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.
In 1780, after the British occupied Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, the Brewton house was used as the British headquarters for Henry Clinton.
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.
The Cornelius Low House, constructed in 1741, stands today as one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in New Jersey.
A precursor movement to the Battle of Monmouth, this Quaker meeting house was surrounded by the encampment of British troops under Alexander Leslie in mid-June of 1778.
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.
Known worldwide as the nation's largest living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg operates the restored eighteenth-century capital of colonial Virginia.
McLeroth and his 64th Regiment were escorting 200 recruits from Charleston to Camden when Marion, with about 700 men, surprised them at Halfway Swamp.
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.
In the days leading up the Battle of Lexington and Concord, James Barrett stored military supplies, including small cannons, from that were smuggled out of Boston amid rising tensions with the British.
Completed in 1713, The Powder Magazine is South Carolina's oldest government building.
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.
Located just behind the Continental artillery line on Perrine Ridge, this Presbyterian church now houses the remains of several patriots in its cemetery.