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In the Founders' Footsteps: Landmarks of the American Revolution
“Beautifully alive.”— Wall Street Journal
Winner of the 2022 Distinguished Book Award from The Society of Colonial Wars
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, and on busy city streets, here are taverns, meeting houses, battlefields, forts, monuments, homes which 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-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 ( The House Tells the Homes of the American Presidents ) 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.
Winner of the 2022 Distinguished Book Award from The Society of Colonial Wars
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, and on busy city streets, here are taverns, meeting houses, battlefields, forts, monuments, homes which 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-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 ( The House Tells the Homes of the American Presidents ) 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.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published April 12, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 20, 2024
I have a love-hate reaction to this book. The basic format is attractive: the author visits various historic sites, writes about who he talks to there (from historians to volunteer guides), and includes drawings to help us visualize the location.
However, I disagree with one point. There is an oft-repeated story that Benjamin Franklin and John Adams had to share a room while traveling and argued whether the window should be left open or closed that night. I've seen many references stating that it happened in New Brunswick, but the author quotes a volunteer guide saying it was Perth Amboy! Sloppy or no research. The towns are only about 10 miles apart, so what's the big deal? History is based on facts; change the facts and you could be changing the facts for future generations to repeat. (History can be interpreted differently by others, but they still need that framework of facts to start with.) A pet peeve of mine.
This is a good book for day-trippers to plan their visits, but not so good for historians.
However, I disagree with one point. There is an oft-repeated story that Benjamin Franklin and John Adams had to share a room while traveling and argued whether the window should be left open or closed that night. I've seen many references stating that it happened in New Brunswick, but the author quotes a volunteer guide saying it was Perth Amboy! Sloppy or no research. The towns are only about 10 miles apart, so what's the big deal? History is based on facts; change the facts and you could be changing the facts for future generations to repeat. (History can be interpreted differently by others, but they still need that framework of facts to start with.) A pet peeve of mine.
This is a good book for day-trippers to plan their visits, but not so good for historians.
July 22, 2024
Very interesting book. The author visits several sites and tells the stories of what happened there. Adam Van Doren is also a painter and does water color pictures of the places.
I was disappointed, however, what he wrote about Thomas Jefferson. YDNA has proven that someone in the Jefferson family fathered Sally Hemings children and it seems most likely that person would be Thomas. Though I don't approve of that relationship, to be fair one would need to know all the facts.
1. Thomas Jefferson's wife Martha died in 1782. Sally was a house servant and probably raised Thomas and Martha's living children. It wasn't until the 1990s that Sally gave birth to her first child.
2. There were laws against interatrial marriage. So even if the widowed Thomas and Sally fell in love they could not marry. In fact in Virginia interatrial marriage did not become legal until 1967 after a supreme court ruling.
3. If Thomas freed his slaves/children they would have to leave the state of Virginia within a year. So it is understandable he freed them upon his death.
I was disappointed, however, what he wrote about Thomas Jefferson. YDNA has proven that someone in the Jefferson family fathered Sally Hemings children and it seems most likely that person would be Thomas. Though I don't approve of that relationship, to be fair one would need to know all the facts.
1. Thomas Jefferson's wife Martha died in 1782. Sally was a house servant and probably raised Thomas and Martha's living children. It wasn't until the 1990s that Sally gave birth to her first child.
2. There were laws against interatrial marriage. So even if the widowed Thomas and Sally fell in love they could not marry. In fact in Virginia interatrial marriage did not become legal until 1967 after a supreme court ruling.
3. If Thomas freed his slaves/children they would have to leave the state of Virginia within a year. So it is understandable he freed them upon his death.
December 28, 2023
A beautifully produced travelogue for sites associated with the American Revolution. The artworks are interesting and the various essays are personal and reflective. It felt like a bigger book could have emerged from this that would have been more interesting.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews