Duane, a member of the Continental Congress, wrote Philip Schuyler on Jan. 3, 1779, comparing the speculation over Arnold’s leg to the fictional gossip over a different war wound suffered by the character Toby in Laurence Sterne’s novel Tristram Shandy. In Duane’s opinion, Arnold’s leg “much resembles Uncle Toby’s groin.”
246 Brandt, 165–166; Randall, 462.
247 Flexner, 244; Brandt, 168.
248 Benedict Arnold in Pennsylvania Packet, Feb. 9, 1779, in Randall, 444.
249 Benedict Arnold to Peggy Shippen, Feb. 8, 1779, in Walker, 25:38–39.
250 Benedict Arnold to Peggy Shippen, Feb. 8, 1779, in I. N. Arnold, Life, 230–231.
251 Elizabeth Tilghman to Betsy Shippen Burd, March 13, 1779, in Walker, 25:39.
252 Van Doren, 188–192; Randall, 443–447; Brandt, 169–172.
253 Glenn, Some Colonial Mansions, 2:452–453; Flexner, 252. Today, Mount Pleasant is carefully maintained and open to the public in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.
254 Brandt, 166, 173.
255 George Grieve in Chastellux, Travels in North America, 1:312.
256 Elizabeth Tilghman to Betsy Shippen Burd, April 14, 1779, Shippen Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
257 Benedict Arnold to George Washington, May 5, 1779, in Correspondence of the American Revolution, 2:291.
Chapter 8
258 Brandt, 147.
259 Fiske, The American Revolution, 2:197–199; Cooley, Currency Wars, 85–86.
260 Nathanael Greene to James Mitchell Varnum, Feb. 9, 1779, in G. W. Greene, Life of Nathanael Greene, 2:168–169.
261 Conrad Alexandre Gérard to the French government, Nov. 24, 1778, in Conway, Life of Thomas Paine, 1:114–115.
262 Neimeyer, The Revolutionary War, 155.
263 Rappleye, Robert Morris, 210.
264 Cogliano, Revolutionary America, 106.
265 Reich, British Friends of the American Revolution, 97.
266 Horace Walpole to H. S. Conway, Jan. 3, 1981, in Walpole, Letters, 7:487.
267 John André to his uncle, Sept. 12, 1778, in Hatch, 120.
268 Hatch, 113–115.
269 John André, circa October 1779, in Flexner, 295.
270 Kemble, Journals, 188.
271 Loewenberg, “Letter on Major André in Germany,” cited in Hatch, 30.
272 J. H. Smith, Death of Major André, 30.
273 Becky Franks to her sister, Abby Hamilton, Aug. 10, 1781, in Bizarre, for Fireside and Wayside 4:264.
274 Hibbert, Redcoats and Rebels, 59–60.
275 Jasanoff, 32.
276 Tuchman, The First Salute, 250.
277 Hatch, 119–145; Randall, 460–462; Flexner, 260–269.
278 Galloway, Diary, 78. The book transcribes the passage in question as referring to three of the officers as “And [illegible] & Cunble & Riddle.” Flexner takes “And” to be André, “Cunble” to be Campbell, and “Riddle” to be Ridsale. A list of social contacts in the diary lists John André but no other person whose name begins with “And.”
279 André memorandum, 1779, in Hatch, 137; Flexner, 264.
280 Flexner, 266.
Chapter 9
281 Randall, 465; Van Doren, 439, 444.
282 Alden, History of the American Revolution, 304.
283 Flexner, 275–276; Hatch, 155–156.
284 Stansbury’s statement in support of Arnold’s claim for compensation from the crown, March 4, 1784, in Van Doren, 196.
