Guns and Ships

Musically and lyrically, this parallels Burr’s opening lines about Hamilton. The underdog story of the American rebels is shown as similar to Hamilton’s unlikely rise.

Historically, the volunteer nature of the Army was a source of frustration for George Washington. On May 2, 1783, he communicated his “Sentiments on a Peace Establishment” to Hamilton, advocating for a trained, conscripted army:

It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defence of it, and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls […]

However, during the Revolutionary period, Congress did not pass any such law mandating compulsory military service.

The term “superpower” is anachronistic here, as it was not used until the mid-20th century (popularized by a 1944 book by William T. R. Fox). Thus another example of how Hamilton is not a retelling of Hamilton’s life as it happened, but a story of the past as told by the present.

Hamilton: The Revolution (p. 202) reveals an early draft of this section from Lin’s notebook, which read:

[BURR:] How does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower
Somehow defeat a global superpower?
How does King George underestimate his haters?
[GEORGE:] Once we beat the traitors, we’ll be greeted as liberators!
[MEN:] Yay!!
[BURR:] No. We have a secret weapon! […]

Lin adds:

King George’s logic […] is the same logic our country has applied to any number of ill-advised foreign policy misadventures. (History Spoiler: People almost never greet invading soldiers as liberators.) We eventually changed this section because King George’s re-emergence after the war is such a delightful surprise, we didn’t want to have him pop up any earlier.

Two different contexts for the word ‘quagmire’:

First of all, a quagmire is piece of swamp land. Battlefields, which could be soaked with blood and other unsavory things, are often compared to quagmires. So, ‘how did we emerge victorious from these gory battlefields?’

Or, second of all, a quagmire can idiomatically refer to sticky situation—military, legal or otherwise. It’s often used in conjunction with America’s more recent military quagmires in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Thus, ‘how did we emerge victorious from this extremely risky venture?’ The word “quagmire” may also be taken as a bit of foreshadowing. Yorktown sits on the York River, making low areas a bit swampy and prone to flooding.

The Betsy Ross flag was the first popularly adopted version of the flag of the United States of America, designed while the Patriots were still fighting the Revolution. According to oral history, though probably not historical fact, Betsy Ross created it for George Washington after he came to her seamstress shop to commission it from a sketch. She received credit for the design because she convinced him to change the six-pointed star on his mockup to a five-pointed one; they were easier to make.

Two different contexts for the word ‘quagmire’:

First of all, a quagmire is piece of swamp land. Battlefields, which could be soaked with blood and other unsavory things, are often compared to quagmires. So, ‘how did we emerge victorious from these gory battlefields?’

Or, second of all, a quagmire can idiomatically refer to sticky situation—military, legal or otherwise. It’s often used in conjunction with America’s more recent military quagmires in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Thus, ‘how did we emerge victorious from this extremely risky venture?’ The word “quagmire” may also be taken as a bit of foreshadowing. Yorktown sits on the York River, making low areas a bit swampy and prone to flooding.

A bit of misdirection. By echoing the music and lyrics from “Alexander Hamilton,” the listener thinks that Burr is once again referring to Hamilton. Instead, they get Lafayette.

The company’s repeated exclamation of Lafayette’s name also echoes Hamilton’s, but with the three syllables rising in pitch rather than falling.

This line in particular emphasizes Lafayette’s similarities to Hamilton.

Like Hamilton, Marquis de La Fayette was orphaned at an early age. His father died when he was one, his mother when he was twelve. He joined the military at 13 and was still only 18 when, moved by the American cause and hoping to prove himself in battle, he commissioned a ship and arranged to be appointed by the Continental Congress—then overseeing the American army—as a Major General. Unlike Hamilton, he was quickly received with warmth and deference. This was partially because they appreciated his patriotism, partially because they coveted his strong connections with the French military and aristocracy, but also definitely because he volunteered to serve without pay (he was already one of the richest men in France). Let it be said, the American people know a bargain when they see it.

