UNION, NJ – New Jersey’s role in the American Civil War will be examined on Saturday morning, October 29, in a free lecture entitled “New Jersey Goes to War” by noted historian Joseph G. Bilby at Liberty Hall Museum. Sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs in the Department of Parks and Community Renewal, the lecture will begin at 9:30 a.m. in The Carriage House at Liberty Hall, 1003 Morris Avenue, Union (across the street from Kean University).
“This lecture is the first in a series of programs planned to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War,” said Freeholder Chairman Deborah Scanlon. “And the audience will have the opportunity to see the grounds of historic Liberty Hall, built in 1772 by William Livingston, New Jersey’s first elected governor.”
Joseph G. Bilby is a prolific writer, researcher and lecturer. He edited the book “New Jersey Goes to War: Biographies of 150 New Jerseyans Caught Up in the Struggle of the Civil War,” an official publication of the New Jersey Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee. A Vietnam War veteran, Bilby earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in history from Seton Hall University. Among his Civil War-related books are “Forgotten Warriors: New Jersey’s African American Soldiers in the Civil War,” “Remember You Are Jerseymen: A Military History of Jersey’s Troops in the Civil War,” and “Remember Fontenoy: The 69th New York and the Irish Brigade in the Civil War.”
This free event is funded in part by the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. For a program brochure and/or information contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs at 908-558-2550; NJ Relay users 711; visit the website www.ucnj.org/cultural or email:culturalinfo@ucnj.org .
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