285 Jonathan Odell, “Birthday Ode,” in Loyal Verses, 9.
286 Clinton Papers; Van Doren, 196–200; Hatch 164–165, 168–169; Brandt, 177–178; Randall, 462–465.
287 John André to Joseph Stansbury, May 10, 1779, Clinton Papers.
288 Oxford Dictionaries Online, s.v. “obnoxious,” http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/obnoxious.
289 John André to Peggy Chew, circa May 1779, Clinton Papers.
290 Brandt, 179.
291 M. Jones, Biographies of Great Men, 45–48; Brandt, 182.
292 Jonathan Odell to John André, May 31, 1779, Clinton Papers; Randall, 467; Hatch, 172–173.
293 Randall, 468–471; Brandt 180–182.
294 Hatch, 141; Randall, 472; Flexner, 284–285.
295 New Jersey Gazette, Dec. 9, 1779, in Hatch, 141.
296 Skillion, New York Public Library Literature Companion, 597.
297 Benedict Arnold to John André, 1779, Clinton Papers.
298 John André to Benedict Arnold, mid-June 1779, Clinton Papers.
299 Clinton Papers; Hatch, 177–178.
300 Benedict Arnold to George Washington, July 13, 1779, in Writings of George Washington, ed. Sparks, 6:527.
301 John André to Benedict Arnold, late July 1779, Clinton Papers.
302 Joseph Stansbury to John André, late July 1779, Clinton Papers.
303 Guide to the Giles Family Papers, New-York Historical Society, http://dlib.nyu .edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/giles_content.html.
304 John André to Peggy Shippen, Aug. 16, 1779, Clinton Papers.
305 Randall, 477.
306 Peggy Shippen to John André, Oct. 13, 1779, Clinton Papers.
Chapter 10
307 Norton, 72, 75.
308 Knott, 99.
309 Galloway, 72.
310 Roche, 171; Randall, 428; Galloway, 47–48, 51.
311 Silas Deane to Simeon Deane, July 27, 1779, in Deane et al., Deane Papers, 4:23.
312 Rappleye, 188–195; Randall, 479–483; Van Doren, 252; Brandt, 183–184.
313 Joseph Reed speech, Nov. 13, 1779, Minutes of the Supreme Executive Council, 12:168.
314 Keith, Provincial Councillors of Pennsylvania, 70.
315 Brandt, 180, 185–190; Van Doren, 243–252; Randall, 484–492.
316 Peggy Shippen to Benedict Arnold, Jan. 4, 1780, Reed Papers, New-York Historical Society.
317 Ibid.
318 Randall, 492–494.
319 R. Harvey, 176.
320 Washington’s general orders, April 6, 1780, from Washington, Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick, 18:225, cited in Randall, 494. Van Doren warns against believing a second Washington reprimand or message to Arnold as reported by French diplomat François Barbe-Marbois. The version offered by the imaginative Barbe-Marbois includes this lyrical statement: “Our profession is the chastest of all. Even the shadow of a fault tarnishes the luster of our finest achievements.”
321 Van Doren, 255; Brandt, 189–190.
322 Randall, 499; Scharf and Westcott, 2:882.
323 Fraser, Charleston! Charleston!, 161–162.
324 Hatch, 186; Randall, 472.
325 Van Doren, 260–261; Brandt, 190–191; Randall, 502–503; Clinton Papers.
326 Royal Military Calendar, 2
:23.
327 Benedict Arnold to John André, Aug. 30, 1780, Clinton Papers.
328 George Beckwith document summarizing negotiations, circa May 1780, in Van Doren, 261.
329 Van Doren, 261. The current whereabouts of the rings are unknown.
330 Randall, 513–515; Hatch, 201, 205; Brandt, 194, 198, 202; Flexner, 310; Richardson, West Point, 1–12. Fort Arnold was renamed Fort Clinton after Arnold’s treachery was exposed.
331 Benjamin Tallmadge to Jonathan Trumbull, June 15, 1780, in Hatch, 201.
332 Henry Clinton to his sisters, Oct. 4 and 9, 1780, Clinton Papers.
333 Nathanael Greene’s statement, Sept. 26, 1780, in Thacher, Eyewitness to the American Revolution, 215.
334 Philip Schuyler to Benedict Arnold, June 2, 1780, in I. N. Arnold, Life, 263.
335 Hannah Arnold to Benedict Arnold, Sept. 4, 1780, in Van Doren, 303–304. This letter was written after Arnold received the West Point appointment but before Peggy joined him.
