A revolutionary pilgrimage

Front matter

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Preface

Some years ago I systematically visited the scenes and battle-fields connected with the Revolution, undertaking a sort of pilgrimage — a series of journeys that covered a period of almost fourteen months, my motive being to furnish illustrations for Henry Cabot Lodge's "Story of the Revolution."

The only book I could procure to guide me was Lossing's classic "Field-Book of the Revolution," an admirable work, indeed, but so bulky, so unwieldy, and so verbose that it makes rather comphcated reading. Besides, in many particulars it is now quite out of date. Many of the scenes have radically changed since 1850; many of the landmarks he describes have disappeared; while, on the other hand, much has been done by patriotic people to mark and make interesting the Revolutionary battle-grounds since his day.

While engaged upon this pilgrimage I met many people — local authorities, men of importance, who had made special researches into the history of their own particular region and were kind enough to give me pamphlets and articles that they had written or data that they had collected — material that seemed to me most interesting. So, as there appeared to be no recent book devoted to

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PREFACE

the topographical history of the Revolution, I made up my mind to write one, but one busy period after another has hitherto prevented the accomphshment of that purpose. During this past year, however, I have again gone over the ground, and to my illustrations that originally appeared in "The Story of the Revolution" I have added a number of others and particularly a number of maps which I hope may be of real assistance to the reader in following the narrative.

Now that a new wave of patriotism has swept over the land and created a revival of the "American spirit," as it is called, the moment seems peculiarly propitious to awake anew the story of the deeds of our ancestors — the men who risked their lives and staked their all to found our nation and make its ideals possible.

I wish to thank all those who helped me on my wanderings — and they are many — the kind friends and the chance acquaintances who made these journeys interesting and pleasurable and aided so much in giving me an opportunity to see things and to unearth documents that I should otherwise have surely overlooked.

E. R

New York, 1917

Contents

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AROUND ROSTON 7

I. The Reginning 9