BOOK REVIEWS Eternal Hope: The Life of 1821, Judge James Winthrop, descendant of Timothy Alden, Jr. Massachusetts founder John Winthrop, By JonathanE. Helmreich bequeathed over 3,100 books, including an New York: Cornwall Books, 2001 original edition of Diderot's encyclopedia. Illustrations, index, notes, 242 pp., $25.00 hardcover With a library second only to Harvard's, Allegheny College was Alden's pride and joy. If, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, an institu- Bentley Hall, which he helped design, tion is but the lengthened shadow of one reflected the Federalist style of architecture man, then Timothy Alden, Jr.'s shadow is then in vogue in the new republic. One can Allegheny College. Alden, the subject of this only imagine Alden's pleasure when the biography by Professor Emeritus of History Marquis de Lafayette, hero of the American and Allegheny College Historian Jonathan and French revolutions, took time from his E. Helmreich, was the visionary who found- whirlwind tour of the nation to tour the col- the ed this outpost of higher education in lege's campus. wilderness of Western Pennsylvania in 1815. Timothy Alden embodied the spirit of Alden Like many of his contemporaries, civic improvement sweeping across Ameri- believed the United States was chosen by ca in the early 19th century. In addition to God to be a model among the nations of the serving as Allegheny College's first presi- citizens world. He saw the need for educated dent, he created a Sabbath School Union, whose values were informed by their reli- academy, joined the Presbyterian Church, founded the Meadville Bible Society, edited gious faith, and whose lives combined the and developed a plan to found a frontier the religious and literary Alleghany Maga- secular with the sacred. He believed it was town - Aldenberg - with a college at its zine, helped establish a Masonic order in the his civic duty and his religious "calling" to center. Infected with the fever of land spec- town of Meadville, and served as a mission- improve the nation and educate its youth. ulation, the restless Alden moved his family ary to the nearby Seneca nation. The classical liberal arts college in the tiny to Meadville, where town leaders had con- During his 17 years in Meadville, Alden village of Meadville, Pa. reflected Alden's vinced him to make his dream a reality. struggled to raise money to sustain his fron- dream of bringing education to America's Thus was Allegheny College born. tier college. Then, as now, liberal arts insti- frontier. Founded in 1815 and chartered by the tutions often operated on a shoestring. The son of an impoverished congrega- state of Pennsylvania in 1817, Allegheny Faculty and students labored on a term-by- tional minister, Alden was expected to College graduated its first students in 1820. term basis, not knowing if the college would become a farmer, but he found his way to It was the first institution of higher educa- shut down. The Presbyterian Church turned Harvard College where he flourished as a tion established west of the Allegheny its back on the school, favoring Jefferson scholar. After serving as associate pastor at Mountains. Alden solicited support for the and Washington colleges. For a time the South Parish Church in Portsmouth, college from his friends and acquaintances Allegheny's desperate trustees flirted with New Hampshire, Alden led a private school back east. The Reverend William Bentley turning the school into a military academy, in Boston before moving to Newark, New gave "all his classical and theological books, but eventually the Methodist Church saved Jersey. There he served as the principal of an lexicons, dictionaries, and bibles," and in the day and assumed responsibility. 32 WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY I FALL 2005 Despite his best efforts, Alden grew dis- George Washington Remembers: heartened. "I do not find that encourage- Reflections on the French and Indian War ment I expected in my attempt to build up a Edited by FredAnderson college ... and if a kind providence should Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2004 open a door for usefulness, contentment, Color illustrations, maps, index, annotations, appendices 175 pp., $35.00 hardcover and a competence in some other part of the country, I shall probably embrace it" he There have been many books written about concluded. In 1826, Alden left Meadville George Washington, but few focus exclu- for Cincinnati, where he established a ladies sively on his military service as a young man boarding school, but he returned to Pitts- during the French and Indian War. George burgh in 1833 to be closer to his children. Washington Remembers remedies this defi- There he was invited to serve as the princi- ciency with the help of Washington himself. pal of East Liberty Academy. Eventually, The book