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.
Known for having the "Bridge that Saved the Nation," these grounds were once traversed by George Washington and the battered Continental Army as it retreated from New York
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.
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.
One of the last Virginia land battles of the Revolution prior to Yorktown, Green Spring saw Anthony Wayne and the Marquis de Lafayette successfully lead their troops to victory against an ambush laid by Charles Cornwallis.
A monumental structure built in 1742, Faneuil Hall served as one of the most important sites of civic engagement in colonial Boston. Since, it has hosted the likes of revolutionary leaders and dissidents.
This historic house museum was the home of Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of four South Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence.
An ingenious Patriot deception provokes a prominent Loyalist to surrender his outpost
Located along the Great Pee Dee River, Snow's Island served as Francis Marion's favorite refuge for his militia in the swamps of South Carolina
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.
A station constructed during high tensions with the Cherokee, this fortification was utilized by Loyalists until July of 1780.
Patriot Leader Nathanael Greene Is repulsed but not defeated in his campaign to chase the British from the South Carolina backcountry
In the early twilight hours of April 19, 1775, Paul Revere rode by this house to warn its occupants, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, of the impending British raids. Already known for their revolutionary sentiments, Adams and Hancock fled to avoid capture.