The Liberty Trail History Makers

When Jane Black Thomas overheard Loyalists plotting a surprise attack on her son's militia camp, she rode nearly 60 miles through dangerous territory to warn him. Her daring ride gave Colonel John Thomas Jr. and his Spartan Regiment time to prepare an ambush that repelled the attackers — fueling Patriot momentum toward the war-changing Battle of King's Mountain just three months later.

The oldest standing church in Boston, it once signaled lookouts in Charlestown, which triggered Paul Revere's famous ride to alert militia of the advancing British Regulars across the Massachusetts countryside.

The Francis Marion is a forest literally steeped in history. Marion, dubbed the “Swamp Fox” by the British troops whose supply lines he disrupted with surprise attacks from the swamps.

Nassau Hall, once the largest stone building in the colonies, housed the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton. During the Battle of Princeton in 1777, British troops fortified the building as a last stand defense.

Also known as the Alston House, the House in the Horseshoe served as a Patriot outpost where a four hour skirmish took place on July 29, 1781.

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.

During the Revolutionary War in 1781, Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson fled to Poplar Forest from Monticello to evade capture from British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton.

The second engagement of the Boston Campaign, the Battle of Chelsea Creek marked a stunning defeat for the British as their resources began to dwindle in Boston.

The Battle of Mount Holly, also known as Iron Works Hill, fought on December 23, 1776, was a minor skirmish in which Hessian Colonel Carl von Donop occupied the town, diverting his forces from Trenton and indirectly contributing to Washington’s victory there three days later.

Known as an extremely important ferry crossing in the Colonial Period, Marion fortified this ferry and frequently utilized it to quickly move his troops to lay ambushes

Nestled outside the traditional bounds of the South Carolina colony is the Presbyterian church where Andrew Pickens committed his time as an elder following the Revolution. In the adjacent cemetery lie the graves of several American soldiers who had fought by Pickens' side during the war.

This home, now known as the "John Quincy Adams Birthplace," was John and Abigail Adams' residence during the Revolutionary War. While John served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Abigail managed this home and served as an advisor to her husband in his public role.