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The GeneralThe Friends of Stark News Park Newsletter starkpark.com | Spring 2021 Photo courtesy of Paule Houle; flickr.com/photos/paul_houle/collections History Has its Eyes on You: Manchester’s Hamilton Connections By Matt Labbe Inside this Issue: Last July, Disney+ released a live stage recording of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit Broadway Hamilton ……….………… 1-5 show Hamilton: An American Musical, based on the biography by Rob Chernow. Debuting to Annual Appeal …….……...… 5 critical acclaim in 2015, the show has gone on to earn eleven Tony awards, a Grammy, a Woodland Trails ….…...……. 6 Pulitzer, and a slew of other honors. The Heritage Trail ...………..…... 6 film version was equally successful, hav- Upcoming Events ….……..… 6 ing earned two People’s Choice Awards Trails Day …………….…….. 7 and the record for the most watched Board Changes ……..…..….... 8 straight-to-streaming title of the year. Back in the Day …..………..... 8 The show documents the remarkable life of founding father Alexander Hamilton who led troops at the Battle of York- The Board: town, founded the Coast Guard and the President New York Post, and, most importantly, Brian Brady was the primary architect of our modern Vice President financial system. Matthew Labbe Although they are never mentioned in the Eliza (Phillipa Soo) begs Alexander (Lin-Manuel Miranda) to Take a Secretary songs, several Manchester figures have Break in Hamilton: An American Musical. Photo from screenrant.com Erin Kerwin connections with the real historical figures featured in the show. Knowing that Alexander Treasurer Hamilton was a soldier in the Revolution, one might guess that the primary connection was Stephanie Lewry with General Stark. In reality, the degree of their interaction is unclear. It is true that both Stark and Hamilton fought at the battles of Trenton and Princeton, but they were in differ- Kara Andersson ent units and probably had no contact on the battlefield. They did, however, run in similar Tom Christensen personal circles, especially after John Stark joined the Continental Army, and they almost Diana Duckoff assuredly met on at least one occasion. Jennifer McBride In November 1780 Stark was introduced to George Washington by the Marquis de Lafa- Katie Shaka yette (played by Christopher Jackson and Daveed Diggs, respectively). Bad weather forced Elizabeth Soukup Stark to spend the day with Washington “as if he were at his house ... and he had nothing to Ann Thorner do.” Hamilton was Washington’s aide-de-camp, essentially his personal secretary, and chief of staff, and it appears he was close-by the entire time. Contact us at [email protected]! The Friends of Stark Park is a 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to develop, revitalize, maintain, and protect the heritage and recreational use of Stark Park as a historic asset to the City of Manchester, NH. If Stark and Hamilton conversed privately at this meeting, they probably would have found common ground. They would have agreed on the necessity of the war and the consequences of de- feat. On a personal note, they had similar upbringings com- pared to their wealthier associates. Neither grew up on large estates like some of the founders, although the Starks had more than Hamilton, an orphan who climbed his way up from pov- erty in the Caribbean. Neither had a formal childhood educa- tion, a fact both men lamented. Unlike Stark, Hamilton made up for this perceived inadequacy by attending law school. At the time of this meeting, however, King’s College (now Co- lumbia University) was shuttered due to the war, and Hamilton had no guarantee of graduating. Unfortunately, this is mere speculation because we have not found evidence they knew each other on a personal level. General Philip Schuyler. Engraved by T. Kelly, 1835. From the NY Public Library. Even if they were acquainted, John Stark and Alexander Hamil- corresponded because they were both involved with the war ton probably did not remain cordial after the war. The two effort in Vermont and upstate New York. men would have been drawn apart by political philosophy dur- Philip Schuyler was born in Albany to a wealthy Dutch family in ing the formation of the modern two-party system. Hamilton 1733. He served as a quartermaster during the French and Indi- and John Adams were the faces of the Federalist party, espous- an War. When he returned home, he became involved in poli- ing economic and industrial growth overseen by a centralized tics, eventually joining the State Assembly where he became government that would keep the disparate states on common opposed to the established colonial government. He built two ground. