- For the Americans, it could have been the end.

West Point captured, the Continental Army broken, and George Washington delivered to the British in chains.

But Benedict Arnold failed to deliver.

As the traitor rode towards the safety of a British warship, Washington and his staff tried their best to console his wife.

Wild-eyed and hysterical, she seemed a woman broken by the weight of her husband's betrayal, but all of it, the shrieks, the panic, the tears was Peggy Shippen's last great act as the spy who nearly ended the American Revolution.

I'm Joel Cook, and this is Rogue History.

(upbeat orchestral music) Rebels and Revolutionaries.

So what exactly pushed Margaret "Peggy" Shippen to betray the United States?

Well, it all started with her dad.

Peggy's life was pretty sweet pre-revolution.

She was born into an extremely wealthy family with Quaker roots in 1760.

Her dad, Edward Shippen, was a well-respected judge, but more importantly, a serious businessman, who rubbed shoulders with the most famous and wealthy figures of the time.

As Philadelphia became a hotbed of the American Revolution, Edward did what most wealthy businessmen do in times of conflict.

He remained neutral to protect his business interests.

But even with Patriots like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin counted as friends of the Shippen family, Edward's neutrality became a problem.

Peggy, often described as "Particularly devoted to her father", looked on as Edward was increasingly persecuted, and it didn't stop there.

When British warships threatened an attack on Philadelphia in May of 1776, Peggy had to suffer the indignity of (mellow harmonica music) moving to New Jersey.

For a rich, spoiled teenager, used to the sweet life in Philadelphia, the rural countryside might as well have been Rikers Island.

She viewed the idea of associating with regular people as "extremely painful", and just when she thought she couldn't hate New Jersey or the revolution anymore, the Patriots came after her family again.

In October, the New Jersey legislature passed a law intended to punish traitors.

As the vice tightened around any family who refused to side with the revolution, things got even worse for the Shippens.

George Washington captured Peggy's brother, Edward, with Hessian soldiers at the Battle of Trenton in December.

Now, to be fair, Edward was kind of a frat bro, and was only hanging out with them, 'cause he wanted to get drunk at their Christmas party.

But for a father desperately trying to keep his family out of trouble, this was an unforgivable offense.

Edward stripped away his son's business responsibilities, and granted them to the child he viewed as far more levelheaded and responsible, Peggy.

But honestly, that wasn't really saying much.

Peggy was well-known for "nervous attacks of a hysterical nature", that, while probably rooted in real anxiety, often coincided with being told "No."

Like I said, our girl was a little spoiled, and unfortunately for Papa Edward, she wasn't any more interested in neutrality than her brother.

By the time the British recaptured Philadelphia in 1777, Peggy was ready to party.

Let me spill the tea.

As the city felt the strain of the war, women in Philadelphia were discouraged from wearing fancy clothes, going to parties, or doing anything that could take resources from the American cause.

So naturally, Peggy decided to go to all the parties.

She and her homegirls, Becky, Becky, and yes, another Peggy, became Colonial Philadelphia's version of the "Mean Girls", and our Peggy was Regina George.

It wasn't long before she caught the attention of Major John Andre, a British Officer so attractive, even an American soldier described him as, "The handsomest man I ever laid eyes on."

You see where this is going.

Major Andre and Peggy became good friends, like really good friends.

But at the same time, he also made really good friends with the other mean girls, writing poetry and songs for them, and arranging many of the awesome parties they attended.

He planned the last of these parties as Washington's army closed in on Philadelphia in May, 1778.

It was known as "The Meschianza", A.K.A.

the mixture, and it still might be the greatest party Philly's ever seen.

We're talking a boat parade in the Delaware River, a medieval tournament, a dress ball, and a dinner party.

While Peggy's attendance is disputed, it's hard to believe that she missed what would've been not only the best party of her life, but Philadelphia loyalists' last opportunity to thumb their noses at the revolutionary cause.

But her audacity wasn't just limited to parties.

When the Americans recaptured Philadelphia one month later, Peggy and John Andre continued to write to each other, sending secret letters through enemy lines, just like any really good friends who've totally never kissed would.

Two weeks after Andre was made spy master of the British Army by General Henry Clinton in April, 1779, Peggy wrote him the letter that would change everything.

She'd found a way to win the war for the British, and his name was Benedict Arnold.

Before he was the jerk who betrayed America, Benedict Arnold was the jerk who saved America.

Behind George Washington himself, Arnold was the best battlefield commander in the Continental Army.

He was severely wounded twice while fighting for the cause, but the Americans hadn't treated him like a hero.

Washington liked him, but saw him as brash and aggressive, while other officers shunned him completely.

When his injuries prevented him from returning to the battlefield, Washington granted him the military governorship of Philadelphia as a consolation prize.

He arrived in the city a shadow of himself.

He found his light in Peggy Shippen.

Their courtship began in 1778, when he pulled out an old love letter, and replaced the other lady's name with Peggy, real charmer, that Benedict.

But Peggy didn't know, and honestly seemed to really love the bad boy with a soft heart.

But her dad didn't.

Edward saw Benedict as a risky match due to his disability, rude, and rumors about the sketchy things he was doing to regain his lost wealth.

