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.
Colonel Tye, an escaped slave from New Jersey, became a feared Black Loyalist leader during the Revolutionary War. Leading the Black Brigade, he raided Patriot forces until a fatal wound in 1780. His legacy reflects the fight for freedom beyond American independence.
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.
British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton pushed up the Enoree River hot on the trail of Patriot Brigadier General Thomas Sumter.
Eighteenth-century Moncks Corner was a crossroads settlement of stores and taverns at the intersection of the Cherokee Path (the Indian traders’ path) and the road from Charleston to Santee. A powder magazine was established in 1760 and the village was occupied as a store depot by the British during the Revolutionary War.
Completed in 1771, the Old Exchange Building is a Charleston landmark and the site of some of the most important events in South Carolina history. Over the last two and a half centuries, the building has been a commercial exchange, custom house, post office, city hall, military headquarters, and museum.
Marion Square, named in honor of Francis Marion, is greenspace in downtown Charleston, South Carolina and features remnants of The Hornwork, a large fortification built in 1758 that played a major role in the fight for independence.
Waiting on British troops to arrive on the morning of April 19, militia members used this tavern to wait for their arrival before assembling on the field of battle and sparking the American Revolution
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.
Owned and operated by German immigrants, this site once housed one of the largest ironworks in the colonies that supplied the Continental Army. Started in 1766, it was in operation for over a century.
A former British headquarters, explore the reconstructed Kershaw/Cornwallis House, British redoubts, and programs about colonial life.
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.
In the days leading up the Battle of Lexington and Concord, James Barrett stored military supplies, including small cannons, from that were smuggled out of Boston amid rising tensions with the British.
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
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.