Chris Sands, NJSSAR President

Edward Glidden, NJSSAR Color Guard Commander

Jay Hershey, Adjutant 

New Jersey Society
Sons of The American Revolution

Color Guard Update Spring 2025

There will be additions, modifications and deletions as the year progresses. 

Sat April 12

11 am

 Commemoration of the Battle of Bound Brook, 1777

This year marks the first year the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution will recognize the Battle of Boundbrook commemoration as a National Event. So please turn out for this one. (Note: A Battle of Bound Brook Flag Streamer will be available for participating chapters.). New Jersey now has seven National Level events in NJ: Trenton, Princeton, Bound Brook, Monmouth, Springfield, Chestnut Neck and Red Bank.

 The Battle of Bound Brook began as a foraging raid by a combined force of British and Hessian troops out of New Brunswick. On Sunday, April 13, 1777, a four-column force of 4,000 British Crown troops led by Cornwallis attacked a small American garrison of about 500. An advance column of Hessian Jaegers were pinned down by the Americans at the Old Stone Arch Bridge. The skirmish bought precious time for the bulk of the American force. When a second column of 1,000 British soldiers charged over the Queen’s Bridge to attack, the Colonials retreated, escaping the trap.

 Our event is part of a weekend full of reenactments remembering the battle. Both days will feature American and British troop reenactors in street battles, military drills and camp life with camp followers and sutlers (merchants selling goods) of that period.

1.     Arrive at 11 a.m. at the Old Presbyterian Cemetery, 402 East High St. Color Guard members are invited to lunch after the event. Event Host: Raritan Chapter, Frank McGonigle. Site Contact: Mary Swarbrick.

https://www.staatshouse.org/events/battle-of-bound-brook/battle-of-bound-brook-commemoration/#:~:text=Join%20us%20for%20an%20exciting,New%20Jersey's%20and%20America's%20history.

Saturday: Old Presbyterian Cemetery, 402 East High St, Bound Brook, 08805

National

SaturdayMay 17

10 am to 4 pm

NJSSAR Muster and History Day at East Jersey Old Town

Activities at this all-day event include an encampment of the NJSSAR Color Guard, which will practice marching and shooting skills and provide demonstrations for the public, all under the instruction of Commander Ed Glidden.The event includes other   Revolutionary and Civil War reenactors, vintage baseball players, live music, historic gardening and agriculture, stone carving, a 19th century print shop, home and hearth demonstrations, music, horse-drawn wagon rides, food trucks, children's crafts, and more.

1.      Arrive at 9 a.m. for 10 a.m. opening of the gates. Questions? Contact Ed Glidden.

East Jersey Old Town, 1050 River Road, Piscataway NJ

State

May 26

Memorial Day: All chapters are encouraged to participate in Memorial Day events in their own communities. Color Guard please note:  If you wear your uniform while participating, it counts as a National Color Guard event for the purposes of applying for a Color Guard Medal. This is true also for Independence Day and Veterans Day.

 Your local community

National (if in uniform)

Wed May ???

Fairview Cemetery for SAR, Sons of Union Veterans of Civil War

Fair View Cemetery in Red Bank, NJ. For Details contact Clark McCullough.

Fair Vew Cemetery, 456 Route 35, Red Bank, NJ, 07701

State

Sat

June 7

Noon

Lunch and Board of Managers Meeting, Battleship New Jersey

The second of our three yearly luncheons and business meetings. The business meeting of the NJSSAR Board of Managers is from 10 to 12 and is open to all members. It is followed immediately by a luncheon with posting of the colors by the NJSSAR Color Guard, awards and a guest speaker to be determined.

1.      If you are not attending the meeting, arrive at 11:30. Color Guard will post the colors. Lunch immediately follows with a speaker to be determined.

2.      Invitations to come.

Aboard the battleship USS New Jerey

State

TBD

Early June

Arrest of New Jersey Royal Governor William Franklin in 1776

Each summer, on a weekend still to be determined, the New Jersey Proprietary House in Perth Amboy stages a reenactment of the 1776 Arrest of Royal Governor William Franklin with the help of the NJSSAR Color Guard. The Proprietary House was built in 1762 and was the home of the last royal governor of New Jersey, William Franklin. It is the only colonial governor's mansion still standing in the U.S. The reenactment depicts the moment in June 1776 when Franklin was arrested by Colonial milita (played by members of tne NJSSAR Color Guard) and sent to Connecticut for imprisonment. Details for this year will be shared as they become available.

1.     Details will be announced as they become available

2.     Free parking is available on the Proprietary House parking lot.

Proprietary House, 149 Kearny Avenue, Perth Amboy, NJ

State

Sat June ???

TBD

South Jersey History Day, Camden County, NJ

The Gloucester Township Historic & Scenic Preservation Committee will hold its second South Jersey History Fair on the grounds of the historic Gabreil Daveis Tavern Museum House on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be historical groups and committees from seven South Jersey counties, Camden, Gloucester, Burlington, Salem, Cumberland, Atlantic, and Cape May, and a representative from Mercer County. According to the GTHSP, the tavern was built to accommodate travelers on the Irish road and watermen moving lumber and other products by way of the Timber Creek. In 1768, Sarah Daveis, the widow of Gabreil, declined to renew the tavern license and the building became home to some of the township’s most important Revolutionary War figures.

1.     Arrive at 9:30 a.m. to help man South Jersey Chapter Recruiting Table; a separate table where Color Guard Quartermasters Ed Glidden and Gary Beauregard will display 18th Century weapons; NJDAR also will have a table.

