New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Lafayette

Architecture: Convicts, Colonnades & National Prestige

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State Education Building by Matt Wade Photography (Wikimedia User UpstateNYer)In 1748, twenty-year-old Swiss-born Jacob Sperry arrived in the city of New York from Zurich. Trained as a physician, he abandoned medicine as his real passion was horticulture.

In 1771 he bought a plot of pastureland and turned it into the city’s first botanical garden, growing flowers, hothouse plants, and fruit. Despite its distant location on the city’s northern outskirts, his gardens became a (romantic) destination for weekend walkers and a hub for buying floral arrangements. [Read more…] about Architecture: Convicts, Colonnades & National Prestige

Lafayette’s 1825 Visit to Oneida County

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Detail from a portrait of Marquis de Lafayette by Samuel Morse 1825Oneida County, NY, was part of Marquis de Lafayette’s 1824-1825 visit to America. His interest in visiting the site of the Battle of Oriskany was partly responsible for bringing the aged general to the area.

Unlike George Washington’s comment about Oriskany – “In their hands rested the fate of a nation” – Lafayette’s sentiments are lost and can only be surmised from his well-known reverence for liberty. [Read more…] about Lafayette’s 1825 Visit to Oneida County

Tracking Lafayette: America’s Favorite Fighting Frenchman

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detail of an engraved souvenir ribbon celebrating Lafayette’s visit to Troy (courtesy Hart-Cluett House Museum)The latest episode of A Moment in New York History podcast follows the trail of the Marquis de Lafayette.

He was the orphaned member of one of France’s oldest and wealthiest families who became a trusted confidant and military leader for George Washington during the American Revolution. [Read more…] about Tracking Lafayette: America’s Favorite Fighting Frenchman

Feeding the Erie Canal: Rome Summit Level Reservoirs

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Map from the New York State Engineer and Surveyor’s Report to the Legislature 1892 displays the southern reservoirs and their supply path to the Erie CanalAll canals are a series of ponds, at different water stages, or elevations. These elevation changes are transitioned by locks, with the area between the locks being of any length, and referred to as a level. Simply put, canal transport is similar to a set of stairs, with the levels being the tread, and the locks the riser. The highest level of any canal is known as the summit level.

As water flows with any lock movement, it is necessary to constantly re-supply the canal, and by feeding the replacement water to the summit level, the entire canal may be supplied. The original Erie Canal, statewide from Albany to Buffalo, had three summit levels; Lake Erie, Jordan and Rome. [Read more…] about Feeding the Erie Canal: Rome Summit Level Reservoirs

Angelica Schuyler Church: A Woman at the Center of Revolution

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Angelica Schuyler Church bookAngelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025) by Molly Beer is a women-centric view of revolution through the life of Angelica Schuyler Church (1756-1814), the eldest daughter of General Philip Schuyler and Catherine Van Rensselaer.

The Van Rensselaers of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck were one of the wealthiest and most politically influential families in what was then the still heavily Dutch-influenced Province of New York. [Read more…] about Angelica Schuyler Church: A Woman at the Center of Revolution

‘Lafayette: A Hero’s Return’ PBS Documentary Premieres June 9th

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Lafayette PBS DocumentaryNarrated by Julien Icher, historian and founder of the “Follow the Frenchman” YouTube series, the new PBS documentary Lafayette: A Hero’s Return explores Lafayette’s enduring legacy in both New York and American history. [Read more…] about ‘Lafayette: A Hero’s Return’ PBS Documentary Premieres June 9th

Lafayette’s Visits to the Mohawk Valley

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1823 portrait of Lafayette, now hanging the House of Representatives chamber by Arey SchefferIn 1824 and 1825 Marquis de Lafayette, the French nobleman who volunteered and became an invaluable leader during the American Revolution and was then the war’s last surviving major general, toured the United States in a celebrated “Farewell Tour.”

He visited several sites in the Mohawk Valley, his third time there. [Read more…] about Lafayette’s Visits to the Mohawk Valley

A Rare Letter by Marquis de Lafayette to Edward Livingston

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Letter written by the Marquis de Lafayette to New York’s Edward Livingston during Lafayette’s grand Farewell Tour, 1824-25As the bicentennial of the Marquis de Lafayette’s celebrated 1824-25 “Farewell Tour,” of the U.S approaches, The Raab Collection announced that it is offering for sale two Lafayette letters, including one written on that very trip to New York’s Edward Livingston (1764-1836). [Read more…] about A Rare Letter by Marquis de Lafayette to Edward Livingston

Marquis de Lafayette at Albany During the Revolution

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George Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon, 1784 by Rossiter and Mignot, 1859Just prior to victory of American colonists at the Battles of Saratoga, the Continental Congress replaced Major General Philip Schuyler as Commander of the Northern Army with General Horatio Gates. Many colonial military units from New England had been reluctant to assist at Saratoga to serve under a “Dutch commander” but readily reported to serve under the English-born Gates. [Read more…] about Marquis de Lafayette at Albany During the Revolution

Major General William Alexander, Lord Stirling: A Short Biography

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Detail of Lord Stirling's last stand around the Old Courtelyou House (now known as the Old Stone House in Park Slope) during the battle of BrooklynWilliam Alexander was born on December 25, 1726 in the city of New York to well-known lawyer James Alexander and his wife Mary. Mary and James had emigrated from Scotland in 1716. When they married, Mary was already a widow with six children and she and James had seven more. William was the second son of Mary and James, but when his older brother died in 1731, William became the male heir to the Alexander clan. [Read more…] about Major General William Alexander, Lord Stirling: A Short Biography

Smugglers & The Law: Prohibition In Northern New York

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A recreated chase of bootleggers in Chestertown, NY in 2013 (photo by John Warren)Dennis Warren left his job as a coal shoveler on the New York Central Railroad in Albany to ship out to the First World War. His transport ship had a close call with a German submarine on the way over, but got there in time to take part in what one of the bloodiest military campaigns in American history.

