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.
The plantation & gardens bears witness to 350 years of American history. Learn about the Europeans who colonized South Carolina, and the enslaved people who worked in the rice fields and gardens.
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.
This 18th-century plantation home, on the grounds of the Hampton Plantation State Historic Site, served as a place of refuge for Francis Marion who hid here from when British troops.
Owned and operated by German immigrants, this site once housed one of the largest ironworks in the colonies that supplied the Continental Army. Started in 1766, it was in operation for over a century.
The Royal Governor's Mansion of New Jersey is the only remaining proprietary governor's mansion of the original Thirteen Colonies still standing today. Built in the 1760s, it served as the residence gubernatorial residence of William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's Loyalist son.
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
The second engagement of the Boston Campaign, the Battle of Chelsea Creek marked a stunning defeat for the British as their resources began to dwindle in Boston.
The site of the first known Colonist offensive attack during the Revolution, Meriam's Corner marks where the British column, retreating to Boston, was ambushed by local militias.
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.
Completed in 1713, The Powder Magazine is South Carolina's oldest government building.
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.