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.

Civil War  |  Fort

Fort Wayne

Originally built in 1842 to be a strategic point to keep the British from invading through Canada, Fort Wayne was used during the Civil War as a...
1760s era lighthouse located at the Gateway National Recreational Area in Sandy Hook
Rev War  |  Historic Site

Sandy Hook

During the American Revolution, the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, constructed in 1764, stood as a pivotal landmark. Its strategic importance was underscored...
Green woodgrain
Rev War  |  Library

Redwood Library

The Redwood Library and Athenaeum is America’s first purpose-built library, and the oldest continuously operating in its original location. Thus, it...
Princeville Mobile Museum, Princeville, N.C.
Civil War  |  Historic Site

Princeville

Princeville emerged here on swampy land along the Tar River in 1865, as an encampment of self-emancipated African Americans who sought freedom within...