A British officer who led the troops during the April 1775 march to Lexington and Concord, Smith is remembered for commanding the British forces in the opening battles of the American Revolution, facing both praise and criticism for his actions.
During the Revolutionary War, Sumter became a prominent commander in the South Carolina militia. When Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton’s raiders burned his home, however, he organized a band of partisans to harass the British and their Tory allies. General Cornwallis called him one of his “great plagues.”
While serving as a drummer in the Revolutionary War, young Stephen Tainter witnessed Burgoyne’s surrender and the failed Newport siege.
Tarleton, active in the Southern Campaign, came to be known as the ‘butcher’ after Continental soldiers accused his dragoons of disregarding a Patriot surrender by attacking the Americans after they laid down their arms at the Battle of Waxhaws.
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.
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.
The Harrington House belonged to that of Jonathan Harrington whom, according to local history, crawled back to his house to pass in his wife's arms after being mortally wounded during the Battle of Lexington and Concord
Located on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, this park commemorates Washington's planning of his famous crossing that re-ignited the spark of liberty.
An ordinary farmhouse within Monmouth, it became a hotspot during the Battle of Monmouth as Charles Lee mounted a defense against advancing British troops.
Located near where Paul Revere was captured during his famous ride, one of Revere's compatriots was able to escape and alert Hartwell family, who continued to raise the alarm about the advancing British troops.
Visit Historic Drayton Hall — Tour the nation’s oldest preserved plantation house in America still open to the public. Explore Drayton Hall's 18th-century architecture, landscapes & the people who lived here.
Utilized during the second Middlebrook encampment by the Continental Army, this home served as the headquarters for Nathanael Greene from 1778-1779.
New Jersey militia and Continentals assaulted a British column in-and-around these grounds in mid-June of 1778, just days before a continued series of skirmishes reached their zenith at the Battle of Monmouth.
A home to a Quaker family, it served as a hospital following the Battle of Red Bank.
Once a sprawling manor complex in the New Jersey countryside belonging to Major General William Alexander, all that remains are two extant structures and the cellar of the original home.
Renowned for Gen. George Washington's daring crossing of the Delaware River on a frigid Christmas night, Trenton marked the start of the Ten Crucial Days—a series of bold victories that reignited hope in the Revolutionary cause.