Additionally, the use of the term “immigrant” with respect to Lafayette is interesting. He played a gigantic part in America’s war effort, but was clearly not “a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country” as he returned to France after the war. Many states even made Lafayette a citizen of their states with Maryland going so far as to establish him and all his [male] descendants as natural born citizens, the complete opposite of an immigrant! Given that he was stripped of his French citizenship for a time, he was arguably legally an American expat, insofar as he was anything.

However, one can argue that Miranda is not using immigrant in the classical sense of the word. Lafayette may not have permanently emigrated to the United States, but he put his blood, sweat, and tears into the founding of this new, fledgling country. Even though Lafayette bodily returned to France, he lived here permanently in his deeds. This connects to the interesting paradox that at America’s founding, everyone in the Colonies became an immigrant to the United States.

Also, while Lafayette wasn’t an immigrant, he could have been. And probably would have been, if the escape attempt from Austrian imprisonment engineered by John and Angelica Church (née Schuyler—yes, our Angelica) hadn’t sadly ended in his recapture.

Lafayette was by all accounts a tactical wunderkind, and his biggest selling point was his abilities as a kind of military Houdini.

He actually pulled off one of the most daring escapes of the war outside Philadelphia in 1778 during the Battle of Barren Hill. British spies had revealed the location of Lafayette’s 2000+ men, and 16,000 redcoats were quickly marching to surround their encampment and overrun them. Lafayette consulted with members of the Oneida tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy, who were working with his troop. They decided to retreat along a disused hunting trail, going as close as one-by-one down the path to a ford and safety across the Schuylkill River.

To cover the retreat, Lafayette arranged to have a small force attack one of the British scouting parties nearby. The British troops converged on the skirmish, only to find a minuscule number of Patriot forces when they arrived. Their successful retreat took the wind out of the British’s sails, and within a month they’d abandoned their hold on Philadelphia. If Lafayette had failed and his troops been lost, the redcoats probably would have used their momentum to go after Washington and the main army encampment at Valley Forge.

The [Oneidas] warriors were left behind to cover the retreat with woodland warfare tactics, Ron Patterson, the Oneidas' living historian, said in an interview from Oneida, N.Y. “When the soldiers left them behind the lines, their war cries in the woods [were confusing]—you can’t count their number. They allowed the marquis to slip away,” Patterson said.

George Washington warmly praised Lafayette for the “timely and handsome” maneuver.

Lafayette was indeed a popular figure during the Revolutionary War and during the early years of the union. Lafayette served in the Continental Army without pay, which was viewed by many as him fighting for selfless reasons (for liberty of others rather than for self-glory). When he came back from France during the war, morale was at a low point, and he was seen as a savior of sorts since he came through with supplies (i.e. French aid).

When he returned for a grand tour of the United States for that country’s 50th anniversary, he received a hero’s welcome in all 24 states (at the time), with places named after him and each location trying to outdo the last as they celebrated his visit.

A bit of misdirection. By echoing the music and lyrics from “Alexander Hamilton,” the listener thinks that Burr is once again referring to Hamilton. Instead, they get Lafayette.

The company’s repeated exclamation of Lafayette’s name also echoes Hamilton’s, but with the three syllables rising in pitch rather than falling.

LAFAYETTE: “Don’t worry America, I got this horse.”

“Taking the horse by its reins” is an idiom taken from the fact that horse riders control their mount by manipulating its reins. When horses are spooked or misbehaving, it’s important to get hold of their reins, as this helps the rider or groom limit their movement and get the situation under control. For this reason, the phrase means to take control of a (generally troubled or unruly) project or organization.

The American militia, that “ragtag volunteer army,” was definitely both troubled and unruly at the start of the Revolution. As depicted in this song, Lafayette liaised with France to supply the army with vital equipment, and he also convinced other friends of his from the French military, like Rochambeau, to come and lend their expertise and strength as well.

The British army was often referred to as the Redcoats, because of, you guessed it, the color of their military coats or coatees. The particular iconic shade of the Revolution is called “madder red,” which sounds pretty badass, although it’s just because madder root was used to make the red dye.

The British uniforms were also mocked by Revolutionaries for their red color because it made them stand out in just about every environment, like walking targets.

