Presentation: “The New Jersey Militia in the War for Independence” | Flemington

Join historian John Dwyer on Wednesday July 9th 2025 7:00 PM at the Hunterdon County Library on Route 12 in Flemington. Free of charge, but you must call to register at 908-788-1434.

On April 19, 1775 a company of Colonial Militia stood fast against a battalion of British Regulars on the green at Lexington, Massachusetts to prevent their weapons and supplies from being seized. No one knows who fired the first shot, but it was the beginning of the War for American Independence. That shot, and the battles that followed at Concord and Bunker Hill led to other the colonies organizing militia units to fight the British. New Jersey on May 3, 1775, was one of the first to do so.

This program will talk about the role the New Jersey militia played in the Revolutionary War: what they wore, what they carried, how they fought, what they ate, what they were paid and what they did to support Washington’s Army.

It is a live program where the items and weapons carried and used by the NJ Militia will be shown and passed around so the audience can see and feel the things these colonials used. It will include topics about training, pay, Tories in New Jersey, the British raid on Flemington, stopping the London Trade, and American privateers. The program runs 60-90 minutes depending upon audience interest and questions.

John Dwyer is a retired United States Army Colonel with more than 37 years of service. He is a Jersey native and currently makes his home with his wife of more than 50 years in Clinton Township, NJ. He is a military historian with extensive collections of soldier gear and equipment from both the Revolutionary War period as well as World War Two. He also collects and displays WW2 Army Jeeps.

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