North Carolina played a pivotal role in the struggle for independence, from the decisive Patriot victory at Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge to the hard-fought clash at Battle of Guilford Courthouse that weakened British resolve in the South. Its patriots, challenging terrain, and determined spirit helped turn the tide of the war and hasten the road to American independence.
Explore the many guided tours of The Liberty Trail
One of Virginia's most capable officers of the American Revolution, Edward Carrington was also a confidant of George Washington and statesman in the early days of the Republic.
Frontier surveyor turned Patriot officer, William Lenoir carried the Revolution into North Carolina’s backcountry—fighting at Kings Mountain, surviving the chaos of Pyle’s Massacre, and emerging from war as one of Wilkes County’s most enduring civic leaders.
A highly influential militia general from the Upcountry of South Carolina, Pickens waged successful campaigns against Loyalists and their Cherokee allies throughout the state.
Once a lawyer and surveyor who fought for the royal governor at Alamance, Richard Caswell reinvented himself as a leading Patriot of the American Revolution. After commanding the decisive victory at Moore’s Creek Bridge, he rose to govern North Carolina and later served again despite suffering defeat with Gates’s army at Camden.
