Revolutionary Traces

Like others of his class who celebrated the city’s past – whether through architectural preservation, antiquarian collecting, amateur archaeology, or local history writing, or through monuments, plaques, and commemorative parades – Hine had a particular interest in the Revolution, and in the elites who led it.  He thus photographed Alexander Hamilton’s tomb in Trinity churchyard and George Washington’s hitching tree in St. Paul’s churchyard.  He also described, and included newspaper clippings about, the site of George III’s monument and Washington’s headquarters on Bowling Green, and the British Provost Prison in City Hall Park.  Hine also documented how skyscraper construction on lower Broadway and subway and sewer construction on upper Broadway were uncovering numerous Revolutionary relics.

Yet, Hine also showed how the search for Revolutionary relics exposed unexpected remains, such as those of Native American settlement and African American burial grounds.  As a self-publishing author, moreover, Hine felt free to critique how landowners (including Trinity Church and Columbia University) used and abused Revolutionary history to shore up their property interests.