Colonel Samuel Griffin, a Virginia lawyer and officer in the Continental Army, played a key role in the 1776 campaign, leading militia units in New Jersey and engaging the Hessians near Mount Holly. Stricken by illness during critical battles, he later served as mayor of Williamsburg and a U.S. congressman after the war.
A wealthy merchant and political leader from Massachusetts, Hancock was a key figure in the American Revolution, serving as president of the Second Continental Congress, signing the Declaration of Independence, and later serving as governor of Massachusetts.
Drury Harris, a free Black man, served as a private in the 3rd South Carolina Regiment during the American Revolution, fighting in key battles like Savannah, Charleston, and Cowpens, where he was wounded; after the war, he settled in South Carolina, married, and was later granted a pension, living until 1834.
Peter Harris, a Catawba Indian who survived a devastating smallpox epidemic as a child, served bravely in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, fighting in key battles like Stono Ferry and Rocky Mount; despite his contributions, he later petitioned South Carolina for a pension, poignantly describing himself as "one of the lingering embers of an almost extinguished race," and was granted $60 a year just before his death in 1823.
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 Battle of Camden was a devastating defeat suffered by the Americans in the British military offensive in the South.
With a rotating collection of artifacts and interactive exhibits, the Cherokee County Museum has something for all ages and interests.
Ensuing the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Patriot forces advanced on Boston, determined to overthrow the British occupation. Fortifying Dorchester Heights, George Washington positioned artillery to force the evacuation of British forces in the city.
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.
Built circa 1740, Hopsewee Plantation was one of the South’s major rice plantations and the birthplace of Thomas Lynch, Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
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.
Used by both sides during the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the Munroe Tavern, it was most famously used Hugh Percy during his relief march to aid the retreating British column from Concord.
On May 29, 1780, British commander Banastre Tarleton engaged and overwhelmed a Patriot force under the command of Abraham Buford in a dreadful defeat for the Patriots.
A strategic location for the defense of New York's harbor, the Continentals failed to reinforce this peninsula, leading to the city's capture in August of 1776. A lighthouse dating to 1764 still operates there today, once serving as a Loyalist fortification.
An architectural treasure in its own right, the South Carolina Historical Society Museum is housed in a National Historic Landmark building and features interactive exhibits on the people, places, and movements that shaped the state and nation.
A small victory for the Continental Army, the Battle of Paulus Hook won the reassurances of the Patriots and compelled many to continue the fight for independence.
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.