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.
On May 29, 1780, British commander Banastre Tarleton engaged and overwhelmed a Patriot force under the command of Abraham Buford in a dreadful defeat for the Patriots.
A surprise Patriot attack on Loyalist recruits is a blow to the British
In 1780, after the British occupied Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, the Brewton house was used as the British headquarters for Henry Clinton.
Built in 1716 for Paul de St. Julien in Berkeley County. The house was later dismantled and moved to Clemson University and functions as a house museum.
Nestled outside the traditional bounds of the South Carolina colony is the Presbyterian church where Andrew Pickens committed his time as an elder following the Revolution. In the adjacent cemetery lie the graves of several American soldiers who had fought by Pickens' side during the war.
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.
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”.
Treacherous waters and Patriot fire foil a British attack on Charleston Harbor
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.
The site of the 1780 battle of Musgrove’s Mill where a small force of Patriot militia fought and defeated a larger force of Loyalist and Provincial soldiers in a short but pivotal battle.
During the British occupation of Charleston in 1781, these grounds were part of a British outpost to supply ammunition and provisions to patrolling British troops.
