2018-10-8 | Chevy New Roads Magazine

As I traverse the bucolic backcountry roads of upstate New York, it’s difficult to fathom that an important battle, one they called the turning point of the American Revolutionary War, was ever fought in these picturesque hills. I’m outside Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in the middle of a three-day road trip that began in Boston, where the embers of American independence first started to burn, and will end in Philadelphia, where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written, establishing this new democratic society, the United States of America.

Yet it is the significant Revolutionary War sites—Concord, Saratoga, and Valley Forge—that I am most looking forward to exploring. Once bloody battlefields and winter retreats, they’re now a tranquil blend of rolling hills, stone bridges, sinuous rivers, and green fields, perfectly suited for a long, historically rich drive.

Boston to Concord | 19 Miles

Most history buffs start their tour of Boston on the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail that snakes its way to 16 locales that played a pivotal role in securing America’s independence. But I choose an unconventional route, starting my journey with a visit to the Art of the Americas Wing at the Museum of Fine Arts to see the faces of our Founding Fathers. In the galleries on early American paintings, I find Gilbert Stuart’s well-known portrait of a debonair George Washington (The Athenaeum Portrait), 1796, near another large-scale work of Washington crossing the Delaware River. And close by, John Singleton Copley’s acclaimed painting of Paul Revere, 1768, holding a silver teapot.

Satisfied that I’ve connected with them, I make my second stop the Freedom Trail. I follow the distinctive red brick line into some of Boston’s most cherished neighborhoods—Beacon Hill’s century-old brownstones and village squares, the North End’s winding streets, and Charlestown, once the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill and now home to America’s most celebrated ship, the USS Constitution. Two of the most important sites of the American Revolution are the Old South Meeting House and the Old State House. On December 16, 1773, some 5,000 citizens came to Old South, spilling out into the streets to protest the Tea Act. When the British refused for the final time to take their tea back home, Samuel Adams rose and said, “Gentlemen, this meeting can do nothing more to save the country.” Thus, the start of the Boston Tea Party. The first bloodshed of the Revolution took place just outside the Old State House. Known as the Boston Massacre, five colonists were killed when a squad of British officers fired into a jeering mob.

Next, it’s on to Paul Revere’s house, the oldest standing structure in Boston, and then to the Old North Church, where Robert Newman and Revere’s friend John Pulling were instructed to hang lanterns from the steeple windows to tip off how the British redcoats were arriving: “One, if by land, and two, if by sea.” By sea was the chosen route and, once alerted, Revere quickly paddled across the Charles River, mounted a horse, and raced west. The night was April 18, 1775, and it would lead to the official start of the Revolutionary War.   

^{Boston to Saratoga Springs}

^{Highlights from this leg of the trip include the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Freedom Trail, the Mohawk Trail, and Saratoga National Historical Park.}

Concord to Saratoga Springs | 168 Miles
After grabbing a quick coffee, I settle into the oh-so-comfortable ventilated driver’s seat of the Equinox (available with the Driver Confidence and Convenience II Package) and continue along Route 2. I soon arrive in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts, on the Mohawk Trail, a favorite touring road since it was built in 1914. In Charlemont, the rapids of the Deerfield River come into view, and then I rise high above Deerfield Valley with vistas of farmland and forest below. This is the most scenic stretch of road, between Shelburne Falls and the home of Williams College, Williamstown. Route 7 enters New York state from the east, and a number of winding country roads soon lead to Saratoga National Historical Park in Stillwater.

By 1777, the mighty British army had taken the cities of New York and Philadelphia, forcing the colonists into the countryside. On September 19th, British troops came upon the farm of John Freeman, a loyalist who had gone north to meet up with British General John Burgoyne’s army. There, some 8,000 Americans under the helm of General Horatio Gates and Colonel Daniel Morgan were waiting. Burgoyne was hoping that British forces from New York City would help out, but that never happened, and on October 17, 1777, he surrendered to Gates—the first time the British army surrendered. The victory helped persuade the French to join sides with the Americans.

Behind the wheel of the Equinox, I pleasantly navigate the 10-mile park loop to visit the Freeman Farm Overlook and the shores of the Hudson River. Deer now roam the countryside, peacefully nibbling grass on this hallowed ground. After learning about so much bloodshed, I feel a bit guilty spending the night in comfort at the Adelphi Hotel in nearby Saratoga Springs, which was recently restored to its Victorian era charm. I enjoy a tasty burger at the bar, Morrissey’s, named after John Morrissey, a prizefighter, gangster, entrepreneur, and congressman who gave up the ghost while sitting at the old Adelphi Hotel bar.

^{Saratoga Springs to Valley Forge to Philadelphia
On this leg of the journey, our writer crosses the Delaware and takes a break at Valley Forge—much like George Washington—before ending his trip at Independence Hall.}

STORY: STEPHEN JERMANOK / PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRIS STRALEY / ILLUSTRATION: MAX MAJOROS