But as an intellectual enterprise ... [Jefferson’s University of Virgina] proved less satisfactory to its creator when it opened the year before he died. The students turned out be not so much an aristocracy of virtue and talent as a gang of rowdy youths with a taste for drink, gambling, breaking windows, firing guns into the air, and thrashing professors who tried to stop them. The horrified Jefferson came down from his mountain to Charlottesville to reprimand them. Flanked by his dear friends and fellow trustees James Madison and James Monroe, the frail eighty-two-year-old patriarch drew himself up to his full six foot two, began to speak — and burst into tears.
Lafayette, Marquis de
Exeter, NH — The museum focuses on the Revolution, colonial life, the Ladd, Gilman, and Folsom families.
Philadelphia, PA — Founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin and John Bartram to promote
Useful Knowledge.Philosophical Hall (1789) is now a museum featuring art, scientific instruments, rare books, original manuscripts, natural history specimens, and curiosities.
Chadds Ford, PA — Site of the 1777 battle, which was the largest of the war; includes visitor center with museum; also includes the houses that provided separate headquarters for Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette.
Charlestown, MA — With groundbreaking fifty years after the event of 17 June 1775, an obelisk commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill and the fallen militia General Dr. Joseph Warren. A statue of Colonel William Prescott, one of the battle leaders, stands in front.
Portsmouth, RI — The earthwork redoubt is still discernible, it was a key position during the Battle of Rhode Island (1778), and provides a panoramic view of Mt. Hope Bay.
Washington, DC — Dedicated to Lafayette in 1824; at each corner is a statue of one foreign general who served in the war.
Philadelphia, PA — Washington’s headquarters in August 1777. The stone house has ongoing construction but can be visited.
Manalapan, NJ — Marks the site of the 1778 Battle of Monmouth; includes hiking and horseback riding trails and two houses from the period.
The Founders at Home: The Building of America, 1735 - 1817 (2014)