Lafayette is saying he’s going to dye these red coats, and the soldiers inside them, even redder by staining the fabric with blood, i.e. killing them a whole heck of a lot.

Too bad, handsome dude, Lafayette is coming for you!

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette was a famous French military officer who aided the largely untrained Continental Army in America’s Revolutionary War.

Lafayette commanded many soldiers, most notably at the Siege of Yorktown, leading the Americans to victory at the turning point of the war.

Although commonly forgotten, Lafayette was one of the most important commanders in the Revolutionary War.

This couplet (the last “I’m” included) is the phrase in which Lafayette spits out 19 words in an approximately 3 second span, which makes it the fastest set of lyrics in Broadway history, according to FiveThirtyEight, as mentioned in the song’s description.

Daveed Diggs is a veteran of such mind-boggling pace, dealing out some seriously fast verses as an MC in clipping., his LA rap group.

According to LMM’s interview on Stephen Colbert, this line is also intended to show Lafayette’s evolution from a weak English speaker in his first appearance in the show to this point, where his command of English language is the most powerful of anyone in the show.

The reference in “Aaron Burr, Sir” to “C'est Moi,” from Camelot, is brought up here again. This time, it’s in English, though. “It’s me! I’m Lafayette!” These personal verses are much like “C'est Moi,” as Lafayette speaks of all the things he does for the Revolution, just as Sir Lancelot brags in Camelot of what he can do for the Knights of the Round Table.

This line is a basic summary of guerrilla warfare, which was a major tactic of the “ragtag” Continental Army. The idea is to use a small group of soldiers to quickly attack an army. Before they can actively react the group runs away, thus creating confusion and distress. Some could consider it cheating; however, it’s an effective way to destroy resources without much loss on the attackers.

In terms of Lafayette, during the war he avoided British attempts to trap and capture him more than once. He also had his troops fight in such a way that made the British think there were more Continental forces than there actually were.

In the lead-up to the battle of Yorktown, he was in fine evil mastermind form:

Lafayette grew bolder and more aggressive, forcing Cornwallis to retreat southeast, onto the Virginia cape, between the York and James Rivers. Lafayette sent patrols to roam the opposite banks conspicuously enough to dissuade the British from leaving the cape, while his vanguard struck incessantly at the British read and forced them toward Chesapeake Bay. “Washington having finally adopted the project of uniting the land and sea forces against the army of Cornwallis,” Lafayette explained, “we manoeuvred to prevent [the] enemy from withdrawing when he became conscious of his dangers.”

Lafayette left America for France in 1779. In actuality, his visit wasn’t intended as a fundraising trip. He was so anti-British that during his time in the colonies, he’d pressed Washington to invade Canada, then a loyal British colony. Washington turned him down, so in France, he spent his time attempting to engineer a British invasion with France’s allies, the Spanish. In July, it looked like Lafayette would get his wish, but everything that could go wrong did, so he returned to America.

Lafayette returned to the US bearing France’s promise of 6000 soldiers and provisions.

It should be noted that right before the Battle of Yorktown, the one who came back with more guns and ships…and a boatload of money was…wait for it…John Laurens.

Lafayette returned to the US bearing France’s promise of 6000 soldiers and provisions.

It should be noted that right before the Battle of Yorktown, the one who came back with more guns and ships…and a boatload of money was…wait for it…John Laurens.

The American cause was pretty popular in France, but Lafayette still had to campaign long and hard (often directly disobeying orders) to get official support from the French government. The colonies had plenty of passionate and smart people running the show, but the Revolution would have almost certainly failed without Lafayette’s campaigning and the eventual ground troops and naval power France lent to the Americans (this is directly referenced in Cabinet Battle #2, when Jefferson wants to help the French against the British out of gratitude for their help during the Revolution, but Hamilton and many other Federalists realize the newly-formed Union is far too weak and disorganized to do so).

