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.
Located along the Morristown Green, the former site of the original First Presbyterian Church once acted as the infirmary for smallpox inoculated Continentals
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.
Utilized during the second Middlebrook encampment by the Continental Army, this home served as the headquarters for Nathanael Greene from 1778-1779.
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.
The Battle of Sullivan’s Island, fought near the site of today’s Fort Moultrie in June 1776, was the first significant Patriot victory of the Revolutionary War.
As part of their Southern Campaign, the British set their sights on taking the vital port of Charleston.
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.
Along the banks of the Hudson, one can walk in the steps of Cornwallis' army, which landed at this spot to chase the Continental Army through New Jersey.
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.
During the British occupation of Charleston in 1781, these grounds were part of a British outpost to supply ammunition and provisions to patrolling British troops.
Site of the Second Viriginia Convention and Patrick Henry's famous words, "Give me liberty or give me death!"
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.