The Mullica Hill library has received a $9,500 grant from the state library that commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War and the role Gloucester County played in the conflict.
The county is home to the Red Bank Battlefield in National Park, where a small contingent of Continental Army troops stationed at Fort Mercer managed to hold the line against the British on Oct. 22, 1777. The result gave the Patriot cause a morale boost.
According to adult services librarian, Beth DeGeorge, the grant will fund a year-long recognition of the war at the township branch of the county library system. Events will include programs for all ages that will bring to life Colonial history and emphasize the heritage and community of the county.
The first of the events will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 12, with a presentation given by author John Rees, a historian and independent researcher who has spent the last 30 years documenting the lives of the common soldiers who served in the war.
His works focus on battle studies, Army food and the soldier’s burden, army wagons and
watercraft, campaign shelters, campaign shelters, Continental Army conscription and women who fought in the conflict.
“John has authored over 200 articles and two books,” noted DeGeorge.
She cited “They Were Good Soldiers: African Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775-1783” and “Don Troiani’s Black Soldiers in America’s Wars, 1754-1865.” Rees will talk about the two books and several famous paintings depicting the Revolutionary War, including the famed “Crossing of the Delaware” by George Washington.
Registration is required online at the GCSL website. More events focusing on the war will be announced in the coming weeks.
