A career military officer under the French crown, the Comte de Rochambeau led 5,500 French troops to North America to aid in the Patriots' fight for independence from Britain.
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.
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.
Known worldwide as the nation's largest living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg operates the restored eighteenth-century capital of colonial Virginia.
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.
The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown provides the origins of the nation’s founding, stretching from the early colonial period to the passing of the Constitution and beyond. Exciting indoor galleries feature period artifacts, immersive environments and films, including “The Siege of Yorktown,” with a 180-degree surround screen and dramatic special effects.
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.
The site of the first known Colonist offensive attack during the Revolution, Meriam's Corner marks where the British column, retreating to Boston, was ambushed by local militias.
Also known as the Battle of Fort Mercer, Hessian forces under Colonel Von Donop unsuccessfully stormed this fort on the 22 of October, 1777. Halted by combined arms of infantry and ships on the Delaware River, the Hessians suffered significant losses.
The home to Founding Father George Mason, this mansion is slightly atypical of Georgian architecture due to its unique interior design that blends styles from across Europe and Asia.
Located in northern New Jersey, the Nathaniel Drake house offers a unique glimpse into life during the American Revolution. Once housing George Washington and his officers in 1777, it proves itself a vital landmark in the state.
A former British headquarters, explore the reconstructed Kershaw/Cornwallis House, British redoubts, and programs about colonial life.
The sound of liberty rang from this bell in the early morning of April 19, 1775, to call forth the Lexington militia. Today, a reconstructed belfry stands as a reminder of the militia's bravery and determination at the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
In the final days of the Revolutionary War, Rockingham became General George Washington’s last wartime headquarters, where he penned his Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States. As he prepared to step away from military command, news arrived that the Treaty of Paris had been signed, securing America’s independence.
Now under the man-made Lake Marion, British Lieutenant Colonel John Watson and Patriot Brigadier General Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox,” skirmished in Wyboo Swamp near Santee Road.