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...
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...
It has often been asserted that the American War for Independence could not have been won without the ability of George Washington to keep his army together in spite of difficult odds. Historian...
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
On June 17, 1775, as British redcoats marched up the heights of Bunker Hill outside of Boston, Massachusetts, they were met with a hail of musketry from the defenders of the earthen redoubt. The...
In 1786, only a few years after the end of the Revolutionary War, the new United States had to confront a crisis: a rebellion was brewing in the very same state where the war for American independence...
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.
An oyster-shell, “tabby,” fortress, originally constructed here during the French and Indian War, was restored, and occupied by both the British and Patriots.
Following the American Revolution, the Sentry Box served as the home for Hugh Mercer's family following his passing at the Battle of Princeton in 1777.
Liberty Hall was home to trailblazing governors, congressmen, senators, assembly persons, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs. Inhabited by William Livingston, New Jersey’s first elected governor and a signer of the United States Constitution, the 14-room Georgian-style home evolved over time into a 50-room Victorian mansion.
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.
The primary approach to Norfolk, Virginia, was over Great Bridge, which spanned the Elizabeth River. On the morning of December 9, 1775, British soldiers attacked Patriot forces near the bridge in an attempt to seize the bridge and run off the rebels.
Constructed in the early 1740s, this home acted as the headquarters of Baron Von Steuben during the Continental Army's cantonment in 1779. Today, it stands as one of the few remaining Dutch structures in central New Jersey.
In the final days of the Revolutionary War, Rockingham became General George Washington’s last wartime headquarters, where he penned his Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States. As he prepared to step away from military command, news arrived that the Treaty of Paris had been signed, securing America’s independence.
An ingenious Patriot deception provokes a prominent Loyalist to surrender his outpost
In September 1780, Loyalist Colonel Tye captured Patriot captain Joshua Huddy after a fierce struggle. A Patriot ambush capsized their boat, allowing Huddy to escape while Tye suffered a wound that would prove fatal.
This last major battle of the war in the South succeeded in driving the British out of rural South Carolina.
Jockey Hollow, the site of General Washington’s winter encampment in 1779-1780, played a key role in forging the Continental Army's strength and unity. The nearby Wick House, once home to Major General Arthur St. Clair, now stands as a historic landmark, offering a glimpse into the hardships and strategies of that fateful winter.