336 Randall, 507–509; Van Doren, 269–275; Brandt, 195; Clinton Papers.
337 Benedict Arnold to George Beckwith or John André, June 16, 1780, Clinton Papers.
338 Benedict Arnold to John André, July 12, 1780, Clinton Papers.
339 Benedict Arnold to John André, July 15, 1780, Clinton Papers.
340 Jonathan Odell to Joseph Stansbury, July 24, 1780, Clinton Papers.
341 Schroeder and Lossing, Life and Times of Washington, 4:1693.
342 Meek, “Of Wandering Wombs”; Bronfen, Knotted Subject, 108–109.
343 Leake, Chronic Diseases Peculiar to Women, 141, cited in Risse, “Hysteria at the Edinburgh Infirmary,” 4.
344 Peggy Shippen to Judge Edward Shippen, autumn 1801, Shippen Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Chapter 11
345 Description of Benedict Arnold’s Philadelphia papers, Pennsylvania Packet, Sept. 30, 1780.
346 Stansbury to Jonathan Odell, Aug. 14, 1780, Clinton Papers.
347 Benedict Arnold to Peggy Shippen, Aug. 5, 1780, Clinton Papers.
348 Jonathan Odell to John André, Aug. 24, 1780, Clinton Papers.
349 Hannah Arnold to Benedict Arnold, Sept. 4, 1780, in Van Doren, 303–304.
350 Jasanoff, 35–36; Randall, 500; Brandt, 205, 213–214. Robinson’s house in the Hudson Highlands was destroyed by fire in 1892.
351 Robert Howe to Benedict Arnold, Aug. 5, 1780, in Brandt, 205.
352 Benedict Arnold to Robert Howe, Aug. 5, 1780, in Brandt, 205.
353 Brandt, 200–205; Flexner, 327; Van Doren, 470.
354 Benedict Arnold to Robert Howe, Sept. 12, 1780, in Brandt, 205.
355 Benedict Arnold to Peggy Shippen, August–September 1780, in Walker, 25:44–45.
356 Hannah Arnold to Peggy Shippen, Sept. 10, 1780, in Walker, 25:42.
357 David Franks to Arnold, Aug. 28, 1780, in Van Doren, 305.
358 Flexner, 325–326; Brandt, 208–213; Van Doren, 306–309.
359 Benedict Arnold to Samuel Parsons, Sept. 8, 1780, in Varick Court of Inquiry (hereafter Varick), 197–198.
360 Thacher, 133.
361 Randall, 407; Flexner, 221–222, 335.
362 Brandt, 140–141; Cushman, Richard Varick, 28–33, 65–79.
363 Varick, 124–125.
364 Benedict Arnold to Richard Varick, Aug. 5, 1780, in Varick, 82.
365 Richard Varick to Benedict Arnold, Aug. 7, 1780, in Varick, 83–84.
366 Mrs. James Gibson’s recollection of Franks’s account, in I. N. Arnold, Life, 318–319.
367 Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, July 14, 1783, in Burstein and Isenberg, Madison and Jefferson, 95.
368 Peggy Shippen to Edward Shippen, March 6, 1786, in Walker, 24:454; Norton, 91.
369 Flexner, 336–337; Brandt, 213; Varick, 123, 140; Van Doren, 316–319.
370 Varick, 149.
371 Varick, 133–134.
372 Chernow, 297–298.
373 Puls, Henry Knox, 252; J. A. Greene, The Guns of Independence, 105.
374 Washington to John Laurens, Oct. 13, 1780, in Schroeder and Lossing, 3:1311.
375 Brandt, 215–218; Varick, 126–127, 178–179.
Chapter 12
376 Beverley Robinson to Benedict Arnold, Sept. 21, 1780, in Van Doren, 327.
377 Van Doren, 323.
378 Van Doren, 325–329; Brandt, 216–217.
379 J. H. Smith, 27.
380 Brandt, 216–217; Van Doren, 329–333; Flexner, 342–349; Hatch, 228–231.
381 Koke, Accomplice in Treason, 86–92; Flexner, 350–352; Hatch, 232–237.
382 Koke, 152–197. A court-martial acquitted Smith of treason, but he was held for possible trial on related charges. He escaped from jail, reached British-held New York City, and later went to England.
383 André statement, Sept. 29, 1780, in Koke, 88.
384 Hatch, 236; Flexner, 352.
385 Hatch, 236–241; Koke, 93–99; Van Doren, 337; Brandt, 218–219; Flexner, 352–356.
386 J. H. Smith, 40.
387 J. H. Smith, 43.
388 J. H. Smith, 46.
389 Weaver, A Quaker Woman’s Cookbook, 337; Merriam-Webster, s.v. “stirabout,” http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stirabout. André’s poem was called “The Cow Chace.”
