The site of a former colonial port that thrived throughout the mid-18th century, most of the town was reportedly burned down by the British in 1776
Home to a Loyalist sympathizer, the Burgwin-Wright House stands as one of the oldest structures in Wilmington. In 1781, the likes of Cornwallis and...
Built in 1767, the Chowan County Courthouse is one of the oldest operating courthouses in the country and still serves the North Carolina Supreme...
Built in 1792 by Revolutionary War officer William Lenoir, Fort Defiance preserves the homestead that rose near the site of an earlier frontier fort...
North Carolina's first official town and port of entry, Bath served as an early hub of trade and development during the Colonial period.
Once a thriving commercial hub, Bethabara was home to a Moravian settlement in Winston-Salem that witnessed the French and Indian War, the Regulator...
Explore colonial Halifax at a preserved Revolutionary-era town where historic homes, public spaces, and hands-on exhibits reveal how North Carolinians...
Also known as the Alston House, the House in the Horseshoe served as a Patriot outpost where a four hour skirmish took place on July 29, 1781.
Originally destroyed by a fire in 1798, this faithful reconstruction stands on the former site of the Palace and offers an 18th century interpretive...
Liberty Trail History Makers
The Revolutionary War was a war unlike any other — one of ideas and ideals, that shaped “the course of human events. Explore the history and personalities from this pivotal time in American history.
Tarleton, active in the Southern Campaign, came to be known as the ‘butcher’ after Continental soldiers accused his dragoons of disregarding a Patriot surrender by attacking the Americans after they laid down their arms at the Battle of Waxhaws.
Son of prominent leader John Baptista Ashe, John Ashe emerged as a leading Patriot in North Carolina, turning from crown loyalist to Revolutionary commander after colonial unrest and rising to brigadier general by 1776. Though defeated at Brier Creek and later captured when British forces overran Wilmington, Ashe died a prisoner of war in 1781 after contracting smallpox.
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.
Born in England in 1723 and trained as a physician in London, John Pyle brought his family to Alamance County, North Carolina, where he later emerged as a steadfast Loyalist colonel. In 1781, his misidentification of Patriot troops as British escorts led to the brutal clash known as Pyle’s Defeat, leaving him wounded and maimed—yet ultimately tending to the very Patriot soldiers who had struck down his force.
Built in 1767, the Chowan County Courthouse is one of the oldest operating courthouses in the country and still serves the North Carolina Supreme Court to this day.
Explore colonial Halifax at a preserved Revolutionary-era town where historic homes, public spaces, and hands-on exhibits reveal how North Carolinians lived, worked, and governed in the 1700s. From influential leaders’ residences to springs, markets, and river landings, the site brings everyday life in a pivotal American community into sharp focus.
One of the final battles of the Southern Campaign, the Battle of Guilford Courthouse cemented the British path to final defeat at the Battle of Yorktown.
Now the site of one of the last Scottish broadsword charges in history, nearly 1,000 North Carolina Patriots faced off against well-trained Highlanders in the first significant victory for the Patriots in the Revolution
Located an hour away from Charlotte, the Ramsour's Mill battleground marks the site of the first Patriot victory in the south following the fall of Charleston.
Patriot forces under Andrew Pickens and "Light Horse Harry" successfully rout British forces in Alamance County following Cornwallis' failed attempt to catch Nathanael Greene during the "Race to the Dan"
Also known as the Alston House, the House in the Horseshoe served as a Patriot outpost where a four hour skirmish took place on July 29, 1781.
Home to a Loyalist sympathizer, the Burgwin-Wright House stands as one of the oldest structures in Wilmington. In 1781, the likes of Cornwallis and his officers inhabited the home for a brief period.
Originally destroyed by a fire in 1798, this faithful reconstruction stands on the former site of the Palace and offers an 18th century interpretive experience.
North Carolina's first official town and port of entry, Bath served as an early hub of trade and development during the Colonial period.
In an attempt to stall Cornwallis force, a contingent of Patriots initiated a delaying action which led to the death of General William Davidson
The site of a former colonial port that thrived throughout the mid-18th century, most of the town was reportedly burned down by the British in 1776