A Place in History: Albany in the Age of the Revolution, 1775–1825 (review)

Abstract

A Place in History: in Age Revolution, 1775-1825. By Warren Roberts. (Albany, NY: State University Press, 2010, Pp. 335. Cloth, $29.95.)Reviewed by Ruma ChopraWith photographs churches, monuments, and mansions in today's and with stories his ten-year personal journey uncovering richness Albany's past, Roberts lovingly reframes city on Hudson. For Roberts, is place filled with memories transformative revolutionary battles, city once inhabited by elite families who lived in opulence and sustained long-term aristocratic friendships with colonial notables and French revolutionaries.Roberts emphasizes ties between and France. He begins with Battle Saratoga in October, 1777, the turning point American (1) and considered by some to be most important battle last thousand (84) because this battle brought French into an alliance with rebels. Although Saratoga was 25 miles to north Albany, Roberts suggests that shadow victory Saratoga set Albany's shine in motion, and established long-term exchange between and Paris.According to Roberts, Albany's geography and river systems contributed to revolutionaries' victory in 1777. Its elite inhabitants invited attention rebel military commanders and future founding fathers. As important, served as eastern terminus for Erie Canal, project that inaugurated transportation revolution and helped to lay foundation for global economy. By following terrain, aristocrats, and construction projects in Albany, Roberts traces political, cultural, and economic development United States. He portrays formation an emerging democracy, culture urbanity and manners, and an industrializing economy.Roberts's early stories are full interest and complexity. The cast characters is vast. They include familiar revolutionary figures such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benedict Arnold, General John Burgoyne, and Marquis de Lafayette, as well as less familiar New York elites such as Gouverneur Morris, Philip Schuyler, and Stephen Van Rensselaer. Stubbornly drawing attention to Albany's connection with France, Roberts devotes one full chapter to discussion French aristocrat, Madame de La Tour Du Pin, who fled French Revolution and spent two years in (1794-1796). What connects this trans-Atlantic cast is sophistication, refinement, and elite standing. Of course, each notable spent time visiting Albany's elite or living in vicinity Albany's inner circle. The book could easily be titled Albany and its Aristocrats: 1775-1825.At times, Roberts attempts to elevate Albany's historical status seem forced. For instance, Alexander Hamilton appears here because he married daughter Philip Schuyler, an aristocrat. Roberts's exploration key men in founding era - and especially their sexual liaisons - is fascinating reading. We learn about Alexander Hamilton's affair with his sister-in-law, Angelica, and with Maria Reynolds; his later repentance and loyalty to his wife; and too briefly, his turn to Christianity. But it is unclear why we are told in such detail that Angelica and Alexander worked out secret code in their correspondence (129) or that Maria Reynolds was woman of no worth or character whatever, and Hamilton had shamed himself in his involvement with her (135).Because Battle Saratoga led to French alliance with revolutionaries, Roberts observes that American and French Revolutions are joined at hip (13). Yet connections seem artificial. Gouverneur Morris appears in book because he visited in July 1777, and because he was in Paris for five years, a period that coincided almost exactly with French (101). …