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.
Enlsaved in the midst of the American Revolution, James Armistead was recruited by Patriot forces to spy on Cornwallis and the British War Department during the Siege of Yorktown.
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.
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.
The primary approach to Norfolk, Virginia, was over Great Bridge, which spanned the Elizabeth River. On the morning of December 9, 1775, British soldiers attacked Patriot forces near the bridge in an attempt to seize the bridge and run off the rebels.
After an eight-day siege, this strategic outpost fell to the Americans, who used an ingenious structure called Maham’s Tower to fire down into the fort and trap the enemy.
A 94-foot monument now marks the spot that where the Battle of Monmouth commenced on June 28, 1778. A series of bronze plaques line the monument that depict famous scenes from the engagement.
Francis Salvador, the first Jewish person to die in the Revolutionary War, was a London-born pioneer who moved to South Carolina in 1773. A vocal supporter of independence, he became the first Jewish person to hold political office in the state. Known as the "Southern Paul Revere," Salvador warned of attacks during the war but tragically died in an ambush in 1776 at just 29 years old, leaving behind a legacy of courage and commitment to freedom.
Constructed in the early 1740s, this home acted as the headquarters of Baron Von Steuben during the Continental Army's cantonment in 1779. Today, it stands as one of the few remaining Dutch structures in central New Jersey.
Colt's Neck, occupied by Patriots until October of 1778, was a privateer outpost utilized as a staging point for planning and executing the capture of several British naval vessels.
A small victory for the Continental Army, the Battle of Paulus Hook won the reassurances of the Patriots and compelled many to continue the fight for independence.
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
In the final days of the Revolutionary War, Rockingham became General George Washington’s last wartime headquarters, where he penned his Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States. As he prepared to step away from military command, news arrived that the Treaty of Paris had been signed, securing America’s independence.
The site of the 1775 Battle of Williamson's Fort and a critical outpost for the British after they captured Charleston in 1780, the colonial town of Ninety Six was also the setting of a 28-day siege in 1781. Here, Nathanael Greene’s Patriots attacked the heart of Loyalist commander John Cruger’s defenses — the Star Fort.
A former British headquarters, explore the reconstructed Kershaw/Cornwallis House, British redoubts, and programs about colonial life.
Built in 1716 for Paul de St. Julien in Berkeley County. The house was later dismantled and moved to Clemson University and functions as a house museum.