Johann Ewald, a Hessian captain, served in several significant Revolutionary War battles, including White Plains, Bound Brook, and the failed attack on Fort Mercer. He later fought at Yorktown, where he surrendered with the British forces. His detailed wartime diary and maps provide invaluable insights into his experiences in America.
Ferguson, inventor of the Ferguson rifle, commanded a group of Cornwallis' Loyalists he had recruited. Ferguson threatened to invade the mountains beyond the legal limit of settlement westward. The locals organized a militia and fought against the loyalist forces on October 7, 1780 in the Battle of King’s Mountain.
Rebekah Howe Fiske Merriam, a witness to the fighting during the Battles of Lexington and Concord, lived through significant personal and historical events, later remarrying and passing away in 1845.
William Franklin, the loyalist governor of New Jersey and son of Benjamin Franklin, remained devoted to Britain throughout the American Revolution, even as his father supported the revolutionary cause.
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 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.
After crossing the Delaware, George Washington's ten-day campaign culminated in a decisive victory at the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777, proving his army could defeat the British. The battle saw Washington's forces overcome initial setbacks to rout the British and shift the momentum of the war
Old Santee Canal Park hosts the Berkeley County Museum and Fort Fair Lawn, where in 1780, the British attacked the Patriot army stationed at Monck’s Corner.
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.
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.
The Battle of Camden was a devastating defeat suffered by the Americans in the British military offensive in the South.
Known by several names over the past two centuries, it is now known as the Wright Tavern, named after its owner during the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Amos Wright.
This parsonage was constructed in the 1750s and housed the reverend of the Dutch congregation in what is now modern-day Somerville.
The Patriots launch a misguided attack on British troops retreating from an aborted raid on Charleston
Once a simple ferry site, it gained prominence after Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox," mustered the Williamsburg militia into his ranks in August of 1780
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.