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.
Captain Isaac Davis, a Massachusetts Minuteman leader, was the first American officer killed in the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775.
At the Battle of Camden, British General Lord Cornwallis routed Gates’s army and captured nearly 1,000 men, including their supplies, baggage, and artillery. There was no organized retreat, and Gates rode near 170 miles north in three days to flee. It destroyed his reputation and his new southern army.
William Woodford (1734–1780) was a Virginia soldier who made his mark early in the Revolution, leading the 2nd Virginia Regiment to victory at Great Bridge. A seasoned fighter, he battled at Brandywine and Monmouth, but was captured at Charleston. Woodford tragically died in British captivity aboard a prison ship.
Jim Capers, a free African American who courageously served as a Drum Major during the American Revolution, survived brutal battles and close-quarters combat, including being severely wounded at Eutaw Springs. Capers spent his final years in Alabama, where his extraordinary contributions to the fight for independence went largely uncelebrated before his death at the age of 111 in 1853.
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.
After the Siege of Charleston in 1780, the British established a headquarters at the Kershaw/Cornwallis House. Today the house and grounds are open to tours.
This park features the Lands Ford crossing, used during the Revolutionary War by both British and American troops under Cornwallis and Sumter before and after pivotal battles.
McLeroth and his 64th Regiment were escorting 200 recruits from Charleston to Camden when Marion, with about 700 men, surprised them at Halfway Swamp.
Located along the banks of the Hudson, outnumbered Patriot forces quickly evacuated this site on November 20, 1776, as the British army advanced on their position.
A surprise Patriot attack on Loyalist recruits is a blow to the British
Renowned for Gen. George Washington's daring crossing of the Delaware River on a frigid Christmas night, Trenton marked the start of the Ten Crucial Days—a series of bold victories that reignited hope in the Revolutionary cause.
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.
Used by both sides during the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the Munroe Tavern, it was most famously used Hugh Percy during his relief march to aid the retreating British column from Concord.
This last major battle of the war in the South succeeded in driving the British out of rural South Carolina.
Located within the Santee Wildlife Refuge, this was the last major battle of the war in South Carolina.
After an eight-day siege, this strategic outpost fell to the Americans, who used an ingenious structure called Maham’s Tower to fire down into the fort and trap the enemy.