Kate shares an account of a stop on The Liberty Trail in New Jersey, centered around the dramatic capture of the British supply ship HMS Blue Mountain Valley during the American Revolution. After a grueling 13-week voyage, the ship limped into Sandy Hook, where Patriots seized its first mate and launched a surprise boarding operation. Expecting military supplies, they instead found a cargo of coal, porter, beans, potatoes, sauerkraut, and hogs—more fit for a feast than a fight.
Learn more about how The Liberty Trail is blazing paths across the east coast.
Visiting historical sites provides unrivaled experiences and education opportunities.
John Laurens, a Revolutionary War hero and close friend of Alexander Hamilton, was a strong opponent of slavery despite his father being a wealthy slave trader. He proposed enlisting enslaved people into the Continental Army and freeing them after the war. Laurens was killed at the Battle of Tar Bluff in 1782 at just 27 years old. Recent excavations at the site uncovered relics from the battle, including a slave tag from 1836, highlighting the ongoing struggle against slavery. Laurens would likely have supported later efforts like Harriet Tubman’s 1863 Combahee Ferry Raid, which freed over 700 slaves.
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.
In the early twilight hours of April 19, 1775, Paul Revere rode by this house to warn its occupants, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, of the impending British raids. Already known for their revolutionary sentiments, Adams and Hancock fled to avoid capture.
Also known as the Battle of Assunpink Creek, Washington thwarted Cornwallis yet again, just south of the town of Trenton where they had fought only days prior.
The plantation & gardens bears witness to 350 years of American history. Learn about the Europeans who colonized South Carolina, and the enslaved people who worked in the rice fields and gardens.
The White Point Garden offers incredible views that span across the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. Fort Sumter, Castle Pinckney, and the Sullivan Island Lighthouse can all be spotted in the distance. The Defenders of Fort Moultrie, a monument honoring South Carolinian soldiers during the Battle of Sullivan's Island is centrally located.
An ingenious Patriot deception provokes a prominent Loyalist to surrender his outpost
Completed in 1713, The Powder Magazine is South Carolina's oldest government building.
After an eight-day siege, this strategic outpost fell to the Americans, who used an ingenious structure called Maham’s Tower to fire down into the fort and trap the enemy.
Frequented by many influential figures in Boston's revolutionary history, the Old South Meeting House served as a place of public discourse that contributed to the city's role in the American Revolution
During the British occupation of Charleston in 1781, these grounds were part of a British outpost to supply ammunition and provisions to patrolling British troops.
The Caldwell Parsonage is a site of tragedy outside of the battlefield of Connecticut Farms & Springfield. The events that transpired that day still have lasting legacies for the township.
A hidden gem in the borough of Princeton, the Bainbridge House was constructed in the mid-1760s and stands as a hallmark of colonial architecture. Today, it acts as a museum and interpretive center.
Discover the history of the Scots-Irish and African-Americans through preserved buildings and living history experiences of the Brattonsville community.