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.
Kate Egner recounts a recent shoot at Moores Creek Bridge, North Carolina, where on February 27, 1776, Scottish Highlander Loyalists charged patriot militia in the war’s first North Carolina battle—and last recorded Highland charge. In just 30 minutes, patriots halted the attack with musket and cannon fire, paving the way for the Halifax Resolves, the first official call for colonial independence. The American Battlefield Trust, Parks Channel, and National Park Service are using AI art, historical sources, and on-site storytelling to recreate the battle and its characters, inspiring visitors to explore The Liberty Trail.
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.
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.
A former British headquarters, explore the reconstructed Kershaw/Cornwallis House, British redoubts, and programs about colonial life.
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
The Dey Mansion, built around 1770, served as General George Washington’s headquarters in 1780 during a pivotal time in the American Revolution. As one of his surviving field headquarters, it offers a lasting connection to the strategic decisions, military challenges, and historic events that shaped the fight for independence.
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.
One of the many forts that dotted the landscape around Charleston, Patriots seized this fortification and raised the Moultrie flag, which bears resemblance to the modern standard of South Carolina.
Located within the Santee Wildlife Refuge, this was the last major battle of the war in South Carolina.
Known worldwide as the nation's largest living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg operates the restored eighteenth-century capital of colonial Virginia.
The Battle of Monmouth took place on June 28, 1778, between the Continental Army and British forces, and is now preserved as Monmouth Battlefield State Park.
Fort Fair Lawn was a British outpost in 1780–1781 and was the target of a daring Patriot raid on November 17, 1781, and abandoned by the British a week later.
Major John Buttrick, whose name is now the sake of this homestead, was a fourth generation American whose great-grandfather, William Buttrick, helped establish Concord in 1635. During and after the war, John Buttrick held positions in the military and upheld civic posts during the early days of the American Republic.
Renowned for Gen. George Washington's daring crossing of the Delaware River on a frigid Christmas night, Trenton marked the start of the Ten Crucial Days—a series of bold victories that reignited hope in the Revolutionary cause.