Chains Forge Ashes All
Chains

Explore the American Revolution and the Seeds of America Trilogy with this interactive Timeline and Map!

Click on any dot to read more about what happened at that location during the American Revolution as well as in the Seeds of America series.

You can also filter the map by year by clicking on a specific year below, or by book by clicking on the individual book in the “Filter By” section. To all points of interest for the entire series and across the full time period, click “All Books.”

Chains

Newport, Rhode Island

1776 & 1778

Rhode Island, one of the thirteen original colonies, was heavily involved in the American Revolution, especially in Newport, a port city south of Providence. In the famous Battle of Newport, the British defeated the Americans on August 29, 1778 before moving on to New York City.

Isabel and Ruth were slaves to Miss Mary Finch in her Tew, Rhode Island home. Miss Mary was devoted to the girls and granted them freedom in her will, but her nephew, Mr. Robert, ignored the will and on May 27, 1776, he took the girls to Newport and sold them in auction. Purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Lockton, a Loyalist couple from New York, the girls set sail to the Lockton home.

Chains

East River

1776

On October 12, 1776, 90 flatboats carried British troops up the East River with the intent to surround General George Washington’s army that was stationed at Harlem Heights. After a four-day battle at White Plains, General Washington retreated to New Jersey.

Isabel and Ruth made a two-day and two-night journey in the dank quarters below a “packet-boat” deck and disembarked at the East River Wharf in Manhattan on May 29, 1776.

Chains

Manhattan

1776 - 1783

The city was divided between the Loyalists and Patriots, but the British army held New York City for the entire war which lasted from 1776 until 1783.

Isabel and Ruth found themselves in peril as the Locktons carried out their duties to the British King. Mrs. Lochton didn’t understand Ruth’s “fits” and sent her away in July 1776, but Isabel remained at the Lochton’s home until she escaped on January 19, 1777.

Chains

Tea Water Pump

1776

This spring-fed pump provided water for much of the wealthy in Manhattan.

Isabel fetched water at the Tea Water Pump for the Locktons. Here she met Curzon, a boy who worked for the Patriot cause, on May 29, 1776.

Chains

The Battery

1776-1783

Located at the southern most tip of Manhattan, the fort had high walls and cannons that pointed over the water to guard the island against enemy ships. It served as headquarters for the Patriot army in New York until the end of the war in 1783.

On June 23, 1776, Isabel delivered a message to Colonel Regan of the Patriot army to alert him that the Loyalists were plotting to kill General George Washington.

Chains

Bridwell Prison

1777

The Prison, located in what was known as the Commons, was built in 1759 to jail debtors and criminals. During the American Revolution, the British took over the prison and held American Patriots in overcrowded cells with no ventilation.

Curzon, the Patriot boy that Isabel met when she first arrived in Manhattan, was captured and held at Bridwell. Isabel eventually helped Curzon escape on January 19, 1777.

Chains

Trinity Church

1776

Located in Lower Manhattan at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway, this Episcopal Church was built in 1846.

Trinity was the church where Isabel and Ruth worshipped in the upper galley along with other slaves, while their masters worshipped in the ground floor sanctuary.

Chains

Fort Washington

1776

Now the neighborhood of Washington Heights near the north end of Manhattan, the fort was built to prevent the British from going up river. The fort was captured by the British in the Battle of Fort Washington November 16, 1776.

Curzon, along with thousands of Patriot soldiers, was captured by the British in the Battle of Fort Washington and taken to Bridwell Prison.

Chains

Bergen County, New Jersey

1776

Now Hudson County, the southern part of Bergen County was occupied by the British while the Patriots controlled the northern part of the county. The people weren’t unified regarding independence; they simply wanted the fighting to stop.

Master Lockton sought safety at the home of Dr. Van Buskirk in Bergen County after his plot to kill General George Washington was discovered by the Patriot army in June 1776.

Chains

Trenton, New Jersey

1776

In a Christmas Day battle in 1776, General George Washington defeated the British. Though a small battle, it was a turning point of the American Revolution because the victory lifted the morale of the Patriot army.

Captain Morse sent Isabel to deliver a message, baked inside a loaf of bread, to the prisoners that informed them of the Patriot victory at Trenton.

Chains

Hudson River

1777

The Loyalists and Patriots fought to control the Hudson River because it provided passage from New York to Canada.

On January 19, 1777, Isabel and Curzon crossed the river in a small rowboat and began a long journey that took them to New Jersey and eventually to Valley Forge.

