I haven’t seen any references to Albany in the many stories about the Broadway hit, “Hamilton,” about which there is a piece in today’s New York Times, “What ‘Hamilton’ forgets about Hamilton,” by Jason Frank and Isaac Kramnick, two political theory experts at Cornell. Yet, the Albany connection is there, as readers of Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton will understand.

Hamilton came to Albany when he was Washington’s aide in 1777 to request troops from Horatio Gates that Washington needed after the Americans won a surprising victory at the Battle of Saratoga. Hamilton rode from New Jersey to Albany in five days, he was 21 (or so, the date of his birth is uncertain) and slight in build, not someone who impressed Gates. Washington didn’t give Hamilton a letter with instructions that he was to follow, he knew how difficult Gates could be. Washington left it to Hamilton to persuade the general who had won a victory over the British at Saratoga to find some way to persuade him to send some badly-need troops to join him in New Jersey.

Gates was ambitious and difficult, only after Hamilton pelted him with arguments did he agree to send some of his men to join Washington at Valley Forge. Gates wanted to replace Washington as head of the Revolutionary Army and in the ensuing winter he made his bid for power. It failed and Gates moved to the South, where was ensnared by his own foibles.

While Hamilton was in Albany, he met Schuyler’s daughter, Elizabeth, briefly. He met her again in the following year when she delivered a message from her father to Washington in Morristown, New Jersey. He courted Elizabeth and soon they were engaged to be married, as they were during Christmas, 1778, at Schuyler Mansion in Albany.

Hamilton rejoined his unit as the war ran its difficult course. He led a charge of the Americans against the British army at Yorktown in 1781. He sought glory and received it: he was in the unit that first attacked the British fortifications. His heroism was notable. He was entitled to a cash bonus but declined it. He was a war hero and retired from the military. He moved to Albany with his wife and studied for the New York bar exam. He passed it and moved to New York City, where he became a prominent lawyer.

His wife and family visited Albany regularly in the 1780s and 1790s. He was a New York delegate at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and spoke boldly. Hamilton was a political conservative who spoke in favor of a lifetime president and he supported commercial oligarchs who manipulated credit and currency at the expense of debtors and yeoman farmers. Born on a slave island in the Caribbean, he opposed slavery and called for an end to the hated institution. At the same time, he was an outspoken conservative.

Washington made Hamilton Secretary of Treasury and appointed Thomas Jefferson to serve as Secretary of State. He supported Hamilton, not Jefferson, on many issues. Jefferson withdrew and began to build up his own base. Hamilton carried the day in Washington’s cabinet.

Hamilton appears not to have loved his wife, Elizabeth. He met her sister Angelica at their wedding and corresponded with her when she returned to England to be with her husband and children. They employed a secret code. She came to America in 1789, when Hamilton was compiling a report for America’s economic future. Elizabeth returned to Albany while her sister and Hamilton entered into an affair. Her father, Philip Schuyler, told his daughter Angelica that she had to return to England to be with her husband and children. The parting was sorrowful.

Hamilton entered into an affair with another married woman, Maria Reynolds, in 1791. She and her husband appear to have worked together to compromise Hamilton. They demanded payment for remaining silent about the affair. Hamilton paid until he could no longer meet the demands. James Reynolds revealed the affair to Hamilton’s enemies. They visited him and he decided to confess to the affair publicly, he never recovered from the incident. He became closer to his wife and family but had damaged his political position. He spoke publicly for John Adams in the 1800 election, but Jefferson was elected president. We remember Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804.

Schuyler Mansion is the oldest building in Albany. It is in a predominantly black neighborhood, south of the center of the city. When Schuyler built his mansion it stood alone, with a commanding view of the Hudson. Standing in front of the building today and looking down the hill below there are high-rise apartments at the bottom, public housing built for indigent blacks. There is serious decay on all sides of Schuyler Mansion, including streets named after the members of Schuyler’s family. On the right of the mansion is Catherine Street, named after Schuyler’s wife, above it is Elizabeth Street, named after the daughter who married Hamilton; it connects with Philip Street, named after one of Hamilton’s sons. Hamilton Street runs alongside the south side of Schuyler Mansion, it was named after Alexander Hamilton. The street now has a row of houses recently built in an effort to restore some dignity to this street.