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.
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.
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.
The Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield were small but at the same time significant. It proved that New Jersey militia would stubbornly oppose any attempt by the British to move inland. The battles also showed that militia and Continental regular troops could work well together.
The Battle of Camden was a devastating defeat suffered by the Americans in the British military offensive in the South.
On August 16, 1780, the unexpected Patriot success at Kings Mountain infused those favoring rebellion with new confidence.
The second engagement of the Boston Campaign, the Battle of Chelsea Creek marked a stunning defeat for the British as their resources began to dwindle in Boston.
Major John Buttrick, whose name is now the sake of this homestead, was a fourth generation American whose great-grandfather, William Buttrick, helped establish Concord in 1635. During and after the war, John Buttrick held positions in the military and upheld civic posts during the early days of the American Republic.
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.
Along the banks of the Hudson, one can walk in the steps of Cornwallis' army, which landed at this spot to chase the Continental Army through New Jersey.
British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton pushed up the Enoree River hot on the trail of Patriot Brigadier General Thomas Sumter.
Nassau Hall, once the largest stone building in the colonies, housed the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton. During the Battle of Princeton in 1777, British troops fortified the building as a last stand defense.
Once owned and operated by Founding Father Patrick Henry, it was while living in this home that Patrick Henry coined the phrase "Give me liberty or give me death!"