For Americans after the war, the Argonne would mean what Normandy meant just 25 years later – sacrifice. Sadly, that sacrifice in the Argonne Forest was never repaid to Dennis Warren, who met the death of a smuggler – running from an officious and invasive law on a treacherous mountain road near Port Henry on Lake Champlain.

According to the newsman who reported his death at the age of 29, “Canadian Ale was spread across the road.” [Read more…] about Smugglers & The Law: Prohibition In Northern New York

The Marquis de Lafayette: A Short Biography

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George Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon, 1784 by Rossiter and Mignot, 18592024 will mark the 200th anniversary of the return of the Marquis de Lafayette (Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette) to America. In 1824, almost 50 years after the start of the American Revolution, the 68-year-old Lafayette was invited by President James Monroe, an old Revolutionary War comrade and lifelong friend, to tour the United States.

Lafayette’s visit was one the major events of the early 19th century. It had the effect of unifying a country sometime fractured by electoral discord and reminding Americans of their hard won democracy. [Read more…] about The Marquis de Lafayette: A Short Biography

Why Not? The Return of Lafayette’s Hermoine in 2024

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hermoine leaving franceIn 1992, the shipyard at Rochefort France where the Hermione – the ship that brought Lafayette to America – had been constructed in 1780 was apparently in decline.

Several local entrepreneurs conceived of the idea that a replica of the Hermione should be built and sailed to the United States as a goodwill gesture. It was hoped that the project would perhaps improve the local economy and also remind Americans of the important historical ties between the United States and France. [Read more…] about Why Not? The Return of Lafayette’s Hermoine in 2024

New Roadside Markers To Honor Lafayette

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Lafayette Trail marker located in Greenland, NHIn celebration of the Marquis de Lafayette’s 265th birthday, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and The Lafayette Trail, Inc. have announced the launch of a new historic marker series commemorating the French General’s involvement and service during the American Revolution. [Read more…] about New Roadside Markers To Honor Lafayette

Lafayette’s 1824-25 Farewell Tour Commemoration

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Lafayette as a lieutenant general in 1791, by Joseph-Désiré Court (1834)In 1824, the French aristocrat Lafayette (Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette), who had played a key role in securing victory over the British during the American Revolution, was invited by President James Monroe to visit the United States, then about to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Upon his arrival on Staten Island, the general was greeted with open arms. He had been a favorite of General Washington, who had acted as a surrogate father to the young Lafayette.

As an advocate for democracy in both the American colonies and in France, and a proponent of abolition, the Frenchman was warmly welcomed on a thirteen-month tour of the United States. His visit spanned a highly controversial 1824 presidential election season in which the House of Representatives selected John Quincy Adams over the highest vote-getter, Andrew Jackson. Lafayette has been seen by historians as a uniting force, whose presence served to remind Americans of their mutual bonds. [Read more…] about Lafayette’s 1824-25 Farewell Tour Commemoration

Castle Clinton: New York’s Almost Forgotten Landmark

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Landing of Gen Lafayette at Castle Garden New York 16th August 1824 courtesy New York Public Library Digital CollectionsAn often overlooked and forgotten New York City landmark, Castle Clinton welcomed many of the city’s residents into its walls as a place of innovation, entertainment, and new beginnings.

The circular sandstone fort which currently stands in Battery Park, was built to improve harbor fortifications in 1811. The Southwest Battery, as it was known, never fired a shot. [Read more…] about Castle Clinton: New York’s Almost Forgotten Landmark

Lafayette In New York: A Hero and Aging General Returns

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The New York welcome is famous. Charles Lindbergh was paraded up Broadway under a deluge of ticker tape after flying the Atlantic solo in 1927. The Apollo 11 astronauts received an even grander reception 42 years later when they returned from the moon.

But no one was ever given a welcome like the one that Lafayette received in 1824. He was returning, one last time, to see the country whose independence he had fought for almost a half century earlier. His tour was a sensation. Echoes of it can be seen across New York to this day. [Read more…] about Lafayette In New York: A Hero and Aging General Returns

Tammany and NYC’s Fourth of July Celebrations

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In 1776 John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail about July 4th:

“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

242 years after John Adams’ exhortation, people in the city of New York are still struggling with how to celebrate July 4, and its meaning.  In the City of New York July 4 celebrations held after the enactment of the U.S. Constitution were anything but nonpartisan. [Read more…] about Tammany and NYC’s Fourth of July Celebrations

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