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  |  Cemetery

Frankfort Cemetery

Frankfort, Kentucky | This scenic cemetery overlooks the southern edge of the Kentucky River, the state capitol and the town of Frankfort.
This is a sketch of cannons on the upper deck of a fort.
Civil War  |  Museum

U.S. Cavalry Museum

Fort Riley, Kansas | During the Civil War, as regular troops returned East, the fort was garrisoned by state militia units who continued to protect...
Illustration of Henry Box Brown's "resurrection" in Philadelphia. From William Still's 1872 book The Underground Railroad.
Civil War  |  Historic Site

Henry Box Brown

Born into slavery about 1815 at The Hermitage Plantation near here, Henry Brown was working in Richmond by 1830. Brown mailed himself to Philadelphia...