The events of the American Revolution didn’t just free the colonies from British rule, they defined the spirit of a nation. The U.S. National Park Service, state and local governments and private foundations all help preserve iconic sites from the Revolutionary War (1775–1783) so visitors can experience the places that forged America’s identity.
From the Massachusetts field where a volunteer militia of farmers and tradesmen first battled British regulars to the site of the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, this itinerary includes eight destinations across three states and offers insight into America’s national heritage.
The Boston National Historical Park’s Freedom Trail guides visitors to 16 sites in the Massachusetts capital city that was a hotbed of revolutionary fervor. Faneuil Hall, known as the “Cradle of Liberty,” was the site of May 1774 protests against Britain’s punishments for the Boston Tea Party. The Old North Church is where revolutionary Paul Revere had two lanterns hung to signal the British were arriving by sea. A monument at Bunker Hill commemorates the revolution’s first major battle where patriots proved they could inflict heavy British casualties.
The Lexington Battle Green, west of Boston, is where the “shot heard ’round the world” rang out on April 19, 1775, setting off an eight-year war. The first combat of the American Revolution occurred when British soldiers marched to seize colonists’ munitions and found themselves facing off against a volunteer militia known as the minutemen. No one knows who fired the first shot, but there was no going back. A monument built in 1799 marks the burial site of patriots killed in the battle.
Philadelphia’s Independence Hall is where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. Independence National Historical Park is also home to the Liberty Bell that sounded over the first U.S. capital and later rang at the funerals of George Washington and other Founding Fathers. A cherished symbol of American freedom, replicas of the Liberty Bell have been sent to every U.S. state, and the original attracts 2 million visitors each year.
Washington Crossing Park, north of Philadelphia, marks where George Washington led his army across the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776 to attack Hessian mercenaries fighting for the British. The surprise attack gave the Americans a much-needed boost in morale and led to several victories. The state-managed park includes a small cemetery where Continental Army soldiers who died in the winter encampment are buried.
By the winter of 1777–1778, the British had captured Philadelphia and prospects for American independence seemed bleak. The Valley Forge National Historical Park outside Philadelphia commemorates one of the revolution’s darkest moments when freezing temperatures tested the resolve of Washington’s army while they were camped at Valley Forge. The reconstructed encampment allows visitors to see historic structures as they were 250 years ago.
Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia’s former capital, was home to the House of Burgesses, the rebellious state legislature with members that included revolutionaries Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee and Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and a future U.S. president. The preserved city includes dozens of original and reconstructed 18th-century buildings, including the Raleigh Tavern, a meeting place for Virginia legislators who became leaders of the revolution.
Washington, commander in chief of the Continental Army and the first U.S. president, is buried at his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. The war kept Washington away from home, but he met briefly at Mount Vernon in September 1781 with the general and French Commander Rochambeau to plan operations against British forces stationed at Yorktown. The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association runs the estate, which includes a museum, the reconstructed farm and Washington’s tomb.
The Yorktown battlefield is where Washington’s forces compelled the surrender of British General Charles Cornwallis October 19, 1781, effectively ending the war. Part of the Colonial National Historical Park, the battlefield’s siege lines remain and neighboring homes have cannonballs embedded in the walls. Nearby sites include Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, and the Yorktown National Cemetery, where soldiers killed in Civil War battles in the 1860s are buried.
