Trail-Blazing History

Leading up to the nation’s 250th anniversary, the American Battlefield Trust and its many state partners are creating a unified path of interpretation to tell the unforgettable stories of the American Revolution: The Liberty Trail. This groundbreaking multimedia pocket historian and virtual tour guide connects users with the Revolutionary era, bringing history to life in exciting and innovative ways. While the collection of apps, webpages and locations has been gradually expanding across the United States for three years, the Trust has a grand vision for the program as the nation continues to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Revolution, inspiring tourists across America and the world to seek out historic sites vital to the war.

While The Liberty Trail fits squarely in the Trust’s mission to educate and inspire, the project has also proved fruitful in providing a path for the Trust’s primary objective: battlefield preservation. Through faithfully re-created augmented-reality battles and digitally reconstructed 3D models, users develop a richer understanding of the land they are visiting. The project has pushed the boundaries of battlefield interpretation, inspiring new visitors to experience and understand historic landscapes in a wholly original way and encouraging them to support the preservation of these irreplaceable places of American history.

A Historical Travel Guide

While The Liberty Trail app collection offers the perfect pocket tour guide, The Trail’s website, thelibertytrail.org, is home to a variety of travel inspirations to easily integrate Revolutionary War history into any visit. From a bike tour through historic Morristown to a hike along Concord’s Battle Road Trail or a scenic kayak cruise around Fort Dorchester, the website offers a vast variety of recreational activities grounded in history. Each route or tour includes details on routes, parking options, historical programming in the area and more about what visitors can expect so they can make the most of their visit.

The site also offers a variety of tour options, from ghost through Charleston to “can’t miss” museums and visitor centers, allowing visitors to piece together their perfect Revolutionary vacation or integrate a bit of the past into a casual getaway. For those tourists looking for a step-by-step guide through their trip, the site also offers detailed itineraries, ranging from a weekend trip to Francis Marion’s South Carolina Low Country to condensing the Ten Crucial Days Trail into just one day. From outdoor adventures to in-depth explorations, thelibertytrail.org is an essential stop for anyone visiting one of The Trail’s featured states.

South Carolina Roots

In 2019, the American Battlefield Trust, in partnership with the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, launched The Liberty Trail in the Palmetto State. The initial app included 30 different interpretative stops throughout South Carolina, incorporating historic and modern photography, 360-degree views, original artwork and battle maps as it guides users through a cohesive and dynamic tour of the state’s historic sites, highlighting everyday heroes and the places that played crucial roles in South Carolina’s Revolutionary history. This unique experience enriches visitors’ understanding of the state’s deeply critical story during the Revolutionary era, taking full advantage of emerging technologies that would have been unfathomable to a colonial soldier 250 years ago.

Expanding the Trail

The Trust quickly realized that The Liberty Trail project had far more potential than could be contained in a single state’s borders and sought to tap into our most robust networks to best showcase key destinations with multifaceted interpretive opportunities. The Ten Crucial Days Campaign, centered on our ambitious “Reimagining Princeton” project, was a natural prospect, as were the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the focus of early 250th commemoration activities.

Today, Massachusetts and New Jersey have since launched their own stand-alone networks on The Liberty Trail website and in individual apps, which are free to download through the App Store or Google Play. These assets are designed to guide viewers through time and place with a variety of walking and driving tour options that can be uniquely tailored to the individual exploring history.

Where to next? Look for further tours in South Carolina, Massachusetts and New Jersey, plus subsequent expansions into new territory. In the coming months, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania will each have their own iteration of the program, opening the door for new audiences to follow the The Trail to experience critical Revolutionary War battlefields like Guilford Courthouse, Saratoga and Brandywine and everything in between.

Lasting Partnerships

The Trust’s grand vision for the future of The Liberty Trail is possible because of the support offered by outstanding allies, like RevolutionNJ — a partnership between the New Jersey Historical Commission and the nonprofit Crossroad of the American Revolution Association.

Across nearly four decades, the American Battlefield Trust has built a steadfast and expansive web of partners and stakeholders at the local and state levels that has proved incredibly fruitful when looking to expand the program. These partnerships with local officials and battlefield friends’ groups have resulted in swift mobilization of efforts to bring The Trail to their local historic sites. Community groups, battlefield friends’ groups and historic sites are also reaching out to the Trust, advocating to be included in future expansions, excited about the prospect of seeing their local site become part of a national narrative.

The Future of the Trail

As the 250th anniversary of American’s founding conflict progresses, the nation’s eyes are increasingly being drawn to Revolutionary history. By 2033, 250 years after the signing of the Treaty of Paris and the end of the American Revolution, the Trust plans to have Liberty Trail programs in 25 states. The expanded collection will provide thousands of interactive, in-depth interpretative resources that will guide historians of all ages and abilities along the expansive path of America’s Revolutionary history.

There are countless stories to be told and battlefields to be saved and understood to help today’s audiences comprehend and appreciate the American Revolution. The power of place on a battlefield is irreplicable, and The Liberty Trail will keep finding innovative ways for generations of history enthusiasts to feel and appreciate that power for years beyond America’s 250th celebration.

Are you affiliated with a regional group that is interested in joining The Liberty Trail initiative? Reach out to info@battlefields.org!