Reposted with permission from the Journal of the American Revolution. Written and researched by Jim Piecuch on September 12, 2024.
Uncover History in South Carolina
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.
Francis Marion was a skilled military leader during the American Revolutionary War, known for his guerilla tactics and strategic maneuvers in the Southern Campaign. His contributions to the war effort and his enduring legacy as a symbol of American resilience and military ingenuity remain today.
Established in 1767 by the Patriot supporting Moore family. Local militia gathered at Walnut Grove prior to the Battle of Cowpens. Visitors may take guided tours of the house and grounds.
Francis Salvador, the first Jewish person to die in the Revolutionary War, was a London-born pioneer who moved to South Carolina in 1773. A vocal supporter of independence, he became the first Jewish person to hold political office in the state. Known as the "Southern Paul Revere," Salvador warned of attacks during the war but tragically died in an ambush in 1776 at just 29 years old, leaving behind a legacy of courage and commitment to freedom.
Eighteenth-century Moncks Corner was a crossroads settlement of stores and taverns at the intersection of the Cherokee Path (the Indian traders’ path) and the road from Charleston to Santee. A powder magazine was established in 1760 and the village was occupied as a store depot by the British during the Revolutionary War.
The Patriots launch a misguided attack on British troops retreating from an aborted raid on Charleston
William Moultrie died in 1805 and was buried in the family cemetery. In 1977, his remains were moved to Sullivan's Island within Fort Moultrie.
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.
The Battle of Sullivan’s Island, fought near the site of today’s Fort Moultrie in June 1776, was the first significant Patriot victory of the Revolutionary War.
Marion Square, named in honor of Francis Marion, is greenspace in downtown Charleston, South Carolina and features remnants of The Hornwork, a large fortification built in 1758 that played a major role in the fight for independence.
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.
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.
The Battle of Camden was a devastating defeat suffered by the Americans in the British military offensive in the South.