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (Played in the houses during this time - a brick mansion at Albany, and a musical by Daveed Diggs and Okieriete Onaodowan, respec- smaller country estate at Saratoga. In 1775, he was elected to tively) led the Democratic-Republican party, which advocated the Continental Congress and received a commission as General for local control of a predominantly agrarian society, specifical- that placed him in charge of the Northern Department, which ly eschewing industrial development. John Stark took this latter oversaw British incursions into the United States via Canada. position and remained in friendly correspondence with James Madison into old age. Jefferson himself never met John Stark, During these campaigns, Schuyler met fierce criticism from his but late in life sent Stark what basically amounted to a crazed generals, including Stark, who felt he was not up to the job. fan letter, gushing about Stark’s valor during the war and his Stark vehemently disagreed with Schuyler’s plan to evacuate commitment to democracy. Every piece of evidence we have Crown Point and was disappointed by the loss of Fort Ticon- indicates that Stark would have been opposed or even hostile to deroga to the British in 1777. This sentiment was so ubiquitous Hamilton’s ideas, and the relationships we do know about sug- among the commanders that Schuyler was court-martialed for gest that they ran in different social circles later in life. his failure. He was ultimately acquitted, but resigned his com- mission in 1779 and was replaced by Horatio Gates. John Stark was, however, well acquainted with General Philip Schuyler of Albany, New York Around the same time, John Stark was fighting with the NH (played in the musical by Sydney legislature over his command of the state militia. John resigned James Harcourt). They frequently his commission and returned home because he felt disgraced About the Author: Matthew Labbe, Vice President of the Friends of Stark Park, holds a M.A. in Anthropology from Texas A&M University and works as a Principal Investigator with Monadnock Archaeological Consulting. His previous research on the history of his hometown has been published by Historical New Hampshire. 2 a cordial relationship. It turns out that both Stark and Schuyler were in agreement about how to defend Saratoga and enacted their plan successfully in October 1777. This victory led to a growing friendship over the years, but it came with a cost. As the British army was advancing, they were able to take Gen- eral Schuyler’s house. They used it as a camp for a night and, as a final insult, burned it to the ground the following day. A month later, Schuyler rebuilt the house on the original founda- tion with wood from his own sawmill, and even some hard- ware recovered from the fire. It still stands today as a museum at Saratoga National Historic Park. Schuyler wanted the house built quickly since winter was approaching, so he used labor from around the county and even British prisoners. We do not The Schuyler Country House at Saratoga. Photo from the NPS via Gina L. know if John assisted, but it seems likely, if he was still in the that Enoch Poor was promoted above him. In the subsequent area. This rebuilt house was the same one that Schuyler’s months, the situation in upstate New York continued to deteri- daughter, Eliza Hamilton (played by Phillipa Soo), is referenc- orate for the colonists and the legislature tried to get him back, ing in the song, “Take a Break,” where she begs Alexander to but to no avail. John only returned to service when the Conti- run away with her upstate for the summer. nental Congress made him a general in the Continental Army. While the Battle of Saratoga ended much of the fighting in the He accepted the commission with a single caveat: that he would north, the western frontiers were still frequently raided by the only answer to his home state, not the Congress. This decision British and the Iroquois. Both of Schuyler’s houses were locat- brought him into conflict with Philip Schuyler again. ed within this hot zone and were often threatened. In 1781, his Schuyler saw that the British were headed toward Saratoga, Albany mansion was raided by Tories and Native Americans intending to cut New England off from the rest of the states. who intended to take Philip prisoner. They failed, but family The anxiety with which Schuyler wrote about the advancing legend has it that Peggy Schuyler (played by Jasmine Cephas army was palpable and clearly personal because his country Jones) dodged a tomahawk throw while rescuing her baby sis- house was in the direct path of the violence. Schuyler sent or- ter from the attack. This daring feat did not make it into the ders to John Stark to rendezvous with his units in New York, but was immediately rebuffed when John replied that he did not answer to the Continental Army, and that he was instead going to Vermont to make a stand.