Hamilton Studies Law, 1782 (Hamilton 40)

By late December 1781, Alexander Hamilton was recovering from the Yorktown campaign at the Schuyler family mansion in Albany - still so exhausted that he hardly wrote any letters (see…

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Hamilton Returns to New York, 1781-1782 (Hamilton 39)

In October 1781, immediately after the British surrendered at Yorktown, Hamilton set off on the three-week trip to Albany, arriving there in November. By December 29, 1781, he was writing to his…

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Yorktown: “The World Turned Upside Down”? (Hamilton 38)

Chernow's Alexander Hamilton, Fleming's Beat the Drum: The Siege of Yorktown, and dozens of other scholarly works state that at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, when the British marched out to surrender to the…

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Yorktown, October 19, 1781, and the Aftermath (Hamilton 37)

According to eyewitness accounts of the British surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, the British were valiant enemies, cowardly, and drunk; the Americans were ragged, brave, and snide; and…

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Yorktown, October 16-18, 1781 (Hamilton 36)

Like 9/11, the British surrender at Yorktown was recognized as a world-changing event at the very moment it happened. Everyone remembered where they were and what they saw and did. We…

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Yorktown, August to Early October, 1781 (Hamilton 34)

Here are the main characters on the American Revolutionary scene, in September and October 1781 - skewed, of course, to those who appear in Hamilton: An American Musical. The Americans George…

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Alexander and Eliza’s Rings, Handkerchiefs, and Wedding Cake (Hamilton 33)

Today, September 2, 2016, is the last day of the Hamilton memorabilia exhibition at the Rare Book and Manuscripts Library in the Butler Library, Columbia University. It includes Alexander and Eliza's wedding bands.…

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French Aid to the United States, 1775-1781 (Hamilton 32)

Back in high school, I was taught that America's alliance with France was crucial for winning the Revolutionary War. Today's question: just what did the French contribute? King Louis XVI didn't love the…

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