Liberty Trees in each of the original 13 colonies served as gathering places where colonists, including the secret organization known as the Sons of Liberty, met to oppose unfair taxation and oppressive British policies, helping plant the seeds of the American Revolution. Maryland’s Liberty Tree, a Tulip Poplar on the campus of St. John's College in Annapolis, was the last surviving Liberty Tree of the original 13 colonies and stood until damage from Hurricane Floyd led to its removal in 1999. In western Maryland, Colonel Thomas Cresap of Oldtown was a vocal and visible organizer of the Sons of Liberty, and historians credit him with helping defeat the 1765 Stamp Act in Maryland. The current Maryland Liberty Tree, a direct descendant of the original, is planted near the site of Cresap's Fort in Oldtown, overlooking the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.