| Contents |
Preface / by Nathaniel Philbrick -- The sweet project : Hamilton Grange, New York City -- A living museum : Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia -- Hallowed ground : Bunker Hill Monument, Charlestown, Massachusetts -- Fatal march : Benedict Arnold's Trail, Kennebec River, Maine; Major Reuben Colburn House, Pittston, Maine -- Of poets and generals : the Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Cambridge, Massachusetts -- Knox's triumph : Dorchester Heights Monument, South Boston, Massachusetts; Henry Knox Trail, Great Barrington, Massachusetts -- Where freedom rang : Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- A narrow escape : the Old Stone House, Brooklyn, New York -- Higher ground : Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York City -- Final plea : Billop House (Conference House), Staten Island, New York -- Turning the tide : Nassau Hall, Princeton University; Clarke House Museum, Princeton, New Jersey -- A taste of history : City Tavern, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- House of war : Cliveden Manor (the Chew House), Germantown, Pennsylvania -- Winter of discontent : Valley Forge Historic Site, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania -- The great chain : Hudson River Chain Monument, West Point, New York -- A dark past : Philipsburg Manor, Sleepy Hollow, New York -- Allies in arms : Rochambeau Monument, Newport, Rhode Island -- Without mercy : Camden Battlefield Site, Camden, South Carolina -- The Swamp Fox : Francis Marion Statue, Marion, South Carolina; City of Charleston, South Carolina -- Planter patriot : George Washington's Gardens, Mount Vernon, Virginia -- A family legacy : Peacefield (John Adams House), Quincy, Massachusetts -- Soldier spy : Major John Andr̐ue Monument, Tappan, New York; Yale Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut -- Meeting of minds : Webb Dean Stevens Museum, Wethersfield, Connecticut -- A secret setting : Poplar Forest, Forest, Virginia -- The crowning victory : Yorktown Battlefield Colonial Historical Park, Yorktown, Virginia -- Washington's adieu : Fraunces Tavern, New York City -- A man for all seasons : Franklin Court Printing Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- A noble gesture : Maryland State House, Annapolis, Maryland; Capitol Rotunda, Washington, D.C. -- Voice of the people : Thomas Paine Plaque, New York City; Thomas Paine Monument, New Rochelle, New York -- Hero at sea : Crypt of John Paul Jones, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland; John Paul Jones Historic House Museum, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. |
| Abstract |
"A tour through the original thirteen colonies in search of historical sites and their stories in America's founding. Obscure, well-known, off-the-beaten path, urban, here are taverns, meeting houses, battlefields, forts, monuments, homes whose rich heritage all combine to define our country-the places where daring people forged a revolution. There is always something new to be found in America's past that also brings greater clarity to our present, and the future we choose to make as a nation. Author and artist Adam Van Doren traveled from Maine to Georgia in that spirit. There are thirty-seven landmarks included, with fifteen additional locations noted in brief. From the Bunker Hill monument in Massachusetts to the Camden Battlefield Site in South Carolina, this is a tour of an American cultural landscape with a curious, perceptive, and insightful guide. The reader steps inside cabins at Valley Forge where nearly two thousand soldiers perished during a cruel winter, meets the chef at Philadelphia's City Tavern where the menu is based on 18th century fare, seeks out the Swamp Fox in Georgia, visits the homes of Alexander Hamilton, John and Abigail Adams, the Joseph Webb House on the Connecticut River where French general Rochambeau made plans with Washington, and much more. An unvarnished view, we also see Philipsburg Manor, in Sleepy Hollow, New York, where Blacks were once held as slaves to work in the Hudson River Valley. For armchair travelers and anyone fascinated by Americana, Van Doren has created an unforgettable journey through history. We see the Founders-both their stunning achievements and chilling moral failures-where they lived, fought, and agreed on a common purpose, to create a nation whose future and legacy is continually evolving"-- Provided by publisher. |
