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.
Built circa 1740, Hopsewee Plantation was one of the South’s major rice plantations and the birthplace of Thomas Lynch, Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
This park preserves the story of Charles Pinckney and his contributions to the U.S. Constitution, and of 18th century plantation life for free and enslaved people of Snee Farm inhabitants.
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.
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.
Francis Salvador, the first Jewish person to die in the Revolutionary War, was a London-born pioneer who moved to South Carolina in 1773. A vocal supporter of independence, he became the first Jewish person to hold political office in the state. Known as the "Southern Paul Revere," Salvador warned of attacks during the war but tragically died in an ambush in 1776 at just 29 years old, leaving behind a legacy of courage and commitment to freedom.
A former British headquarters, explore the reconstructed Kershaw/Cornwallis House, British redoubts, and programs about colonial life.
This battleground was the site of three British camps, attacked by Patriot troops on August 6, 1780. It was a fight primarily between countrymen.
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.
