Archaeologist Mike Yianopoulos, based in Charleston, South Carolina, uses LiDAR technology to study the Battle of Stono Ferry site, which holds both Revolutionary War and Civil War history. LiDAR, which sends laser pulses to map the earth's surface, allows Yianopoulos to analyze detailed topography, revealing hidden features such as old roads and earthworks. At Stono Ferry, LiDAR uncovered a causeway and a Confederate battery, both invisible to the naked eye but documented in historic records. This research, combining historical documents with modern technology, helps protect battle sites and guide future preservation efforts. The site will soon feature trails and interpretive signage as part of The Liberty Trail initiative.
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.
The Berkeley County Museum is located in historic Moncks Corner, South Carolina and contains Revolutionary stories and artifacts from around the county.
Completed in 1771, the Old Exchange Building is a Charleston landmark and the site of some of the most important events in South Carolina history. Over the last two and a half centuries, the building has been a commercial exchange, custom house, post office, city hall, military headquarters, and museum.
This park features the Lands Ford crossing, used during the Revolutionary War by both British and American troops under Cornwallis and Sumter before and after pivotal battles.
Built circa 1740, Hopsewee Plantation was one of the South’s major rice plantations and the birthplace of Thomas Lynch, Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
After the Siege of Charleston in 1780, the British established a headquarters at the Kershaw/Cornwallis House. Today the house and grounds are open to tours.
Once a sprawling manor complex in the New Jersey countryside belonging to Major General William Alexander, all that remains are two extant structures and the cellar of the original home.
Located near the famous Treaty of Hopewell site, the Hopewell Plantation house was the Pickens' family home and later served as the South Carolina Governor's Mansion.
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.
McLeroth and his 64th Regiment were escorting 200 recruits from Charleston to Camden when Marion, with about 700 men, surprised them at Halfway Swamp.
Nassau Hall, once the largest stone building in the colonies, housed the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton. During the Battle of Princeton in 1777, British troops fortified the building as a last stand defense.
Also known as the Battle of Fort Mercer, Hessian forces under Colonel Von Donop unsuccessfully stormed this fort on the 22 of October, 1777. Halted by combined arms of infantry and ships on the Delaware River, the Hessians suffered significant losses.
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.