Biography of the Marquis de Lafayette — Ushistory

Biography of the Marquis de Lafayette

Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau (there’s a mouthful!) was commander-in-chief of the French forces sent to aid the American revolutionaries. He led the Expédition Particulière. In 1781, Washington’s forces and Rochambeau’s joined and, at Rochambeau’s urging, abandoned a plan to attack New York, instead marching south to “consolidate” their force with the French Admiral de Grasse’s fleet in Virginia to hem in Cornwallis and force the surrender of the British forces.

François Joseph Paul de Grasse and Jacques-Melchior Saint-Laurent, Comte de Barras joined their fleets at Yorktown to defeat the British fleet and blockade reinforcements and supplies from joining Corwallis' forces.

In actuality, Lafayette nominated his aide, Jean-Joseph Sourbader de Gimat, to lead the charge at Yorktown. Hamilton personally appealed to Washington for the command and Lafayette was overruled. Gimat (and Laurens, actually) served under Hamilton for the day.

And we, the listeners, do too! At the beginning of the song, Miranda surprised us by making the secret weapon Lafayette… but this is a musical about Hamilton after all, so we know exactly who’s needed.

This line sounds like Washington is almost defeated from admitting that he needs Hamilton (again) and could also be seen as an extended rhyme from all the times Washington has given an emphatic “NO” to Hamilton’s requests to have a command of his own prior to this point.

The show may make it sound a bit like Hamilton did nothing except write letters for Washington—not quite. After the Battle of Saratoga, Washington was desperate for more troops as the British closed in. Hamilton completed the 300-mile journey in 5 days.

This is an allusion to Hamilton commanding the assault on redoubt 10 and the French assault on redoubt 9 at Yorktown.

Hamilton was raised in Saint Croix by his mother, who was of French Hugenot descent. Although the island was technically under Danish rule, Danish was never spoken in large numbers there and it had until 1733 been controlled by the French, so his fluency in French is unsurprising. To this day, a number of French creoles are spoken in Saint Croix.

Miranda has spoken a couple of times in interviews about his use of the word “ingenuitive,” which many modern spellcheckers won’t recognize. In Hamilton: The Revolution (p. 118), he writes, “This is a weird one. I thought everyone knew this word, yet I don’t know where I’ve seen it. You should have seen the looks on the faces of my collaborators when I brought the song in.” Apparently, they were split up 2-2 on whether it was a real word, but it turned out to be “an archaic conjugation of ingenuity.” From Lin: “I really don’t know where I met [this word], but it was there for me when I needed it.”

The way Lafayette pronounces this also sounds like “ami”, the French word for “friend”, emphasizing Hamilton’s and Lafayette’s camaraderie.

Alternatively, Lafayette could be referring to his relationship with Washington, rather than Hamilton; he’s saying, “What’s he gonna do on the bench, buddy?”

Notice that Washington and Company do not sing Hamilton’s name in the usual cadence because Hamilton is being summoned under Washington’s command and not of his own agency. Later when Washington pleads with Hamilton to come with him he modifies his cadence to Hamilton’s tune in order to show musically that Washington is trying to work with Hamilton.

A sports metaphor, but perhaps also a play on words given Hamilton’s eventual legal profession.

The way Lafayette pronounces this also sounds like “ami”, the French word for “friend”, emphasizing Hamilton’s and Lafayette’s camaraderie.

Alternatively, Lafayette could be referring to his relationship with Washington, rather than Hamilton; he’s saying, “What’s he gonna do on the bench, buddy?”

Amid a feast of virtuosic rap, this particular line spins out in rapid-fire triplets which only serve to underscore Lafayette’s self-evident brilliance.

These ‘triplets’ are dactylic—they begin with a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. You can see this specifically in each triplet of “practical tactical brilliance.” More importantly, though, this unusual dactylic meter is also used by Jefferson later on in “Washington on Your Side” when he starts saying “I’m in the cabinet. I am complicit in…“ Perhaps there is a connection between the two characters. ;)

While Burr’s intro to the song seemingly implicates Hamilton as America’s secret weapon before revealing it to be Lafayette for the second time in the first act, Lafayette, now im command, puts the focus back on Hamilton, and gives him the loud boisterous introduction for Alexander that the audience came to expect at the top of the song.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, to Grantland:

One of the last things I wrote for the show was one more fast rap for Lafayette, before he hands off a letter. Because I had Daveed. And he’s just the fucking best. And there was an opportunity. It was just them vamping, like, “Get your right-hand man back, unh, get your right-hand man back [scratches].” And it was like, no — we will fill that with stuff. It’s like Mad Magazine, where Sergio Aragonés is drawing cartoons in between the cartoons. There’s a lot of that in the show.

