"These words produced extreme sensibility on both sides; they were answered by warm expressions, and fervent wishes, from the gentlemen of the army, whose truly pathetic feelings it is not in our power to convey to the reader. Soon after this scene was closed, his excellency the Governor, the honorable the Council and Citizens of the first distinction waited on the general and in terms the most affectionate took their leave."
Two years later Fraunces sold the tavern, but it retains his name to this day. It is still at the corner of Broad and Pearl streets. Many changes have been made in the building, under the direction of the Sons of the Revolution, and it will continue to attract visitors as long as it stands.
THE GRANGE, NEW YORK CITY
WHERE ALEXANDER HAMILTON SPENT HIS LAST YEARS
After nineteen years of moving from house to house and from city to city, Alexander Hamilton made up his mind to have a home of his own. In 1780 he had taken Elizabeth Schuyler from a mansion in Albany that was, in its day, almost a palace; and in 1799 he felt that the time had come to give her a home of corresponding comfort.
At this time he was commander-in-chief of the army of the United States, a service that was made notable, among other things, by his suggestion and preparation of plans for the West Point Military Academy.
The chosen site for the house, nine miles from Bowling Green, was bounded by the present St. Nicholas and Tenth Avenues and 141st and 145th streets. The coach from New York to Albany afforded regular transportation to the spot, though, of course, Hamilton had his own equipage. When he planned the house he thought his income of $12,000 would be ample to care for the property. Accordingly he felt justified in offering £800 for sixteen acres, one-half of which was to be paid in cash, the balance within a year.
The architect chosen was John McComb, the designer of New York's old City Hall. Hamilton and his father-in-law, General Schuyler, had a hand in the development of the plans. In a letter to Hamilton, written August 25, 1800, General Schuyler said:
"If the house is boarded on the outside, and the clapboards put on, and filled on the inside with brick, I am persuaded no water will pass to the brick. If the clapboards are well painted, and filling in with brick will be little if any more expensive than lath and plaister, the former will prevent the nuisance occasioned by rats and mice, to which you will be eternally exposed if lath and plaister is made use of instead of brick."