Discover Top Posts Tagged with #henry lee

Police Gazette, Jan 21, 1882. Chicago spiritualist Henry Lee claims to have been married again with the blessing and aid of his deceased first wife at the wedding.

#1882 #henry lee #ghost #Spiritualism

#open directories #christmas #santa #henry lee #record cover #cover art

Henry Lee - Betty James

1962

A sharp, driving rhythm’n’blues cut.

Betty James shapes this rhythm with a striking touch — direct, bold, and entirely her own.

1962 never sounded so alive!

#Betty James #Rhythm'n'blues #Female vocalist #Baltimore #Maryland #USA #America #American #1960s #60s #Music #Henry Lee #Bandcamp

Photo by Dave Tounge

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Portrait of Nick Cave and PJ Harvey to promote their duet 'Henry Lee' from the album 'Murder Ballads', United Kingdom, 1995. by Dave Tonge

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hiiiii, do u know the whole hamilton showing up to his own memorial thing? when he crossed the schuylkill river:

i found that in the url:

https://www.ushistory.org/brandywine/special/art08.htm#google_vignette

i was thinking u probably had more info? thankyuuuuu💖

Hello! This is one of my favorite stories, so I’m totally happy to dump all the details.

The summary in that article is pretty sound in terms of the overall information, but I personally find examining the sources to be rewarding, so I’ve dug those up for you below.

Alexander Hamilton’s personal account of the incident, written some hours afterward, outlines the events very well:

The enemy are on the road to Sweedes ford, the main body about four miles from it. They sent a party this evening to Davesers ferry, which fired upon me and some others in crossing it, killed one man, wounded another, and disabled my horse. They came on so suddenly that one boat was left adrift on the other side, which will of course fall into their hands and by the help of that they will get possession of another, which was abandonned by those who had the direction of it and left afloat, in spite of every thing that I could do to the contrary.

Hamilton, Alexander. “To John Hancock,” September 18, 1777, in The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 1, edited by Harold C. Syrett (Columbia University Press, 1961), 327-328. Digitized to Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-01-02-0283.

The boats in question were, according to Hamilton, able to “convey 50 men across at a time” for which he thought would be “sufficient [for the British who would now be able to take them] to overmatch the militia who may be between them and the city.” (Ibid).

Hamilton had traveled to Daverser’s ferry, where a large supply of flour was stored, to destroy it before it could get into British hands (see ibid, note 1; Hamilton, Alexander. “To John Hancock,” September 18, 1777 in PAH vol. 1, pp. 327, note 1 [FO Link]). Alongside Hamilton and the injured men mentioned was Henry Lee, who left us this account from his memoirs:

[W]hile the British general pursued his route across the Schuylkill, directing his course to the American metropolis [Philadelphia]. Contiguous to the enemy’s route, lay some mills stored with flour, for the use of the American army. Their destruction was deemed necessary by the commander in chief; and his aid-de-camp, lieutenant colonel Hamilton, attended by captain Lee, with a small party of his troop of horse, were despatched in front of the enemy, with the order of execution. The mill, or mills, stood on the bank of the Schuylkill. Approaching, you descend a long hill leading to a bridge over the mill-race. On the summit of this hill two videts were posted; and soon after the party reached the mills, lieutenant colonel Hamilton took possession of a flat-bottomed boat for the purpose of transporting himself and his comrades across the river, should the sudden approach of the enemy render such retreat necessary. In a little time this precaution manifested his sagacity: The fire of the videts announced the enemy’s appearance. The dragoons were ordered instantly to embark. Of the small party, four with the lieutenant colonel jumped into the boat, the van of the enemy’s horse in full view, pressing down the hill in pursuit of the two videts. Captain Lee, with the remaining two, took the decision to regain the bridge, rather than detain the boat.

Hamilton was committed to the flood, struggling against a violent current, increased by the recent rains; while Lee put his safety on the speed and soundness of his horse.

The attention of the enemy being engaged by Lee’s push for the bridge, delayed the attack upon the boat for a few minutes, and thus afforded to Hamilton a better chance of escape. The two videts preceded Lee as he reached the bridge; and himself with the four dragoons safely passed it, although the enemy’s front section emptied their carbines and pistols at the distance of ten or twelve paces. Lee’s apprehension for the safety of Hamilton continued to increase, as he heard volleys of carbines discharged upon the boat, which were returned by guns singly and occasionally. He trembled for the probable issue; and as soon as the pursuit ended, which did not long continue, he despatched a dragoon to the commander in chief, describing with feelings of anxiety what had passed, and his sad presage. His letter was scarcely perused by Washington, before Hamilton himself appeared; and, ignorant of the contents of the paper in the general’s hand, renewed his attention to the ill-boding separation, with the probability that his friend Lee had been cut off; inasmuch as instantly after he turned for the bridge, the British horse reached the mill, and commenced their operations upon the boat.… Lieutenant colonel Hamilton escaped unhurt; but two of his four dragoons, with one of the boatmen, were wounded.

Lee, Henry. Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States, vol. 1 (Philadelphia, 1812), 19-21, as quoted in The Papers of Alexander Hamilton vol. 1, edited by Harold C. Syrett (Columbia University Press, 1961), 326-327; digitized to Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-01-02-0282.

Lee’s account when combined with Hamilton’s gives us a very clear picture of what happened on the river. Whether or not Washington and the other aides had any sort of funeral for Hamilton before his arrival later that night (as he told John Hancock, “[t]he most cogent reasons oblige me to join the army this night” [see above letter]) is unknown, and any sort of imagining of such you might come across are mostly fictional. An interesting note here also is the fate of Hamilton’s horse. In his first letter to Hancock, written immediately after his escape, he wrote that he had “lost my horse” (Hamilton, Alexander. “To John Hancock,” September 18, 1777 in PAH vol. 1, pg. 326 [FO Link]), but in his second letter as we see above, clarified that the shots had “disabled [his] horse.” The fate of Hamilton’s horse, it appears, was an unfortunate ending—leaving Hamilton to return back to headquarters on foot for at least part of the journey.

I hope this helps to clarify this story for you! Definitely one of the more dramatic moments in Hamilton’s life.

#thanks for the ask!#grace’s asks #alexander hamilton #amrev #historical alexander hamilton #henry lee #historical documents #18th century history #the american revolution #not writing #john hancock #philadelphia history