10 Revolutionary War Memorials to Visit on 4th of July

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On Monday, it will have been 240 years since the original thirteen United States of America pass the Declaration of Independence. It would take seven years of fighting before the colonies gained their freedom from Great Britain. As time as passed, the memories of the USA’s first war has faded into the background. The battles and events of the Revolutionary War took place throughout the original colonies. Here are 10 Revolutionary War memorials to honor the sacrifice our founding men and women.

Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier

Hidden underneath the green grass of Washington Square in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a mass grave from the Revolutionary War.  In 1954, the Square built a monument to these soldiers and other who lost their lives in the Revolutionary War.  The tomb contains a body of a soldier whose remains were disturbed during an archeological examination of the Square. It is unknown if the solder is a Colonial or British soldier.

Colonel William Prescott Statue

The Colonel William Prescott Statue is part of the Bunker Hill Monument in Charleston, Massachusetts. Colonel William Prescott was the commanding officer of the militia army that took place on the Charlestown peninsula.  He helped to erect the defenses on Bunker and Breeds Hills.  On June 16, 1775, Prescott’s men repelled two British attacks and only retreated upon running out of ammunition.  Under Prescott’s leadership the poorly trained militia held the line and inflicted a 50% causality rate.

Kosciuszko’s Monument

The Kosciuszko’s Monument is located on the grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Tadeusz Kościuszko was a Polish-Lithuanian military engineer.  Upon hearing of the Colonial’s plight, he sailed for the Americans and joined the Colonial Amry as head engineer.  He correctly predicted the British taking the high ground at  Fort Ticonderoga.  On the retreat from Ticonderoga, he led the efforts to impede the British Army.  His efforts gave the Colonials time to safely withdraw.  He designed the defenses of the West Point garrison.

 Moores Creek Women’s Monument

The Moores Creek Women’s Monument is found on the Moores Creek National Battlefield near Wilmington, North Carolina.  The monument honors the many women whose name are not remember but helped to contribute to the Colonial victory in the war.

Henry Knox Trail

The Henry Knox Trail follows the route Henry Knox used to evacuate the artillery after the fall of Fort Ticonderoga, New York as part of the Boston, Massachusetts campaign.  There are 56 markers along the route.

The Boot Monument

The Boot Monument is a small monument hidden among monuments in the Battle of Saratoga National Historical Park, New York.  The monument is a rather simple stone marker with a boot on it.  The Boot Monument does not bear the name of the soldier it honors.  The monument is a reminder of both his contributions to the Continental Army as well as his later actions in the war.  This man is perhaps the most famous traitor in American history, Benedict Arnold.  Arnold suffered an injured foot during the Battles of Quebec and Ridgefield.

This injury ended his illustrious military career as a fighting soldier.  As time passed, Arnold disagreed with the Continental leadership and attempted to hand over the West Point Garrison.  In the end, he failed but became a brigadier general in the British Army.  The story goes that Arnold asked a captured prisoner what would happen to him if he was captured by the Continental army.  The prisoner told him “They will cut off the leg which was wounded when you were fighting so gloriously for the cause of liberty, and bury it with the honors of war, and hang the rest of your body on a gibbet.”

Rochambeau Statue and Memorial

The Rochambeau Statue and Memorial is located in Newport, Rhode Island.  The statue celebrates the contributions of General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau.  Rochambeau was a commander of the French forces that assisted the Continental Army.  Rochambeau had more men under his command than General George Washington.  His men marched from Newport, Rhode Island to Mount Kisco, New York.  They met Washington and started a march south that would end in Yorktown, Virginia and the defeat of the British.

Nathanael Greene Monument

Nathanael Greene Monument is located in Johnson Square in Savannah, Georgia.  The monument commemorates Brigadier General Nathanael Greene.  Greene was second in command to George Washington and with Washington was the only two generals to served the entire war.  He successfully commanded the Souther Campain that forced Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis out of the Carolinas.  His remains are buried within the monument.

Paoli Massacre Monument

The Paoli Massacre Monument is located near Malvern, Pennsylvania.  The granite monument is erected at the site of a small British surprise attack while the Colonial Amry was encamped near the Paoli Tavern.  It was claimed that the British took no prisoners and granted no quarter.  The small Colonial fighting force of 2,500 men was to monitor and harass the British in an attempt to slow their march to Philadelphia.  The Colonial were encamped when British spies learned their location and a surprise attack was launched.  The British were reported to have mutilated soldiers after the battle.

Bennington Battle Monument

The Bennington Battle Monument is located in Bennington, Vermont.  It is a large stone obelisk that commemorates the August 17, 1777, Battle of Bennington.  General John Stark and his New Hampshire militia defeated two British detachments and prevented them from capturing critical food and weapon stores.

Have you been to any Revolutionary War Memorials? Which ones and what did they commemorate?

18 thoughts on “10 Revolutionary War Memorials to Visit on 4th of July”

  1. Wow! I’m a bad American! I have only been to one on the list. I guess I have some work to do!

    1. Don’t feel bad. I wrote the list and have been to none of them, yet. I plan to visit one or two in the remained of the year.

  2. I’d never heard of many of these monuments. Just goes to show how I often spend so much time thinking about where to go internationally, that I neglect my own country, even when there is so much to see. Thanks for sharing! It is the perfect post to read on Independence Day!

  3. Great list! We’re probably going to be in the States for next year’s 4th (in Australia this year), and I can’t think of a better way to commemorate the day than by visiting a memorial.

  4. Great list, Jennifer! I have been to a few of these and am very interested in early American history. I think the extent of most travelers’ revolutionary history tourism is the Freedom Trail in Boston. :p

  5. Wow, well I thought I had visited many great important memorials in the USA until I saw your post. Thanks for the suggestions. I am always taking my dad to new war memorials and this will give us some new ideas, especially the one in North Carolina, which is close to him.

  6. I have to admit that I have never been to any of the ones you have named. Thanks for sharing them, I had an interesting time reading each one.

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