Benedict Arnold, the Continental Army officer who switched allegiance to Britain, was buried in the crypt of St. Mary’s of Battersea in England after his 1801 death. The crypt is now in a basement classroom rented by a private kindergarten program.
Arnold died on June 14, 1801, aged 60. His wife, Peggy Shippen, and their daughter were later buried in the crypt as well.
In 2004, former Connecticut state senator Bill Stanley paid $15,000 for a granite headstone honoring Arnold. Its inscription calls him a “Sometime General in the Army of George Washington” and says the two nations he served have united in enduring friendship.
