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.
An architectural treasure in its own right, the South Carolina Historical Society Museum is housed in a National Historic Landmark building and features interactive exhibits on the people, places, and movements that shaped the state and nation.
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.
Eighteenth-century Moncks Corner was a crossroads settlement of stores and taverns at the intersection of the Cherokee Path (the Indian traders’ path) and the road from Charleston to Santee. A powder magazine was established in 1760 and the village was occupied as a store depot by the British during the Revolutionary War.
Frequented by many influential figures in Boston's revolutionary history, the Old South Meeting House served as a place of public discourse that contributed to the city's role in the American Revolution
The Battle of the Capes occurred around the mouth of Chesapeake Bay in 1781. The naval battle occurred between the French and the British navies. Even though the battle lasted two hours, it played a significant role in the Siege of Yorktown's success, ultimately leading to the United States' independence.
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.
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.
This unassuming home, owned by the Covenhoven family, was requisitioned by British General Henry Clinton in the days prior to the monumental Battle of Monmouth.
Fort Nonsense if one of four sites that compose Morristown National Historical Park. Atop a hill, it functioned as a defensive observation post for those encamped at Morristown.
Known by several names over the past two centuries, it is now known as the Wright Tavern, named after its owner during the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Amos Wright.
Ensuing the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Patriot forces advanced on Boston, determined to overthrow the British occupation. Fortifying Dorchester Heights, George Washington positioned artillery to force the evacuation of British forces in the city.
Loyalists ambush a contingent of Patriot militia at a tavern in December of 1780, leading to a massacre