Chapter 13
390 Brandt, 218.
391 Testimony by John Lamb and Richard Varick, in Varick, 150–151, 174–177.
392 André’s statement, Sept. 29, 1780, in Flexner, 357.
393 Hatch, 241–246; Walsh, Execution of Major André, 102–114, 155; Flexner, 356–359.
394 Paulding’s account, in Hatch, 245.
395 Flexner, 360–365; Hatch, 247–249; Walsh, 115–123; Van Doren, 341, 486.
396 Jameson to Benedict Arnold, Sept. 23, 1780, in Van Doren, 486.
397 John Jameson to Lt. Allen, Sept. 23, 1780, cited in Van Doren, 486.
398 John André to George Washington, Sept. 24, 1780, in Gentleman’s Magazine 50 (1780): 611.
399 Varick to sister Jane, Oct. 1, 1780, in Varick, 191.
400 Brandt, 220–221; Flexner, 366–369; Van Doren, 344–346; Varick, 129–130; Randall, 555.
401 Irving, Life of George Washington, 4:137. This quotation, which may seem a bit tidy, has generally been accepted by historians since its appearance in Irving’s mid-nineteenth-century biography. Statements from written materials such as letters are more reliable than spoken words during this period and form the bulk of the direct quotations in this book.
402 Hirschfeld, George Washington and Slavery, 106–111. Franks’s testimony doesn’t name Lee but simply says that “Washington’s servant” arrived. Lee was the general’s primary servant at that time.
403 Varick, 130.
404 Words of Major James McHenry, cited in Flexner, 367.
405 T. Paine, Collected Writings, 251.
406 Flexner, 369.
Chapter 14
407 Varick, 129–130; Jasanoff, 36; Flexner, 370; Brandt, 220–221.
408 Intelligence report of Andrew Elliot, Oct. 4–7, 1780, in Commager and Morris, Spirit of ’Seventy-Six, 752.
409 Mr. Lear’s diary quoting Washington’s recollection in 1786, cited in Rush, Washington in Domestic Life, 28.
410 Varick, 189–193; Flexner, 370–372; Walker, 294–295.
411 Crutchfield, George Washington, 117.
412 Owen, speech, Family Magazine 5:383.
413 Alexander Hamilton to Elizabeth Schuyler, Sept. 25–26, 1780, in Walker, 25:149. In describing Washington’s visit to Peggy, Hamilton writes: “Sometimes she pressed her infant to her bosom and lamented its fate.” But during other times of the day, it’s unclear when baby Edward was with Peggy or with servants. Surely officers and staff mus
t have worried about entrusting the child to a woman in the throes of apparent insanity. But Peggy may have refused to give him up, since she said people were trying to kill him.
414 Flexner, 372.
415 Flexner, 372.
416 Benedict Arnold to George Washington, Sept. 25, 1780, in Brandt, 221–222.
417 Benedict Arnold to Peggy Shippen, Sept. 25, 1780, McHenry Papers, Library of Congress.
418 Hatch, 263.
419 Hatch, 250–251.
420 Marquis de Lafayette to Chevalier de la Luzerne, Sept. 25–26, 1780, in Walker, 25:294–295.
421 Neddy Burd to Jasper Yeates, Oct. 7, 1780, in “Notes and Queries,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 40:380.
422 Hamilton, Fate of Major André, 13.
423 Alexander Hamilton to Elizabeth Schuyler, Sept. 25–26, 1780, in Walker, 25:149.
424 Peggy Shippen to Richard Varick, Sept. 26, 1780, Varick Papers, New-York Historical Society.
Chapter 15
425 Mrs. James Gibson’s recollection of Franks’s account, in I. N. Arnold, Life, 319.
426 Robert Walsh in the American Quarterly Review 21 (1837): 105.
427 I. N. Arnold, Life, 321.
428 Ellet, Revolutionary Women, 197.
429 Ellet, 198.
430 Ibid.
431 Hamilton, Fate of Major André, 13.
432 Varick, 136.
433 Van Doren, 382; Randall, 570–571.
434 David Franks to Richard Varick, Sept. 28, 1780, in Van Doren, 382.
435 Isenberg, Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr, 27.
436 Isenberg, 66.
437 Burr, Memoirs of Aaron Burr, 1:219–220. Burr had deep connections with the Shippen family, having stayed with the family of the elder Dr. William Shippen after being orphaned as a boy.
438 Walker, 25:155.
439 Irvin, 32–33; Pennsylvania Packet, Oct. 3, 1780.
440 William Church Houston to William Livingston, Sept. 27, 1780, in Letters of Delegates, 15:114–115, quoted in Irvin, 41.
441 “Memorandum of General Arnold’s property confiscated and sold in Philadelphia 1779 or 1781,” private collection of Hugh Arnold.
442 Pennsylvania Packet, Sept. 30, 1780.
443 Neddy Burd to Jasper Yeates, Oct. 7, 1780, in “Notes and Queries,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 40:380.