Hiking Through History

The sound of liberty rang from this bell in the early morning of April 19, 1775, to call forth the Lexington militia. Today, a reconstructed belfry stands as a reminder of the militia's bravery and determination at the Battle of Lexington and Concord.

Located just south of the Chesapeake Bay, this "uninhabitable" Great Dismal Swamp was home to thousands of Native Americans and Maroons--self-emancipated slaves--throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.

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

The Dey Mansion, built around 1770, served as General George Washington’s headquarters in 1780 during a pivotal time in the American Revolution. As one of his surviving field headquarters, it offers a lasting connection to the strategic decisions, military challenges, and historic events that shaped the fight for independence.

Known worldwide as the nation's largest living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg operates the restored eighteenth-century capital of colonial Virginia.

Visit Historic Drayton Hall — Tour the nation’s oldest preserved plantation house in America still open to the public. Explore Drayton Hall's 18th-century architecture, landscapes & the people who lived here.

The Francis Marion is a forest literally steeped in history. Marion, dubbed the “Swamp Fox” by the British troops whose supply lines he disrupted with surprise attacks from the swamps.

During the Revolutionary War in 1781, Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson fled to Poplar Forest from Monticello to evade capture from British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton.

Nestled in the sloping mountains of New Jersey, the birthplace of American military academies can be found. Initially a part of a winter encampment, it became the proving grounds for Patriot artillerists.

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.

Located within the Santee Wildlife Refuge, this was the last major battle of the war in South Carolina.

After crossing the Delaware, George Washington's ten-day campaign culminated in a decisive victory at the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777, proving his army could defeat the British. The battle saw Washington's forces overcome initial setbacks to rout the British and shift the momentum of the war