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.
One of the final battles of the Southern Campaign, the Battle of Guilford Courthouse cemented the British path to final defeat at the Battle of Yorktown.
Located on the Princeton Battlefield, this home served as a field hospital in the wake of the battle. At this site, Patriot officer Hugh Mercer died while in care from fatal wounds sustained during the decisive engagement.
An oyster-shell, “tabby,” fortress, originally constructed here during the French and Indian War, was restored, and occupied by both the British and Patriots.
This battleground was the site of three British camps, attacked by Patriot troops on August 6, 1780. It was a fight primarily between countrymen.
British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton pushed up the Enoree River hot on the trail of Patriot Brigadier General Thomas Sumter.
Also known as the Alston House, the House in the Horseshoe served as a Patriot outpost where a four hour skirmish took place on July 29, 1781.
The mansion once housed George Washington, who utilized it as his headquarters in the freezing winter of 1779.
Known as an extremely important ferry crossing in the Colonial Period, Marion fortified this ferry and frequently utilized it to quickly move his troops to lay ambushes
Located along the Morristown Green, the former site of the original First Presbyterian Church once acted as the infirmary for smallpox inoculated Continentals
Nestled outside the traditional bounds of the South Carolina colony is the Presbyterian church where Andrew Pickens committed his time as an elder following the Revolution. In the adjacent cemetery lie the graves of several American soldiers who had fought by Pickens' side during the war.
An architectural treasure in its own right, the South Carolina Historical Society Museum is housed in a National Historic Landmark building and features interactive exhibits on the people, places, and movements that shaped the state and nation.
When Jane Black Thomas overheard Loyalists plotting a surprise attack on her son's militia camp, she rode nearly 60 miles through dangerous territory to warn him. Her daring ride gave Colonel John Thomas Jr. and his Spartan Regiment time to prepare an ambush that repelled the attackers — fueling Patriot momentum toward the war-changing Battle of King's Mountain just three months later.
