Trail Sites

Liberty Trail Historic Sites

Discover the myriad of sites across The Liberty Trail where significant cultural and Revolutionary history unfolded. From military ruins to meticulously restored mansions, immerse yourself in the footsteps of our nation’s history-makers.

States of Interest:
South Carolina
Historic Site | Historic House
Clemson, SC

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...

South Carolina
Historic Site | Historic House
Charleston, SC

This historic house museum was the home of Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of four South Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence.

South Carolina
Historic Site | Historic House
McConnells, SC

Discover the history of the Scots-Irish and African-Americans through preserved buildings and living history experiences of the Brattonsville...

South Carolina
Historic Site | Historic House
Clemson, SC

Located near the famous Treaty of Hopewell site, the Hopewell Plantation house was the Pickens' family home and later served as the South Carolina...

South Carolina
Historic Site | Historic House
Georgetown, SC

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...

South Carolina
Historic Site | Historic House
Camden, SC

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...

South Carolina
Historic Site
Gaffney, SC

Three unknown British soldiers wounded at the nearby Battle of Cowpens died here at Limestone Springs and were buried on the land by order of Patriot...

South Carolina
Historic Site
Gresham, SC

Loyalists ambush a contingent of Patriot militia at a tavern in December of 1780, leading to a massacre

South Carolina
Historic Site | Gardens & Grounds
Charleston, SC

The plantation & gardens bears witness to 350 years of American history. Learn about the Europeans who colonized South Carolina, and the enslaved...

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States of Interest

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.
Biography

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.

Biography

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.

Biography

Johann Ewald, a Hessian captain, served in several significant Revolutionary War battles, including White Plains, Bound Brook, and the failed attack on Fort Mercer. He later fought at Yorktown, where he surrendered with the British forces. His detailed wartime diary and maps provide invaluable insights into his experiences in America.

Biography

Charles Lee (February 6, 1732 - October 2, 1782) was a Major General in the American Revolutionary War. He was second-in-command to General George Washington, though he was known for his efforts to undermine General Washington. In 1780, Lee formally resigned from the Continental Army and retired to Philadelphia.

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.
Historic Site | Gardens & Grounds
Mt Pleasant, SC

Boone Hall was influential in the history of South Carolina. Explore the house and grounds of this Colonial Plantation, as well as a live presentation of the Gullah Culture adapted by African slaves.

State/County Park | Fort/Outpost
Summerton, SC

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.

State/County Park |
Gresham, SC

Located along the Great Pee Dee River, Snow's Island served as Francis Marion's favorite refuge for his militia in the swamps of South Carolina

Battlefield
Camden, SC

An ingenious Patriot deception provokes a prominent Loyalist to surrender his outpost

Battlefield | National Park
Ninety Six, SC

The site of the 1775 Battle of Williamson's Fort and a critical outpost for the British after they captured Charleston in 1780, the colonial town of Ninety Six was also the setting of a 28-day siege in 1781. Here, Nathanael Greene’s Patriots attacked the heart of Loyalist commander John Cruger’s defenses — the Star Fort.

Historic Site | Gardens & Grounds
Charlestown, SC

Middleton Place is America’s Oldest Landscaped Gardens and home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Historic Site | Historic House
Charleston, SC

In 1780, after the British occupied Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, the Brewton house was used as the British headquarters for Henry Clinton.

Battlefield
Clarendon County, SC

Patriot Francis Marion earns his famous nickname — "The Swamp Fox”— after a futile chase by British Commander Banastre Tarleton

Battlefield
Manning, SC

Now under the man-made Lake Marion, British Lieutenant Colonel John Watson and Patriot Brigadier General Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox,” skirmished in Wyboo Swamp near Santee Road.

Historic Site |
Clemson, SC

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.

Battlefield
Johnsonville, SC

Known as an extremely important ferry crossing in the Colonial Period, Marion fortified this ferry and frequently utilized it to quickly move his troops to lay ambushes

Battlefield | National Park
Blacksburg, SC

On August 16, 1780, the unexpected Patriot success at Kings Mountain infused those favoring rebellion with new confidence.