The Liberty Trail preserves and interprets South Carolina’s historic battlefields, keeping their stories alive. To protect these unspoiled sites, the American Battlefield Trust partners with numerous valued partners at the federal, state and local levels.
Explore South Carolina's Revolutionary History
Many historians consider the Revolutionary War to have been decided in the swamps, fields, woods and mountains of the South, won by the resilience and determination of Continental soldiers and Patriot militia. Although the full story of the Southern Campaigns is not widely known, the events of 1775-1782 in the Carolinas and Georgia directly led to an American victory in the war.
The Liberty Trail is a unified path of preservation and interpretation across South Carolina designed to tell this remarkable story. These important battlefields, still largely unspoiled, deserve to be preserved and remembered. That’s why the American Battlefield Trust has partnered with the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust to accomplish these goals.
Each stop along the driving tour features unique on-site interpretation that connects visitors to the extraordinary events that came to pass nearly 250 years ago.
Our Valued Partners
The South Carolina Battleground Trust
The South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit corporation established in 1991 and dedicated to the preservation of South Carolina’s historic battlegrounds and military sites. Working with property owners, developers, and local/state agencies, the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust has successfully preserved historic properties throughout South Carolina. The organization preserves South Carolina's military heritage employing a variety of tools from conservation easements and land acquisitions to high-tech ground-based laser scanning surveys and public interpretation with the goal of ensuring the state’s military heritage sites are not forgotten and there to study, discuss and reflect upon for future generations.
The South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust has partnered with the American Battlefield Trust to lead this historic effort to protect The Liberty Trail’s battlefields and bring them to life. Learn more about them at https://www.scbattlegroundtrust.org.
Lead Sponsor
The Liberty Trail would not be possible without the generosity of Lorna Hainesworth, Ambassador and National Traveler. Ms. Hainesworth has visited each and every stop on The Liberty Trail, and many places beyond. We are beyond grateful for her generosity.
Additional Thanks
The Liberty Trail would also not be possible without numerous valued partners at the federal, state and local levels.
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 Piedmont’s Kings Mountain State Park has miles of forested trails perfect for supreme Kings Mountain hiking, two fishing lakes, and sits adjacent to Kings Mountain National Military Park, one of many national park Revolutionary War sites.
William Moultrie died in 1805 and was buried in the family cemetery. In 1977, his remains were moved to Sullivan's Island within Fort Moultrie.
Patriot Francis Marion earns his famous nickname — "The Swamp Fox”— after a futile chase by British Commander Banastre Tarleton
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.
Santee State Park offers biking and hiking trails and pontoon boat tours of the flooded cypress forest on Lake Marion, named after Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox”.
Old Santee Canal Park hosts the Berkeley County Museum and Fort Fair Lawn, where in 1780, the British attacked the Patriot army stationed at Monck’s Corner.
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.
A former British headquarters, explore the reconstructed Kershaw/Cornwallis House, British redoubts, and programs about colonial life.
The Cowpens Battlefield commemorates Daniel Morgan’s victory over Banastre Tarleton on January 17, 1781.
Patriot Leader Nathanael Greene Is repulsed but not defeated in his campaign to chase the British from the South Carolina backcountry
Middleton Place is America’s Oldest Landscaped Gardens and home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
A surprise Patriot attack on Loyalist recruits is a blow to the British