looks to a document recently however, Alden returned to the pulpit. He acquired by French and Indian ended his days as pastor of Pine Creek War 250, Inc., a Pittsburgh-based organization Church in Indiana Township near Sharps- dedi- cated to raising awareness of the war's sig- burg, Pennsylvania. There he passed away nificance in Western Pennsylvania. The on July 5, 1839. of General Braddock's army in 1755, and his 11-page document was written by Timothy Alden was a visionary and an Washing- experiences with the army of General ton in 1787 at the request activist. He embodied the values of the new of his biographer Forbes in 1758. He recounts a friendly-fire and friend David Humphreys. The republic with an abiding faith in God and in incident where he was "never in more "Remarks" manuscript contains a his fellow citizens. If Alden had a weakness it detailed imminent danger by being between two description of his early military career was his enthusiasm for new projects. A veri- and fires, knocking up with his sword the pre- expeditions in this region. table whirlwind of energy and ideas, this sented pieces." And he vividly notes the Washington visionary was sometimes prone to bad judg- humbly claims to be uncer- effects of battle on his "Nights March" along tain in his account ment. Helmreich posits that Alden suffered because he "feels himself Braddock's Road to Dunbar's Camp (near from a form of bi-polar disorder; certainly very incompetent (with any degree of accu- present-day Hopwood, Pa.): "The dead - racy) from the badness of his memory - there was a history of mental illness in his the dying - the groans - lamentation - loss of Papers - mutilated state, in which family. In any event, his dream of founding a and crys [sic] along the Road of the wound- those of that date were preserved - college in the wilderness was brought to and the ed for help ... were enough to pierce a heart derangement of them by frequent removals fruition under his direction. Allegheny Col- of adamant. the gloom & horror of which in the late war & want of lege continues to flourish nearly 200 years time to collect and was not a little encreased [sic] by the imper- methodize them later. Helmreich's biography of Alden is a fit- since." Still, his words give vious darkness occasioned by the close us a view that can be ting tribute to a remarkable man. explained by no one shade of thick woods which in places ren- else. He writes of his diplomatic voyage to dered it impossible for the two guides which Paula A.Treckel is a professor of history at the French in 1753, his defeat at Fort Neces- attended to know when they were in, or out Allegheny College. sity the following year, the agonizing defeat of the track but by groping on the ground WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY I FALL 2005 33 BOOK REVIEWS with their hands." While any firsthand servator Christine Smith. It analyzes the BOOK REVIEW CAPSULES description of these events is valuable, those manuscript as an artifact and details the from George Washington himself are even conservation methods that were employed more so. In them we see how his war experi- in its preservation. It also provides the read- ences affected him and became the lessons er with some basics of preservation and con- A Capitol Journey: Reflections on the needed to lead the United States in war and servation. Another appendix contains Press, Politics, and the Making of as the first president. information on the historic sites mentioned Public Policy in Pennsylvania George Washington Remembers includes a within the document, such as Williamsburg, By Vincent P Carocci color copy of the entire "Remarks" manu- Fort Vass, the Forks of the Ohio, and Fort (University Park: Penn State University Press, 2005) script as well as a transcription. It is accom- Necessity, and includes contact information Photos, 298 pp., $39.95 hardcover panied by Martin West's highly detailed and for each. This volume by long-time political reporter Vincent Carocci gives a firsthand look at the useful annotations, which make the full The original manuscript is a treasure for Pennsylvania political press, the senate, importance of the document clear for non- all Americans, and particularly for Western and seven governors. Carocci pays special specialists and armchair historians. Readers Pennsylvanians. This publication makes attention to Robert Casey, with whom he will recognize West as director of Fort Ligo- Washington's "Remarks" accessible to all worked closely. nier and a contributor to this magazine. while bringing the world of young George The majority of the book's remaining Washington to life. It is the perfect book for Never Come to Peace Again: content explores different aspects of the those interested in the regional connections Pontiac's Uprising and the Fate of the manuscript and the man who wrote it.