Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Significant Others: A Sneak Peek at the Woman Behind Benedict Arnold’s Betrayal

Episode Date: February 23, 2024

It’s been said that history is written by the person at the typewriter. But who did the person who made history depend on? Often, it’s impossible to find out. But once in a while, we get lucky, and the story was not only recorded, it’s really good. Well that’s what this podcast is all about. “Significant Others” is a show that tells a story you might not know about a person you probably do. For example, in this episode we explore how Benedict Arnold might never have turned on his country were it not for his wife, Peggy, who influenced his betrayal. Head over to “Significant Others” to listen to the rest of the episode and listen to other stories like how Amelia Earhart would neither have found fame nor, possibly, disappeared over the Pacific, had it not been for her husband, George Putnam. Or learn who is really to blame for Friedrich Nietzsche’s connection to Nazism. Listen and subscribe to “Significant Others” wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey there, loyal listeners, Conan O'Brien here. You might know if you've been listening to the podcast over the years, that I'm a huge fan of history. And I would like to tell you about a history podcast from Team Coco, and it's called Significant Others. And I mention it because it happens to be written and hosted by my own significant other, Liza Powell O'Brien. You know us both. You prefer Liza, don't you?

I love Liza, definitely prefer her. Everyone does. Everybody I've ever met prefers her. All right, let's take it easy. She's just such a pleasant person. My mother prefers Liza to me. Anyway, Significant Others is a podcast that tells a story you might not know

about a person you probably do. For example, Liza did an episode where she explores the story of Peggy Shippen. Now, I pride myself on knowing a lot about history. where she explores the story of Peggy Shippen. Now, I pride myself on knowing a lot about history. I didn't know much about Peggy Shippen. She was married to Benedict Arnold. And if it weren't for Peggy Shippen, Benedict Arnold may never have turned on his country and become sort of synonymous with treachery. And so these are characters in people's lives who help sometimes in good ways,

sometimes in bad ways, sometimes both. Yeah, it's really interesting. She does an amazing job. Check out the following clip from significant others that details Peggy's involvement in one of the most famous acts of treason in history. ["The Last Song of the Year"] As Randall writes, her stepping in to keep the negotiations alive indicates that she

was becoming the driving force behind Arnold's going over to the British. Far more than just an observer, she had become a go-between, a delicate negotiator and the diplomat who kept the negotiations alive. All of this, we might add, while she was the 20-year-old mother of an infant whose husband was embarking on a very risky plan that could cost him his life. In the midst of all this,

court-martial proceedings against Arnold were finally progressing. The end result looked like it was going to be a slap on the wrist at worst, and possibly even a full acquittal. At this point, Arnold was still perfectly happy to remain with America if he got the treatment he believed he deserved. And the court-martial hearings went well enough that he might have put all thoughts of espionage

behind him. In fact, he believed they went so well that he paid to have the entire 179-page court record printed so that it could be circulated in America and France. But though he was technically exonerated by the court, their sentence recommended that Arnold receive a reprimand from General Washington. Arnold thought, no big deal, he and Washington were tight. In fact, he was so sure it wasn't a problem, he went ahead and proposed a big new position he had cooked up for himself, all while saying it was the Navy's idea. But once again, he underestimated the depth and breadth of his enemy's influence. Rather than awarding Arnold an exciting and impressive new job,

Washington did much more than reprimand him. He bitch slapped him. Publicly. The commander-in-chief would have been much happier in an occasion of bestowing commendations on an officer who had rendered such distinguished services to his country as Major General Arnold. But in the present case, a sense of duty and a regard to candor oblige him to declare that he considers his conduct as peculiarly reprehensible, both in a civil and military view. He put that in a daily letter to the entire army, which of course then got picked up by the press. Publicly, Washington was calling Arnold's conduct imprudent and improper.

Privately, he hated the mess Arnold had made. Even the shadow of a fault, counters the luster of our finest achievements. He chastised him for not having been... ...guarded and temperate in your deportment toward your fellow citizens. Washington knew the importance of being held in high esteem. And he also knew that public opinion rewarded not just bravery and success, but humility.