Gabreil Daveis Tavern Museum House Grounds,

500 3rd Ave, Glendora, NJ 08029

State

DOUBLE DUTY DAY

June  14

TIME

TBD

Battle of Springfield Wreath Laying and Sign Dedication

This is a National SAR Color Guard Event sponsored by the West Fields Chapter. This will mark the 244th anniversary of the Battle of Springfield, which occurred on June 23, 1780. Fought roughly two weeks after the neighboring battle of Connecticut Farms, The Battle of Springfield was the last Revolutionary War battle to be fought in the North. Just as they did at Connecticut Farms, the British and Hessians attempted to reach the Hobart Gap and force Gen. Washington into a vulnerable position where his army could be annihilated. After failing both times, opposed here by Nathanael Greene, the British command turned their fading hopes to a campaign in the South. Contact West Fields President Jay Hershey for more details. (Note: A Battle of Springfield Flag Streamer will be available for chapters who have not received one.)

1.     Meet at 6:30 pm in Battle Ground Cemetery, 39 Mountain Ave., Springfield, NJ, for posting of colors and the first wreath laying by the New Jersey DAR and its local Church and Cannon Chapter. There is free on-street parking and a municipal lot across the street.

An SAR ceremony laying a second wreath will immediately follow. The Color Guard will lead a procession to First Presbyterian at 210 Morris Ave.

Battleground Cemetery, 39 Mountain Ave.,  Springfield, Union County, NJ,

First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, 210 Morris Avenue

National

June 14

Noon

Flag Day – “The British Are Leaving” America250 DAR Event

The DAR has asked us to participate with the Jersey Blues in opening a special America250 event marking the day in 1777 that the British evacuated New Brunswick. The ceremony will take place at Buccleuch Mansion, a colonial-era house occupied by the British for nine months during the Revolutionary War and now maintained by the Jersey Blue Chapter of the DAR. It has been proposed that NJSSAR Color Guard will join with members of the Jersey Blues re-enactor group for the ceremony.

 There will be a procession down a short private drive to the Mansion.  The opening ceremonies will be on the porch. There will be refreshments.  

The City of New Brunswick has reserved the entire park for us for that day. Event organizer Karen Stroever says, “We hope you will want to view the Mansion and the exhibits after the opening ceremonies, but you would be free to go after that.”

1. Meet at noon, Buccleuch Park. Park near the pavilion closest to the Mansion.

Bucchleuch Mantion

200 College Avenue, Buccleuch Park, New Brunswick, NJ08901

National

Saturday

June 21

TIME TBD

Rededication of Caldwell Monument

The NJSSAR proudly contributed to the restoration of this monument in downtown Elizabeth in the cemetery of historic First Presbyterian church honoring “The Fighting Parson” Rev. James Caldwell and his wife, the martyred Hannah Caldwell. Rev. Caldwell was known for his sermons from the pulpit of First Presbyterian Church encouraging independence, and for traveling the county recruiting New Jersey men to join in the fight. In 1780, deciding that Elizabeth was no longer safe for his family, he moved his wife and children into the hills at Connecticut Farms, where on June 7, 1780, Hannah Caldwell was shot and killed during the Battle of Connecticut Farms.

First Presbyterian Church, Broadway,  Elizabeth, NJ

State

DATE TBD but likely ThursJune 26

Time TBD

Wreath Laying for The Battle of The Short Hills

This is another event for which we seek National Level SAR status, so attendance is important. This battle, sometimes mistakenly referred to as the "Battle of Short Hills", occurred June 26, 1777. British, Hessian and American troops engaged in a fight that began in the morning in Woodbridge and spread in the afternoon to Edison, Metuchen and Plainfield, in an area referred to as "the Short Hills." The attack failed when Washington and his combined force of Continentals and New Jersey Militia retreated to the Watchung Mountains. Meanwhile, the retreating British and Hessian armies marched through Scotch Plains and West Fields in a raid that pillaged numerous farmhouses in both communities and lasted into the next day. At our first commemoration, on June 27, 2023, Color Guard posted the colors and presented a wreath. Members of the New Jersey DAR, the Edison mayor’s chief of staff and heads of several historical societies attended. For details contact Jay Hershey.

1.     Arrive at ?? p.m. at Oak Tree Pond Historic Park to prepare posting the colors and a wreath ceremony. Dedication of a historic sign is also possible.

2.     Free parking in the lot of the TD Bank, 2064 Oak Tree Road, 08820. 

Oak Tree Pond Historic Park, 1165 New Dover Road, Edison, NJ, 08820.

Note: Parking is in the lot of the TD Bank, 2064 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ, 08820.

State

Sat Jun 28

Wreath Laying for Battle of Monmouth and von Steuben

This is a National SAR Color Guard Event sponsored by the Monmouth Chapter. SAR Color Guard members from multiple states can be expected. The wreath laying coincides with a weekend-long encampment by reenactors who in years past have staged several reenactments of the battle, fought on June 28, 1778. The NJSSAR Color Guard honor both the battle and General Von Steuben, the Drillmaster of Valley Forge, without whose disciplined instruction the Continental Army might have fared poorly indeed. Von Steuben’s efforts at Valley Forge are said to have first shown results on a major scale here. For event details contact Monmouth President Jake Rue.

1.     Arrive by 11 a.m. to prepare for the ceremony at noon. Color Guard will present a wreath at the Von Steuben memorial. Speakers TBD. 

2.     Monmouth Chapter members should arrive by 10 a.m. to help set up and man an SAR Recruiting table next to the Visitor’s Center. It will start at 10:30 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. You are invited to participate with them.

Monmouth Battlefield State Park, 20 NJ-33 Business, Manalapan Township, NJ  

National