| Notes: 100 pages. From the Editors: Our spring 2020 issue spans Hudson River Valley history from the American Revolution through the First World War�and even a hit beyond. In his article �Fluid Loyalism at the Forge: The Sterling Ironworks and The American Revolution,?? Charles Dewey challenges long-held beliefs about what it meant to be a �patriot?? or �loyalist?? in the contested territories of the lower Hudson Valley. The Blooming Grove church stands today much as it did when rebuilt in 1823 on a 1759 foundation in that same contested region. In �The Veterans� Church: A History of Community in the Blooming Grove Church,?? Michael Matsler uses this structure to illustrate the surrounding settlement�s transition from the Colonial to the Revolutionary and into the modern era. On a lighter note, in �Thomas Pym Cope and Charles Brockden Brown: Diarists on the Hudson,?? James Ryan explores the implications of musings jotted down by two friends journeying up the Hudson River together in 1801, as the Age of Reason gave way to Romanticism here and around the world. Alex Prizgintas celebrates Orange County�s place in the development of a national railroad system and the birth of America�s dairy industry in �When Steel Rails, Glass Bottles, and Fresh Cream Ruled the Country: Orange County�s Role in the Birth of Transporting and Marketing Milk.?? Finally, in �FDR�s First Political Mentor,?? Laurence Hauptman introduces readers to publisher, orator, and one-term Congressman Richard E. Connell. Born in Poughkeepsie to immigrant parents�truly a self-made man�Connell helped to shape the political future of a young and inexperienced Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As always, the issue is rounded out with book reviews and a listing of New and Noteworthy titles about our region. |