The Liberty Trail preserves and interprets North Carolina’s historic battlefields, keeping their stories alive. To protect these unspoiled sites, the American Battlefield Trust partners with numerous valued partners at the federal, state and local levels.
Explore North Carolina's Revolutionary History
Many historians consider the Revolutionary War to have been decided in the swamps, fields, woods and mountains of the South, won by the resilience and determination of Continental soldiers and Patriot militia. Although the full story of the Southern Campaigns is not widely known, the events of 1775-1782 in the Carolinas and Georgia directly led to an American victory in the war.
The Liberty Trail is a unified path of preservation and interpretation across North Carolina designed to tell this remarkable story. These important battlefields, still largely unspoiled, deserve to be preserved and remembered.
Each stop along the driving tour features unique on-site interpretation that connects visitors to the extraordinary events that came to pass nearly 250 years ago.
Our Valued Partners
Lead Sponsor
The Liberty Trail North Carolina would not be possible without the generosity of the John William Pope Foundation. The Foundation makes grants to improve the well-being of North Carolinians by advancing the ideas of limited government, individual freedom, personal responsibility, and strong communities. We are grateful for their generosity.
Additional Thanks
The Liberty Trail North Carolina would also not be possible without numerous valued partners at the state and local levels.
We invite you to visit the preserved locations along the Liberty Trail and to immerse
yourself in the extraordinary events that determined the fate of a nation.
Now a quiet park in the center of urban Morristown, this green once served as the training and parade grounds of the Continental Army during its 1777 winter encampment.
One of the oldest residential buildings in Boston, this structure was once the home of one-and-only Paul Revere, an avid member of the Sons of Liberty.
This Revolutionary War landmark withstood fierce fighting during the Battle of Springfield. A British cannonball struck the home — and the scar remains visible today. Inside, the house has been restored and now serves as a museum filled with artifacts, documents, and stories that bring the 1780 battle to life.
Fort Nonsense if one of four sites that compose Morristown National Historical Park. Atop a hill, it functioned as a defensive observation post for those encamped at Morristown.
Once the training ground for British troops in Boston, it was from here that Regulars marched toward Lexington & Concord, sparking the American Revolution.
This park features the Lands Ford crossing, used during the Revolutionary War by both British and American troops under Cornwallis and Sumter before and after pivotal battles.
The site of the famous "Shot Heard Around the World," the Old North Bridge served as the flashpoint of the American Revolution. To this day, historians debate who fired the first shot, here, which led to the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton pushed up the Enoree River hot on the trail of Patriot Brigadier General Thomas Sumter.
The Piedmont’s Kings Mountain State Park has miles of forested trails perfect for supreme Kings Mountain hiking, two fishing lakes, and sits adjacent to Kings Mountain National Military Park, one of many national park Revolutionary War sites.
Once an influential shipbuilding center, Newburyport now houses the Custom House Maritime Museum, which interprets the region's naval history.