A quality Arnold could never be said to have cultivated. When Arnold read this letter, he was incensed and more determined than ever to go to the other side. He was also more determined than ever to get paid. His new plan was that he would get himself put in charge of West Point, which the British considered the Gibraltar of America, and then weaken it to the point that General Clinton could easily take control of it. In yet another overly optimistic move, he sent word to Clinton that he was certain he

could make this happen. He also stated his price. Twenty thousand pounds and full financial restitution for everything the war had cost him. He maintained that were it not for his family, he would provide this service at a much lower price. But we all know by now this was probably bogus. Again, Peggy was instrumental to the proceedings,

and she knew long before her husband did, when General Clinton finally agreed to pay him the 20,000 pounds if he could deliver what he promised. When George Washington heard that Arnold wanted to be put in command of West Point, he was inclined to let him have it. He wasn't sure Arnold would be of much value on the battlefield with his injury, and he might have thought it would be easier to say yes to the determined, contentious Arnold than no. But as he watched his army grow increasingly demoralized and depleted, Washington decided he needed Arnold's strategic gifts in the field more than ever.

So rather than installing Arnold at West Point, Washington decided to put him in charge of the entire left wing of the army. This appointment would have been a vote of such confidence that it could have completely rehabilitated Arnold's reputation. It would have restored for Arnold all the esteem he so grudgingly claimed he had been wrongfully denied,

and which spurred him to turn against Washington in the first place. But according to Washington himself, when he offered Arnold this post of honor, his countenance changed and he appeared to be quite fallen. And instead of thanking me or expressing any pleasure at the appointment, never opened his mouth. Others observed that Arnold's face turned nearly purple with rage in that moment.

As for Peggy, when she heard the news at a dinner party that Arnold had not gotten the West Point job, she went into what one bystander called Fits of Hysteria and then fainted. The next thing anyone knew, Arnold was making a big show of limping around headquarters, insisting he could not serve on horseback due to his injury, and that really all he was fit for was to hold down the fort at West Point. This seemed strange, but eventually Washington gave in.

Peggy had been doing her part in Philadelphia by lavishing attention on the visiting Chancellor of New York, who was in a position to recommend Arnold to take control of West Point. Arnold's sister, on hand to observe all this, read it as pure flirtation and wrote Arnold in a huff about a certain Chancellor who is, by the by, a dangerous companion for a particular lady in the absence of her husband. I could say more than prudence will permit. I could tell you a frequent private assignations and a numberless be a do. If I had an inclination to make mischief, but as I am of a very peaceable temper,

I'll not mention a syllable of the matter." But Hannah Arnold couldn't have gotten it more wrong. Peggy was nothing if not a loyal wife. As soon as Arnold was installed at West Point, she and their six-month-old son made the long, uncomfortable journey to join him. The mood when she got there was tense. Committing treason is anxious business after all. Espionage activities were heating up while the couple were surrounded by patriots who scanned everything they said or did for suspicious remarks or behaviors.

All right, head over to Significant Others to listen to the rest of the episode and hear other stories like how Amelia Earhart might have never disappeared over the Pacific had it not been for her husband George Putnam. You'll also hear voices from familiar friends, Andy Richter, Fula Borg, Christa Miller, and more. Hey, I'm in a couple of significant others, aren't I? Oh, are you? Every now and then I show up. Huh. Yeah. That's cool. That's nice. Yeah. I'm sorry. I didn't know how you wanted me to react to that. That sounds cool. Shouldn't you be pleased that I'm getting work? It is. Yeah. That you're getting work?

I really... Yeah. You're going to make it. I think you'll make it. Liza, can I be a voice? Did she make you audition for it? I'm the voice of Peggy Shiffen. Anyway, listen and subscribe to significant others. I know I'm biased, but I think it's an absolutely fantastic podcast and it's available wherever

you get your podcasts.