illustration of a man from American Colonial era

The Liberty Trail History Makers

Join us in discovering the individuals who shaped the Revolutionary War along The Liberty Trail. 

States of Interest:
Biography

Hannah Caldwell of Connecticut Farms, New Jersey was a civilian casualty of the American Revolution. She died instantly when a British soldier fired into her home on June 7, 1780. Recognized as a...

Biography

Jim Capers, a free African American who courageously served as a Drum Major during the American Revolution, survived brutal battles and close-quarters combat, including being severely wounded at Eutaw...

Biography

Thomas Carney was an African American soldier who fought in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

Biography

One of Virginia's most capable officers of the American Revolution, Edward Carrington was also a confidant of George Washington and statesman in the early days of the Republic.

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.
Historic Site | Historic House
River Edge, NJ

Known for having the "Bridge that Saved the Nation," these grounds were once traversed by George Washington and the battered Continental Army as it retreated from New York

Historic Site | Battlefield
Brooklyn, NY

Now one of the largest cemeteries in New York, this was once the location where Patriot forces attempted to thwart the British Invasion of New York.

Battlefield | National Park
Ninety Six, SC

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.

State/County Park |
South Mills, NC

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.

State/County Park | Historic Site
Mexico, NY

Patriot spy named Silas Towne hid on this island and observed British General Barry St. Ledger’s troop movements during the 1777 three-pronged invasion of New York.

Historic Site | Historic House
Bedminister, NJ

The only surviving building associated with the Pluckemin Artillery Cantonment, America's first military academy, it served as the headquarters of Henry Knox during the Middlebrook encampment of 1778-1779.

State/County Park | Historic Site
Kingston, NY

Site of New York's First Constitutional Convention, where the first state Constitution was adopted on April 20, 1777.

State/County Park | Historic Site
New Windsor, NY

The New Windsor Cantonment Site preserves the final winter encampment of George Washington’s Continental Army, where nearly 7,500 soldiers awaited the war’s end in 1783.

State/County Park
Catawba, SC

This park features the Lands Ford crossing, used during the Revolutionary War by both British and American troops under Cornwallis and Sumter before and after pivotal battles.

Historic Site |
Somerville, NJ

This parsonage was constructed in the 1750s and housed the reverend of the Dutch congregation in what is now modern-day Somerville.

Historic Site | Historic House
New York, NY

Constructed by a Loyalist prior to the Revolution, this home saw the likes of officers from both sides of the American Revolution.

Battlefield
Clarendon County, SC

Patriot Francis Marion earns his famous nickname — "The Swamp Fox”— after a futile chase by British Commander Banastre Tarleton