A passionate advocate for liberty, Adams rallied resistance to British rule, organized protests like the Boston Tea Party, and championed colonial rights. He later signed the Declaration of Independence and served as Massachusetts’ governor.
William Alexander, known as “Lord Stirling,” was a wealthy New Yorker who claimed a Scottish title and became a key Continental Army officer during the Revolutionary War, earning distinction at the Battle of Long Island and later serving in major campaigns like Princeton and Brandywine. Despite his aristocratic airs, he proved a loyal patriot and capable commander, ultimately dying of gout in 1783 just before the war’s end.
Regarded as the first martyr of the American Revolution, Crispus Attucks was the first to fall in the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. Of African and Native American descent, he became a powerful symbol of the fight for liberty, later embraced by abolitionists as a hero of both American independence and the struggle for equality.
Katy Barry, born Margaret Catherine Moore, played a crucial role as a messenger and spy for the American troops, earning her the title "Heroine of the Battle of Cowpens," and her legacy is preserved at Walnut Grove Manor in South Carolina.
Uncovering History
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.
Also known as the Battle of Fort Mercer, Hessian forces under Colonel Von Donop unsuccessfully stormed this fort on the 22 of October, 1777. Halted by combined arms of infantry and ships on the Delaware River, the Hessians suffered significant losses.
With a rotating collection of artifacts and interactive exhibits, the Cherokee County Museum has something for all ages and interests.
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.
One of the oldest public buildings in the United States, the Old State House was the seat of government in Massachusetts leading up to the Revolution and after the consolidation of the States. Infamously, the Boston Massacre happened just beyond its steps.
The Francis Marion is a forest literally steeped in history. Marion, dubbed the “Swamp Fox” by the British troops whose supply lines he disrupted with surprise attacks from the swamps.
At this bridge, American forces under Colonel Samuel Griffin and foraging parties under Hessian Colonel Carl Ulrich von Donop clashed several times throughout December of 1776.
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.
Nestled in the sloping mountains of New Jersey, the birthplace of American military academies can be found. Initially a part of a winter encampment, it became the proving grounds for Patriot artillerists.
At dawn on April 19, 1775, an unknown shot shattered the silence in Lexington. British Redcoats and colonial militia clashed, leaving blood on the field. In Concord, the patriots struck back, and as the British retreated, gunfire hounded them to Boston, thus sparking the American Revolution
This 18th-century plantation home, on the grounds of the Hampton Plantation State Historic Site, served as a place of refuge for Francis Marion who hid here from when British troops.
Located just south of the Chesapeake Bay, this "uninhabitable" Great Dismal Swamp was home to thousands of Native Americans and Maroons--self-emancipated slaves--throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Middleton Place is America’s Oldest Landscaped Gardens and home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence.