Historic Happenings Blog

Walking tour of the battlefield.- Monmouth Battlefield State Park 16 Business Route 33, Manalapan Township, NJ 07726 On Sunday, meet at the Monmouth Battlefield visitor center at 1:30 pm for a free guided walking tour of the battlefield with Friends of Monmouth Battlefield President, Dr. David Martin. Appropriate hiking apparel is encouraged. Monmouth Battlefield State Park is located at 16 New Jersey Business 33, Manalapan, NJ. For more information, visit  www.friendsofmonmouth.org . Walking tour of the battlefield. Meet at Visitor Center at 1:30 PM. (1st Sunday of the Month)

Experience the Museum from anywhere While the Museum of the American Revolution is closed to the public, you can explore the Museum and its content from anywhere with free digital resources for all ages, including a  Virtual Museum Tour , a  Virtual Field Trip , a rich archive of  Read the Revolution book excerpts , a  digitized collection  of the Museum's art and artifacts, and more. Keep the kids busy while school's closed with teacher and student resources for learning about the American Revolution. Check out the Museum's  comprehensive lesson plans  full of primary sources, high-quality images, and provocative questions. Download the materials  here . Print out our free  “Color the Collection” coloring book  for kids to create their own colorful works of art based on treasures from the Museum’s collection. Download the PDF  here . Be sure to follow the Museum (@amrevmuseum) on  Facebook ,  Twit...

Battle of the Navesink                                                                                                        Public Presentation:  Life on the Monmouth County Frontier in 1777 by Michael Adelberg, historian and author Wednesday March 18 at 7:30pm, Bahrs Landing Restaurant, Highlands, NJ. The  American  Revolution  is  remembered  today  as the war   fought  between  Washington’s  Continentals and the Redcoats of the British Army. But for the parts of the new United States that were on the frontier between the two sides, the War pitted settler against settler and privateering, profiteering, and intermittent civil war occurred all along the Bayshore and into Monm...

Thursday, March 12 – Morris County The next meeting of the NJ American Revolution Round Table takes place on Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Museum at Washington's Headquarters, Morristown National Historical Park, 30 Washington Pl, Morristown NJ 07960. Attendance is free for students and first time Round Table attendees.     The speaker is Christian McBurney on  George Washington's Nemesis: The Outrageous Treason and Unfair Court-Martial of Major General Charles Lee.      Major General Charles Lee, a former British Army officer was George Washington’s second in command at the start of the Revolutionary War. He was kidnapped in Basking Ridge in December of 1776 and spent a year as a British prisoner. Following his release, he was given a major command at the Battle of Monmouth where he retreated in the face of the British army and was subsequently court-martialed and suspended from the Continental army. Christian McBurne...

Thursday, February 13 – Morris County     Eric Schnitzer is the speaker for the February 13 th  meeting of the North Jersey American Revolution Round Table at the Museum at the Morristown National Historical Park. Schnitzer will talk on his newly released book,  Don Troiani’s  Campaign to Saratoga – 1777 .      The Battles of Saratoga are often cited as a critical point in the Revolutionary War. Historical painter Don Troiani and historian Eric Schnitzer combined their talents in this new book. This illustrated history features many new artworks, previously unpublished eyewitness accounts, photographs of important artifacts, and a solid, detailed historical narrative including background on the campaigns leading up to Saratoga. Eric Schnitzer is park ranger/historian at Saratoga National Historical Park (Saratoga Battlefield), where he has worked since 1997. Schnitzer earned his degrees in History and Fine Art from the Uni...

Sunday, February 9 – Ocean County Brilliant Performance of New Jersey Militia Come to the Ocean County Historical Society, 26 Hadley Avenue, Toms River on  February 9, 2019 (or February 16 th  if snow)  at 2:00 PM to hear  historian and genealogist Russell Dutcher present  “The New Jersey Militia During the American Revolution.”   He will focus on the  Dutch and French Huguenot guerillas   who forestalled British advances and earned compliments from General George Washington.  Learn what was happening in Somerset, Essex, Sussex, and Middlesex counties and how the Revolutionary War in many ways was a civil war between Loyalists and Patriots. Free admission, donations are accepted. Refreshments will be available. Call 732-341-1880 to reserve your seat.

Sunday, January 19 – Cumberland County 2 to 4 p.m.  to be held at the Warren and Reba Lummis Genealogical & Historical Library located at 981 Ye Greate Street, Greenwich. Guest Speaker: Dr. Albert Zambone, author of   Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life. CUMBERLAND COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY,  PO Box 16, Greenwich, New Jersey 08323; Office Telephone: 856-455-8580;  cchistsoc@verizon.net ;  www.cchistsoc.org

Thursday, January 9 -- Morris County J American Revolution Round Table January Meeting: John Buchanan,  The Road to Charleston John Buchanan is the speaker at the January 9 meeting of the North Jersey American Revolution Round Table at the Museum at the Morristown National Historical Park. Since his retirement as Registrar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Buchanan has published four notable works on Revolutionary and Jacksonian history as well as works of fiction. The Road to Charleston  is the long-awaited sequel to Jack Buchanan’s acclaimed military history,  The Road to Guilford Courthouse . Buchanan follows the story of Major General Nathanael Greene, a brilliant architect of the critical Southern Campaign of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. Buchanan describes not only General Greene’s challenges with manpower, transportation, and supply (problems he had faced as Quartermaster General at Morristown), but a bloody civil war between “Patriots a...

