Charleston's Liberty Tree, Christopher Gadsden and the Sons of Liberty

Site of the Liberty Tree, 80 Alexander St.

In 1766, the pot of liberty was being stirred by many of the colonists who sought to be free of the imposing hand of England. Many of these early "pot stirrings" took place underneath, or near, a Liberty Tree. Like the Boston Liberty Tree, similar meeting places rose in each of the thirteen colonies. In Charleston, Christopher Gadsden, a wealthy merchant, possessed the ability to stir the common man with his words. He met with like-minded revolutionaries, who became known as the Sons of Liberty, underneath a large oak tree in a Mr. Mazyck's cow pasture and there they shared a dream and rallied together.

      Ten years later, the people of Charleston first heard the words of the Declaration of Independence read under the branches of this Liberty Tree.

   When the British occupied Charleston in 1780, they chopped down the Liberty Tree lest it become a rallying point for the colonists. Then, in an act that could only have been motivated by vengeance, they burned the stump that was left.

      But that is not the end of the story of the Liberty Tree! After the Revolution, the root of the Liberty Tree was salvaged and was made into cane heads. One of these canes was given to Thomas Jefferson. 

      The root of liberty is strong......and once freedom has been tasted no weapon or fire or act of vengeance can quell that longing.