This is a sketch of cannons on the upper deck of a fort.

Heritage Sites

The places highlighted here — formerly called the Civil War Discovery Trail — are not just any places. They are the celebrated sites and structures that bring the earliest chapters of the American story to life, such as battlefields, historic homes, stations on the Underground Railroad, cemeteries, and parks. Together, they constitute the essential stops on a trail to discovering not only America’s military history, but the political, social and human dimensions of the founding and forging of the United States.

Exterior of the Barrett House
Rev War  |  Historic Site

Barrett House

The Gunpowder that Ignited Revolution Benjamin Barrett built this home in 1705, and his son James, born five years later, inherited it. James Barrett...
Fort

Fort Preble

Built in 1808, this fort was meant to protect Portland from the British as tensions were rising with them during this period before the War of 1812...
This image, likely from the early 20th century, shows noted educator Virginia Randolph and students outside the school in Gravel Hill.
Civil War  |  Historic Site

Gravel Hill

Following a successful case before the Virginia Court of Appeals in 1777, the slaves of John Pleasants were allowed to follow the dictates of his 1771...