Trenton Battlefield Walking Tour December 30, 2019  @  10:00 am  –  12:00 pm Starbucks, 102 South Warren St. (Corner of Front St) This 10-block interpretive walk brings to life the events of the two battles of Trenton. Guests are welcome to gather at Starbucks at 9:00am for a question-and-answer session over coffee. The tour begins at 10:00am and includes the historic Trenton Battle Monument, ending up along the Assunpink Creek in Mill Hill Park. Ralph Siegel of Trenton Battlefield Tours will lead the walk with block-by-block, minute-by-minute narrative. Event ends at 12:00pm.  Free

Alexander Hamilton and the 24 Cannons at the Battle of Trenton December 29, 2019  @  2:00 pm  –  3:00 pm This tabletop talk will follow the movements of all 24 of the cannons on the streets of Trenton during the Battle of Trenton and demonstrate why the 18 American cannons – including the two six-pounders commanded by Alexander Hamilton – were decisive in the victory over the Hessians, who had six brass three-pounder cannons. A four-pounder cannonball will be on display during the talk. Presenter: Urban planner and Museum Trustee David Bosted.   Pay as you wish.

Assunpink Firewalk - 4:30 - 5:30 pm Mill Hill Park (Corner of Broad & Front Streets), 165 E. Front Street Join Mayor Gusciora on the Iron Bridge in Mill Hill Park and a colorful cast to usher in a new holiday tradition in the city of Trenton. As darkness fall, watch Continental Soldiers light 13 torches along the south bank and hear a dramatic reading of Thomas Paine’s “The American Crisis”.  The City of Trenton in collaboration with The Old Barracks Museum and Trenton Downtown Association will be hosting the 2nd Assunpink Firewalk.  The Firewalk begins at 4:00 pm in Mill Hill Park at the Iron Bridge.

2nd Battle of Trenton - 3:00 pm East State Street to North Warren Street to Mill Hill Park FREE Having abandoned Trenton shortly after the battle on December 26, Washington re-crossed with a much larger army later in the week upon learning the British had not re-occupied Trenton. On the morning of January 2, 1777, he dispatched a small brigade up what is now Route 206 toward Princeton. They were met by a very strong column of British, Hessians, and Highlanders under General Cornwallis and driven back along a bitterly contested, afternoon-long retreat into Trenton.

Musket Demonstrations - 1:00 - 2:00 pm Old Barracks Museum, 101 Barrack Street Soldiers of the 17th Regiment of Infantry will drill and fire their muskets on the Parade ground of the Old Barracks Museum. Included in $5 admission with unlimited re-entry.

Trenton in 1775: Historic Tour Led by Dr. Sharon Ann Holt December 28, 2019  @  1:00 pm  –  2:00 pm Washington’s army and the Hessian occupation each brought 1500 men into Trenton, then a town of only 500 souls and two major streets. Thanks to Hunter Research, we now know a lot about those Trentonians. Trenton Friends Meeting invites you to walk the early streets with Penn State historian, Dr. Sharon Ann Holt, meeting Trenton’s artisans, entrepreneurs, families, Loyalists, political movers and shakers, and two signers of the Declaration of Independence. Dress warmly, and be prepared to walk about 10 blocks in total.

The Trouble with Trenton Puppet Show - 12:00 - 1:00 pm The Trouble with Trenton Puppet Show - 2:00 - 3:00 pm Warren Street Plaza, Trenton, North Warren and West Hanover Streets FREE A "mini" historical look at an amazing piece of our history presented with marionettes & rod puppets - and lots of help from the audience! Watch the battle unfold before your eyes, and see the action as it has never been seen before. Show includes live music, large puppets and props, and plenty of "revolting" action.

1st Battle of Trenton - 11:00 am N. Warren St. Battle Monument Park to Mill Hill Park FREE After the crossing of the Delaware River and marching to Trenton, the American rebel forces-exhausted, dressed in rags, ill from the cold and lack of sleep and decent food had accomplished the impossible by inflicting a crippling blow to the world's greatest British army. Follow the action from the symbolic first cannon shot fired at the Battle Monument to Mill Hill Park. Troops rally at the  Old Barracks Museum prior to marching off to meet at the Battle Monument at 11:00 am.

Civil War Flag Unveiling December 28, 2019  @  10:00 am  –  11:00 am Enjoy a gallery talk and ceremony unveiling the latest rotation of historic flags from the NJ Civil War Flag Collection, one of the largest collections of its kind in the nation. With flag historian David Martin and State Museum Curator Nicholas Ciotola.

Patriots Scrabble December 27, 2019  @  6:00 pm  –  8:00 pm Scrabble for all skill levels. Bonus points for playing “patriot,” “republic,” “declaration” or “constitution.” Penalties for playing “loyalist,” “monarchy,” “colonial” or “empire.”