Month: July 2016

Revolutionary Technology

July 15, 2016
Hamilton & Washington Walking Tour New York City

Just as having access to technology on the go is important in modern times, surprisingly, the same can be said for revolutionary times.  Both George Washington and Alexander Hamilton put current “laptop” technology to good use for their military, political and private correspondence.  The 18th Century equivalents of laptop computers, these elegant and well-crafted portable desks provided the convenience of a writing surface along with storage compartments for pens, ink, stationary and documents.  United States history was imagined and created on these laptops.2016-08-04_18h43_06

 

George Washington, Commander-in-Chief, used his laptop (above) during the Revolutionary War to stay in touch with army officials and Congress.  The laptop is made of mahogany and black leather with storage for documents and stationary and a hinged lid which swings down to reveal a small writing surface and compartments.

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With over 20,000 pages of documents to his name including personal and professional correspondence, military writings, political writing, Treasury documents and 51 of the 85 Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton must have put these two desks to good use.  The mahogany and brass desks unfold to reveal a slanted writing surface.  There is a storage compartment underneath and on the top and convenient drawers on the side(on the top desk).

Photos from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and the New-York Historical Society

Alexander Hamilton Remembrance at Trinity Church

July 12, 2016 Tags: , , ,
Hamilton & Washington Walking Tour New York City

A crowd of admirers attended an Alexander Hamilton remembrance at Trinity Church in New York City on the 212th anniversary of his death.   The events began with a ceremony by members of the United States Coast Guard (originally founded by Hamilton in the late 18th Century to catch smugglers), followed by speeches by Douglas Hamilton, 5th great grandson and Rand Scholet, founder and president of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society.

After the ceremony, inside Trinity Church, Richard Brookhiser, author of the highly recommended 1999 biography, Alexander Hamilton, American (as well as Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington), was awarded the first ever Hamilton Legacy Award by Rand Scholet.  Brookhiser gave a powerful speech titled “Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made America Prosperous”.

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Due in large part to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s sensational, Hamilton the Musical, a large crowd assembled to honor Alexander Hamilton.  The first Secretary of the Treasury and Revolutionary War hero died 212 years ago and was buried in the cemetery along with his wife Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton.

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A ceremony by the US Coast Guard preceded speeches at the gravesite.

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The gravesite of Alexander Hamilton.  New York City was the key city in the Revolutionary War and the location of so many seminal sites and events in the founding of the United States.  Explore this history in the “The Revolutionary Tour: Washington and Hamilton in New York City”.

Commemoration of the Hamilton-Burr Duel in Weehawken, NJ

July 11, 2016 Tags: , , , ,
Hamilton & Washington Walking Tour New York City

History came alive July 11, 2016 at the annual gathering at the Alexander Hamilton Memorial and (nearby) Hamilton-Burr duel site in Weehawken, NJ in which we honored the Secretary of the Treasury, Lieutenant Colonel, and Founding Father whose life was lost to an “affair of honor” with Aaron Burr.   Although not the actual dueling site (which was nearby, closer to the Hudson River), the Alexander Hamilton Memorial and nearby Alexander Hamilton Park have stunning views of the New York City skyline, the city which Hamilton knew, loved and took an active role in shaping its future.  Speaking at the ceremony were Douglas Hamilton, 5th great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton, Rand Scholet, found of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, the mayor of Weehawken, Richard Turner, (and later at the nearby Elks Lodge) Thomas Fleming, author of Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, And The Future Of America.  The gathering, besides honoring the memory of the great man, also celebrated the victory of all involved in keeping Hamilton’s portrait on the next version of the United States’ ten dollar bill.

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New York Waterways has ongoing scheduled service which makes it easy to take the beautiful ride to Weehawken from Manhattan.  I was thinking of waiting for the next ferry as the one I took was named after Hamilton’s political rival, Thomas Jefferson.  Maybe enough time has passed…

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How exciting to meet the eloquent Douglas Hamilton, 5th great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton.  There is more than a slight resemblance in facial features between (the bust of) Alexander Hamilton and Douglas Hamilton.

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Helping to keep the memory and legacy of Alexander Hamilton alive is the founder of the Alexander Hamilton Society (AHA), the charismatic Rand Scholet and sitting to his right is the fine author and historian Thomas Fleming who spoke later at the nearby Elks Lodge.

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Moved from its original location to this loftier one many years after the duel (because of the installation of train tracks along the original location of the duel), the stone where Hamilton reportedly laid his head after being shot by Aaron Burr, is imprinted with the following words: Upon this stone rested the head of the patriot, soldier, statesman, and jurist Alexander Hamilton after the duel with Aaron Burr.  Other duels took place in the same location including one with Hamilton’s young son Phillip,  who was killed in a duel in 1801 with the same pistols used in his father’s duel with Burr.

 

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Many “affairs of honor” took place on the original dueling grounds, which was, as the plaque reads, “somewhere below” the site of the current memorial.  The plaque was dedicated on July 11, 2004, on the 200th anniversary of the Hamilton-Burr duel.

 

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Perched upon a pedestal in front of spectacular views of New York City is the bust of Alexander Hamilton.

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Just a few steps from the memorial is Alexander Hamilton Park, a fine place to contemplate the life and accomplishments of the great statesman.