Guest blogger George Weghorst shares a deceptively familiar story from the earliest days of the American Revolution.
Kate shares an account of a stop on The Liberty Trail in New Jersey, centered around the dramatic capture of the British supply ship HMS Blue Mountain Valley during the American Revolution. After a grueling 13-week voyage, the ship limped into Sandy Hook, where Patriots seized its first mate and launched a surprise boarding operation. Expecting military supplies, they instead found a cargo of coal, porter, beans, potatoes, sauerkraut, and hogs—more fit for a feast than a fight.
Learn more about how The Liberty Trail is blazing paths across the east coast.
Visiting historical sites provides unrivaled experiences and education opportunities.
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.
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.
Colt's Neck, occupied by Patriots until October of 1778, was a privateer outpost utilized as a staging point for planning and executing the capture of several British naval vessels.
Visit Historic Drayton Hall — Tour the nation’s oldest preserved plantation house in America still open to the public. Explore Drayton Hall's 18th-century architecture, landscapes & the people who lived here.
One of the oldest public buildings in the United States, the Old State House was the seat of government in Massachusetts leading up to the Revolution and after the consolidation of the States. Infamously, the Boston Massacre happened just beyond its steps.
Nestled in the sloping mountains of New Jersey, the birthplace of American military academies can be found. Initially a part of a winter encampment, it became the proving grounds for Patriot artillerists.
A surprise Patriot attack on Loyalist recruits is a blow to the British
Built in the 1740s, this building acted as a ferry house for those wishing to cross the Delaware, including the likes of George Washington and his men on Christmas night of 1776.
The oldest standing church in Boston, it once signaled lookouts in Charlestown, which triggered Paul Revere's famous ride to alert militia of the advancing British Regulars across the Massachusetts countryside.
The White Point Garden offers incredible views that span across the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. Fort Sumter, Castle Pinckney, and the Sullivan Island Lighthouse can all be spotted in the distance. The Defenders of Fort Moultrie, a monument honoring South Carolinian soldiers during the Battle of Sullivan's Island is centrally located.
Located in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, it was here that Francis Marion signed a treaty with a local Loyalist militia leader, effectively ending hostilities in the area
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.
Now a quiet park in the center of urban Morristown, this green once served as the training and parade grounds of the Continental Army during its 1777 winter encampment.
The Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield were small but at the same time significant. It proved that New Jersey militia would stubbornly oppose any attempt by the British to move inland. The battles also showed that militia and Continental regular troops could work well together.