Bringing Battlefields to Life with Augmented Reality

The Liberty Trail AR suite transforms historical engagement across four significant Revolutionary War sites in South Carolina: Eutaw Springs, Fort Fair Lawn, the Horn Work at Marion Square, and Fort Watson. Each location features AR scenes, meticulously designed to recreate the dramatic events of the Southern Campaigns. These digital reconstructions overlay the current landscape, offering users a dynamic lens through which they can explore the past.

Through QR codes on the signage at each battlefield, visitors can access the appropriate AR scene, overlaying a detailed historical reconstruction onto the present-day environment. The app’s 1:1 scale recreations are accessible for exploration at the battlefield locations in true-to-life scale, allowing users to experience the landscape as it would have looked during the 18th Century.

Alternatively, the various battle sites can be explored remotely as tabletop models, ensuring these unique historical experiences are available to a broader audience – including schools, international users, and anyone unable to visit the sites in person.

Our innovative double-headed AR binoculars installed across several of the sites also provide an accessible way for all visitors to engage with the history – no smartphone required – making these exciting and educating AR scenes available to everyone, from children to wheelchair users. The Liberty Trail AR suite offers an inclusive, immersive journey into South Carolina’s Revolutionary War history that is rich with detail. The combination of sound effects, character animations, and accurate period props creates a fully immersive environment that brings history to life in stunning realism.

At Marion Square, the AR experience transports visitors back to the Horn Work, a significant fortification used during the Southern Campaigns. Here, app users can witness the siege of the Horn Work by British forces, complete with a fully immersive view of the strategy – and gunfire – involved. Additionally, the app reveals the critical moment of the Patriots’ surrender, showing how the Horn Work played a crucial role in the Southern Campaign. Visitors can watch animated soldiers in period uniforms, navigate the fortified structure, and uncover the action behind the gigantic tabby walls. On-site AR binoculars enhance the experience by providing easy access to this pivotal fortification without the need for a personal device.

Eutaw Springs offers users a front-row seat to one of the final significant battles in the Southern Campaign. Through the Liberty Trail AR app, visitors can explore key elements of the battle site, such as the fortification of the Brick house during the battle and the intense aftermath of the Patriot forces’ assault. The AR scenes at Eutaw Springs allow users to navigate through the action and surrounding natural landscape whilst fully immersed in the sounds and witnessing animations that bring this crucial conflict to life. For those unable to visit in person, the AR app’s tabletop model feature offers a detailed remote exploration, revealing the strategic importance of each augmented reality battle site.

At Fort Fair Lawn, the AR experience provides a glimpse of the daily routines and defences within a British fort during the Revolutionary War. Through animated scenes of soldiers carrying out everyday tasks, visitors can learn about the challenges faced by soldiers living in this British encampment. Hot spot arrows also highlight particular defensive features of the fort’s structure, such as the palisades protecting each side of the fort, as well as its strategic position in the British supply chain.

Meanwhile, Fort Watson AR immerses users in the ingenious tactics employed by Patriot forces to overcome this British stronghold. Through three distinct AR scenes, visitors experience the fort’s construction, defensive measures, and the decisive Patriot assault using the Maham Tower strategy. Led by General Marion Lee, Patriot forces built a towering structure that allowed them to bypass the fort’s defences—a move that marked a turning point in the Southern Campaign.

The Liberty Trail AR suite is a crucial step in bringing the lesser-known Southern Campaigns of the American Revolutionary War to a wider audience. These campaigns, fought across the challenging terrain of the South, were pivotal to the eventual American victory, yet their stories are often overshadowed by other battles in the North. By using augmented reality to layer historical events onto modern landscapes, this project reconnects visitors with often-overlooked battlefields, offering a richer understanding of their significance in the quest for American independence.

By integrating augmented reality into the Liberty Trail, which already links several South Carolina battle sites, this collaboration incentivises on-site visits for an unforgettable immersive experience. Where previously only sparse remnants remained, AR technology restores the scenes of pivotal battles, allowing visitors to visualise the events as they unfolded. This not only enhances public engagement with history but also supports the goals of the American Battlefield Trust and the SCPBT, who aim to increase battlefield visitation and preserve these sites for future generations.

By bringing South Carolina’s Revolutionary War battlefields to this collaboration has resulted in an innovative tool that connects users to South Carolina’s rich history. Whether visiting in person or exploring from afar, users can now connect with America’s fight for independence, ensuring that South Carolina’s revolutionary stories are told for generations to come.