Forge

Saratoga, New York

1777

Two significant battles, fought on September 19 and October 7, 1777, gave the Patriot army a victory when British General John Burgoyne finally surrendered his army on October 17 to all Continentals and militiamen. This was a turning point for General Washington and his army.

Curzon, who had always supported the Patriot cause, officially joined the army at Saratoga and witnessed the surrender first-hand.

Forge

Kingston, New York

1777

This small town was the capital of New York until the British burned it in October 1777 in revenge for aiding the Patriots. The capital was relocated to Albany in 1797.

Curzon set up camp with the Continental Army on December 7, 1777 and was mistaken ras a slave rather than a free black man fighting in the Patriot army.

Forge

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

1777-1778

Located 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, General George Washington and his Continental Army spent the brutal winter months of 1777-1778 recovering from recent battles and plotting their next moves. Hungry, tired and sick, thousands of soldiers died.

Curzon arrived at Valley Forge with Washington and his troops in December 1777 and was ordered to chop wood to build his own shelter. The source of water was from a creek that ran between Mount Joy and Mount Misery. Christmas Day was spent eating a “fist-size piece of pork” and pea soup, and on December 31 the men were ordered to dig graves for the soldiers who didn’t survive the harsh winter.

Forge

Moore Hall

1777-1778

Located on the Valley Forge site, this building was the headquarters of Colonel Clement Biddle in the winter of 1777 -1778. It is where a committee of Congress made the decision to make General George Washington the commander of the Continental Army.

While visiting the encampment, James Bellingham recognized Curzon and requested that he report to Moore Hall on February 12, 1778 to relate the conditions at Valley Forge. After he learned that he belonged to Bellingham, Curzon ran and was immediately captured on February 14, 1778. On the same day he is reunited with Isabel, who had become a maid at Moore Hall.

On Monday, May 18, 1778 Curzon and Isabel escaped from Moore hall and began their journey to freedom.

Ashes

Charleston (Charles Town)

1780-1781

On April 2, 1780 the Americans suffered on of the worst defeats of the American Revolution when the British took Charles Town.

As Isabel and Curzon neared Charles Town in June 1781, they learned that they needed British army certification or be subject to arrest in the city. They elected to move north of the city in search of Riverbend Plantation, the South Carolina home of the Locktons.

Ashes

Riverbend Plantation

1781

There is no historic reference to Riverbend Plantation near Charles Town, but Magnolia Plantation and Middleton Place were prominent plantations during the American Revolution. Arthur Middleton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was born at Middleton Place.

Isabel and Curzon found Ruth under the loving care of Missus Serafina and Mister Walter when they arrived at Riverbend Plantation on June 26, 1781. They learned that the Locktons were in London waiting for the end of the war. June – August 1781, Isabel, Curzon, Ruth, upon the advice of Missus Serafina, ran north towards freedom.

Ashes

Williamsburg, Virginia

1781

Originally called Middle Plantation, the name was changed to Williamsburg to honor King William III of England, and was capital of Virginia from 1699-1780. Lord Dunmore, who attempted to entice slaves to join the British effort in exchange for freedom, was the last Royal Governor of Virginia

On September 7, 1781, Isabel, Curzon, Ruth and Aberdeen encountered the French army of King Louis XVI in route to Williamsburg.

Ashes

The Carolinas

1781

Battles between the Patriot militia groups and the Loyalists broke out all across North and South Carolina. They were all fights for freedom, but they couldn’t agree on what freedom meant. The Patriots defeated the British in the Battle of Cowpens (SC) on January 17, 1781.

In June 1781, Isabel and Curzon traveled through the Carolinas by night in route to Charleston in search of Ruth.

Ashes

Bedlam–House

1781

Located in Williamsburg, the hospital was built on October 12, 1773 and served “persons of insane and disordered minds.” During the American Revolution it was converted to a hospital for sick and injured soldiers.

September 9, 1781, Isabel and Ruth began work at Widow Hallahan’s laundry in Williamsburg in exchange for room and board. Ruth drove a cart to the hospital and collected and delivered linens while Isabel chopped wood, hauled water, and worked the scrubbing board. Isabel also helped out at a local tavern for a few coins.

Ashes

Yorktown, Virginia

1781

The Battle of Yorktown ended October 19, 1781 with a victory for General George Washington and the French army troops when Corwallis surrendered his British troops. Camp Followers, wives and girlfriends of soldiers, played a prominent role during the American Revolution by feeding and tending to the soldiers.

On October 6, 1781, Isabel learned that Curzon was fighting with the Continental Army in Yorktown, and that he had signed her up as his wife to protect her. On November 4, 1781 they were married near the battlefield that Curzon had so valiantly fought alongside his fellow American soldiers.