Charleston's Liberty Tree was the meeting place for
the city's sect of the
Sons of Liberty, an organization that advocated for the
American Revolution. The
oak tree was utilized from the late 1760s until 1780, when it was burned down by British troops following the
Siege of Charleston
The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...
.
It was the site where news of the
United States Declaration of Independence was announced to Charleston citizens in 1776.
The oak tree, at the time located in a cow pasture, was chosen by William Johnson Sr., father of future Supreme Court Justice,
William Johnson, Jr., as a meeting place.
It was where
Christopher Gadsden
Christopher Gadsden (February 16, 1724 – August 28, 1805) was an American politician who was the principal leader of the South Carolina Patriot movement during the American Revolution. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress, a brigadier ...
, who is considered "Charleston's Sam Adams", advocated for American independence.
Johnson made cane heads out of the tree's roots following the Revolution and gave one to
Thomas Jefferson. In 1905, a historical marker was placed near the tree's former location on Alexander Street.
References
{{SouthCarolina-stub
Individual oak trees