“[W]hen they have opened a gap in the hedge or wall of Separation between the Garden of the Church and the Wilderness of the world, God hath ever broke down the wall itself, removed the Candlestick, and made his Garden a Wilderness, as at this day.”
— Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island and founder of the Baptist movement in 1638 (spelling corrected in quote)
Locations
Location matters. It tells the story. We plan to visit sites up and down, far and wide. Our focus is on churches and battlefields, but homesteads and villages, places of reenactment, museums, and libraries will also find their way on our itinerary. Here’s a beginning list that we will add to and rework from time to time.
Old South Church in Newburyport, Massachusetts, is where George Whitefield is buried.
Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, is the oldest synagogue building still standing in the US, built in 1763.
Peace Field in Quincy, Massachusetts, homestead of John and Abagail Adams.
First Presbyterian Church in Trenton, New Jersey, where James Francis Armstrong served as pastor.
Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown and Jamestown, Virginia, where Cornwallis is forced to surrender to Washington and Rochambeau.
Middleborough Baptist Church in Middleborough, Massachusetts, where Isaac Backus served as pastor.
North Church of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where Paul Revere was a member.
Yale College, where so many prepared for a life of ministry and service.
College of New Jersey (Princeton) saw the surrender of the British troops Nassau Hall in January 1777.
Christ Church in Richmond, where Patrick Henry read his famous “Give me liberty or give me death!”
Brandywine Battlefield Park in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, where Washington’s army experienced a hard-fought defeat.
St. Paul’s Church in Eastchester, New York was used as a hospital following the important battle at Pell's Point in 1776.
Declaration House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is where the Declaration of Independence was written.
Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the place to find the resting place of many war era heroes.
Midway Congregational Church in Midway, Georgia, where Moses Allen, served as pastor.
Trinity Church in Newport, Rhode Island, is home to an active congregation since 1698 and a building you can see today dating to 1726.
Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia, homestead of George and Martha Washington.
South Granville Congregational Church in New York, where Lemuel Haynes served as pastor.
United First Parish Church in Quincy, Massachusetts, first gathered in 1636. It’s also where John Adams and John Quincy Adams are buried.
Valley Forge is the site of the 1777-78 winter encampment of the Continental Army.
First Baptist Church in Providence, Rhode Island where Roger Williams set up a church in 1636 after fleeing from Salem.
First Congregational Church in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where Manasseh Cutler served as pastor.
Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, home of Thomas Jefferson.
Minute Man National Historical Park, home to the exchange of fire at Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775.
Trinity Church in New York City was burned to the ground in September of 1776 during the American Revolution as part of a larger fire, and Trinity's chapel was saved only through heroic efforts.
Kings Mountain National Military Park on the border of North and South Carolina, where the war begins to turn in America’s favor.
First Church in Northampton, Massachusetts, where Jonathan Edwards served as pastor.
Old Powder House in Somerville, Massachusetts, where the Powder Alarm of September 1, 1774, proved a trial run for Lexington and Concord.
The Chew House in Clivedon, Pennsylvania, was at the center of the Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777.
Old South Meeting House in Boston, Massachusetts, dates to at least 1669 but was completed in 1729. Samuel Adams and others meet here to plan the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773.
Cliveden Mansion is the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania campaign, the battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777.
Old West Church in Boston, Massachusetts, where Jonathan Mayhew served as pastor.
Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Manalapan, New Jersey, where Washington drove Clinton to retreat in the summer of 1778.
Presbyterian Church in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, where James Caldwell served as pastor.
Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, where Townshend Dade served as pastor.
Paul Revere Home in Boston, Massachusetts.
Christ Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, considered the Nation’s Church hosted members of the Continental Congress throughout the war.
Cowpens National Battlefield in South Carolina, where patriot Daniel Morgan defeats the British under Tarleton.
First Baptist Church in New York City, where John Gano served as the founding pastor, and where General George Washington frequently worshipped.
Fort Mifflin is where 400 men held the British navy at bay for weeks, allowing George Washington and his troops to travel safely to Valley Forge.
Old State House in Boston, Massachusetts, is the site of the Boston Massacre.