The closing of this rap may be a nod to “Please Mr. Postman”, originally by The Marvelettes, which contains the immortal line “Deliver de letter de sooner de better.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda, to Grantland:

One of the last things I wrote for the show was one more fast rap for Lafayette, before he hands off a letter. Because I had Daveed. And he’s just the fucking best. And there was an opportunity. It was just them vamping, like, “Get your right-hand man back, unh, get your right-hand man back [scratches].” And it was like, no — we will fill that with stuff. It’s like Mad Magazine, where Sergio Aragonés is drawing cartoons in between the cartoons. There’s a lot of that in the show.

The closing of this rap may be a nod to “Please Mr. Postman”, originally by The Marvelettes, which contains the immortal line “Deliver de letter de sooner de better.”

Washington sings this whole verse in the style of “Alexander Hamilton.” Some lines directly call back to those in the opening number: “Troops are waiting in the field for you” is reminiscent of the line “We are waiting in the wings for you,” while “The world will never be the same” is a direct reprise.

There are two related reasons for this. First of all, Washington is conceding to Hamilton’s long-expressed and long-frustrated ambitions, which were outlined in the opening. But more importantly, the opening number is about history itself commenting on the legacy Hamilton left to it. So by calling back to that here, Washington sets the audience up for his next number, the directly legacy-focused “History Has Its Eyes On You.”

Washington is once again reiterating how much he needs Hamilton. The line is nothing too special in terms of meaning but musically, the emphasis on ‘tide’ helps intensify the last four lines of the song and set the minor, eerie tone for the next song.

Washington sings this whole verse in the style of “Alexander Hamilton.” Some lines directly call back to those in the opening number: “Troops are waiting in the field for you” is reminiscent of the line “We are waiting in the wings for you,” while “The world will never be the same” is a direct reprise.

There are two related reasons for this. First of all, Washington is conceding to Hamilton’s long-expressed and long-frustrated ambitions, which were outlined in the opening. But more importantly, the opening number is about history itself commenting on the legacy Hamilton left to it. So by calling back to that here, Washington sets the audience up for his next number, the directly legacy-focused “History Has Its Eyes On You.”

Basically saying, “I have men who will take orders from you,” but the submissive connotation of “yield” suggests much more.

While it calls back to the Continental army troops ready to yield to Hamilton’s command from the previous line, this line reframes the context of “troops”, moving clearly into the OTHER troops waiting in the field, the British troops who are unknowingly waiting to be defeated.

Foreshadows “One Last Time”—Washington is just as concerned with “getting things right” as both Burr and Hamilton are. He’s something of the happy medium between them, and so no wonder he comes off best of anyone in the show.

British surrender occurred on the morning of October 17th. The wording may be a reference to the line “by the dawn’s early light” in the U.S. national anthem.

Watch Washington/Chris Jackson performs the national anthem at a Mets game:

Washington sings this whole verse in the style of “Alexander Hamilton.” Some lines directly call back to those in the opening number: “Troops are waiting in the field for you” is reminiscent of the line “We are waiting in the wings for you,” while “The world will never be the same” is a direct reprise.

There are two related reasons for this. First of all, Washington is conceding to Hamilton’s long-expressed and long-frustrated ambitions, which were outlined in the opening. But more importantly, the opening number is about history itself commenting on the legacy Hamilton left to it. So by calling back to that here, Washington sets the audience up for his next number, the directly legacy-focused “History Has Its Eyes On You.”

This is similar to how Maria sings “Stayyyyy” in “Say No to This.”

In both cases, someone is trying to woo Hamilton.