But Benedict came through by purchasing a beautiful home as a dowry, and Peggy pulled the old, "But Daddy, I love him" to soften Edward's heart.

The two lovers were married in April of 1779, but unfortunately for Peggy, Edward's suspicions were correct.

Just one month after their wedding, the state of Pennsylvania formerly charged Benedict with a ton of charges related to his questionable business dealings as military governor.

For the newlyweds, this was a devastating blow, not just to Benedict's character, but to their financial prospects and future.

This brings us back to the letter.

Before the trials could even begin, Peggy notified John Andre that her husband was ready to betray his country.

Using coded messages in invisible ink, Andre began negotiating primarily with Peggy about the particulars of the betrayal.

The British suggested that Benedict remain in the Continental Army as a plant, where he would gain command of the fortress at West Point, New York, and surrender it to the British.

But money hadn't come up so far, and Benedict was so offended, he considered walking away.

Peggy used her personal connection to Andre to keep the negotiations open.

With a baby boy on the way, and her fortunes tied to Benedict's, she couldn't afford to let him ruin the deal.

Andre and the British eventually agreed to pay 20,000 pounds, nearly $4.5 million in today's money for the capture of West Point.

But just when all the plans seemed to be falling into place, George Washington hit Benedict with a curve ball.

Washington still believed Benedict could be a great battlefield leader, and granted him a field command, instead of the more administrative position at West Point.

This was a major wrench in their plan.

When the news reached Peggy at a dinner party, she fainted from the stress, but Benedict got things sorted out.

He lied saying that his war wounds were still causing problems, and convinced Washington to grant him command of West Point.

Peggy and Benedict were reunited at the fortress, their plot intact.

In September, 1780, when Benedict thought things couldn't get any better, General Washington secretly notified him that he would be traveling North to meet with the French, and inspect the defenses at West Point.

This was his golden opportunity.

Benedict immediately contacted John Andre, notifying him that the time for the British attack on the fort had come.

If they could capture the Fort, and Washington at the same time, the Americans would have no choice but to end the war.

Due primarily to Peggy's contacts, negotiations, and planning, they were now in a position to defeat the Continental Army, and end the American Revolution once and for all.

But Benedict's aides were getting suspicious.

They confronted Peggy about her husband conducting illegal business across enemy lines.

Knowing full well that Benedict was actually on his way to betray them, Peggy played innocent.

She kept the aides distracted, as the plot she helped orchestrate raced towards success, but her husband failed to do his part.

Benedict missed two meetings with John Andre before finally making it late to a third meeting on September 22nd.

During the meeting, American artillery men noticed Andre's ship and fired on it, forcing it to leave him behind.

Rather than returning to New York by ship, Andre had to disguise himself, and attempt to pass through enemy lines.

Just before he made it to safety, he was captured by American soldiers.

Confused about why this British spy was carrying letters from their general, the soldiers sent couriers to notify both Benedict and General Washington of the situation.

Fortunately for Peggy and Benedict, their courier arrived first.

They immediately made a plan.

The HMS Vulture, Andre's ship, was unaware that he had been captured, and still waited down river out of canon range.

Benedict had a chance to make it to the Vulture and escape.

As he raced down to the dock, and ordered his boatman to row to the British ship, Peggy began the hysterics that would come to be known as "The Mad Scene."

When Washington arrived at the house, she shrieked at the top of her lungs, accused Arnold's aides of threatening to kill her baby, swore that hot irons were poking through her head, and when asked about Benedict, declared that he had been sucked into the sky.

Of course, none of this was true, and Peggy knew it, but she also knew these men, infatuated by her beauty, and ignorant of her skill, would assume that she was but a poor, weak woman, broken by her dastardly husband's betrayal.

And she was right.

General Washington ordered her servants to care for the ailing Peggy.

His officers, among them, Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette declared that there was no way such an innocent and beautiful creature could be part of the plot.

Benedict, now safe in New York, soon sent a letter declaring the same, and requesting that Peggy be sent to him.

But Peggy, once again, showed her political skill.

Instead of returning to Benedict to New York, she elected to return to her family in Philadelphia, knowing that this decision would increase the believability of her innocent story.

Not long after her return, the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania banished Peggy from the state for the duration of the war.

Not because she was a suspect, but because she was the wife of Benedict Arnold.

She returned to Benedict with virtually no suspicion about her role in the near defeat of the American Revolution.

But when the couple arrived in London after the war, Peggy received a 350 pound payment directly from King George III for her service to the Crown.

It wasn't until the 1920s, nearly 150 years later, that Peggy Shippen's extensive role in the pot was discovered, hidden in the papers of major general Henry Clinton, were pages of secret correspondence between his unlucky spy master, his failed turncoat, and his greatest spy.

Margaret "Peggy" Shippen came closer to defeating the American Revolution than any general ever did.

Her political savvy and creativity not only brought the revolution to the brink, but tricked some of the greatest minds of the moment into allowing her and her husband to escape to the British scot-free.

While many women in history are overlooked because of bias, Peggy was overlooked because she wanted to be.

What her story teaches us is that sometimes behind that traitorous man is a way smarter, better dressed, far more politically connected traitorous woman making it all happen.

(suspenseful music)