Even in a good life filled with good things, a man is allotted very few perfect days. But for this man, today was one of them! Patty and I got up around 7 and got dressed, meeting Marianne, Eliza, and Nancy at a subway station after a quick breakfast (alas, my beloved streetcar vendor takes Sundays off, so instead of a nice, filling bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, I had to settle for a rather small, overpriced blueberry muffin from a nearby coffee shop). Unlike yesterday, the trains were all running on time, and we took about 30 minutes to get from Fulton Station to 145th Street, the "quiet uptown" where Hamilton retired to during the last two years of his life. It was a short walk from the station to the Hamilton Grange, the beautiful, stately home that was built for Alexander by the grateful brother of Eli Weeks, whom Hamilton successfully defended against a murder charge.
I should note that when I first began planning this trip, the whole "Celebrate Hamilton" weekend was very much up in the air. I had a speaking gig at the Snyder Academy, and that was it. New York was still emerging from COVID-19, and the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society had not planned any other events because so many historic sites were still closed or running limited hours from the 2020 lockdowns. But as the date grew closer, more and more sites re-opened and more new events were scheduled. So by the time we flew out Thursday, a full weekend of events were on tap, and this guided tour of the Grange was one of them.
Not only did we all get to walk through Hamilton's home and see some of the original artifacts from the time he lived there (there's been a lot of restoration done over the years, and the house has been moved twice, but some original belongings of the Hamilton family have been re-located and placed there), but we also were greeted by re-enactors portraying the Hamilton family (Alexander, Eliza, and "Little Phil," their youngest son) as well as two members of the "Hearts of Oak" militia, who played the drum and fife for the crowd. Scott McScott (I love that name!) portrayed Hamilton very convincingly, and treated us to a lively, informative talk about his (er, Hamilton's) role in creating a stable financial system for America. Mr. McScott loved the topic of my book and even agreed to film a short promo of it for my YouTube channel! It was an absolutely wonderful visit, strolling around inside the Grange and soaking up the ambience of this beautiful home where Alexander lived for two years, and his beloved wife Eliza for another thirty years after his death. Visiting with "the Hamiltons" made the time even more special.
But there were more events to come, so around noon we boarded the train for another quick, smooth ride back downtown. We stopped by Marianne's hotel so the ladies could freshen up for a moment, and then grabbed lunch at a nearby pizzeria (oh, how I LOVE New York pizza! Nothing in Texas comes close!), then strolled on down to Trinity Church at two o'clock for a wonderful, moving tribute to Alexander Hamilton at his grave site. The events included an introductory speech by AHA Society President Nicole Scholet Villavicencio (daughter of my late, lamented friend Rand Scholet, the founder of the Society), a prayer by the pastor of Trinity Church, two brief speeches by the President of the St. Andrew's Society of New York (of which Hamilton was a member) and the Command Master Chief of the New York Coast Guard Headquarters, a blessing of Hamilton's grave by the ministers of Trinity Church, a stirring rendition of the national anthem, the ceremonial laying of two wreaths, and an impromptu but lovely rendering of "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" from the Hamilton musical by a young fan named Eliza who read about the event, showed up, and asked permission to sing. It was a wonderful tribute to this remarkable man who did so much for our young country.
Trinity Church is four blocks from our hotel, so we had a chance to put our feet up for about 45 minutes after the service there before moving on to the last official event of the day - a guided tour of the Fraunces Tavern Museum and historical site at four. Fraunces Tavern is the oldest building in Manhattan, and was the site of the famous farewell dinner that Washington had with his officers in 1783 before resigning his commission and returning to Mount Vernon. While the building has undergone extensive restoration, it still sits in the same spot were it was 250 years ago, and many original artifacts from the Revolutionary and Federalist era are still exhibited there - including the journal of Benjamin Tallmadge (maybe familiar to you from the TV series TURN: WASHINGTON'S SPIES), open to the pages describing that dinner, and the tearful parting of ways by the men who waged and won our war for independence. Being in "the room where it happened" - where Washington bade farewell to Lafayette, Greene, Knox, and all the rest of his military family - was truly a "goosebump moment"!
But in addition to being a wonderful museum of American history, Fraunces Tavern is also a working bar and restaurant, so after the tour, Patty and I shared a delicious supper there with Sergio, Nicole, Marianne, and Eliza. Sadly, this was our farewell to Sergio and Nicole, since they are flying out tomorrow morning for Nevis, Hamilton's Caribbean birthplace, to dedicate a statue of the first Treasury Secretary. (For details, visit www.hamiltonstatue.com ) After a marvelous meal, the four of us who were left (Nancy had headed for home after the service at Trinity) decided to split up. Eliza wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, but didn't really want to invest the money and time for the full Liberty Island/Ellis Island tour package, and Sergio recommended taking the State Island Ferry across the harbor and back, since it passes close enough to Lady Liberty to get a good look and take some pictures, but has the benefit of being free and only taking an hour. Patty didn't want to ride another ferry boat after the ride out to Liberty Island hurt her feet so much Friday, so she and Marianne went on a walking tour of lower Manhattan while Eliza and I went for a ride on the ferry and got a lovely view of the Statue silhouetted by the setting sun.
When we got back, it was near dark, so I walked Eliza back to her hotel (it's only a few blocks from ours) and then I came back to our room and showered, put on some comfy clothes, and came down to write this entry before going to bed for the night. Over 16,000 paces today!
Thank you to New York, Sergio, the AHA Society, and all my Hamiltonian friends for such a perfect day! Tomorrow Patty, Eliza and I will be on our own, visiting some New York sites we haven't seen yet and enjoying our last day in the Big Apple before returning home.
Thanks for joining us on this wonderful journey!
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