(SOMERVILLE, NJ) -- On Saturday, July 22, a fun-filled day will bring Revolutionary War history to life in downtown Somerville. The second annual "History on the Green" will be held on the historic Courthouse Green on Main Street, between North Bridge and Grove streets, from 10:00am to 4:00pm. During this family-friendly living history event, visitors will have an opportunity to explore a pop-up Revolutionary War encampment, interact with George Washington, play with colonial toys and games, watch canon and musket demos, and much more!
This year’s program will feature a procession and concert by the internationally renowned Massachusetts Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums. The band will start lining up at 2:00pm in front of the historic Wallace House, which served as Washington’s winter headquarters between 1778-1779. At 2:30pm, the Fife & Drum Corps will parade down Main Street to the historic Courthouse, where they will perform a finale concert with music from the Revolutionary War era around 3:00pm.
“We are thrilled to have the amazing Massachusetts Middlesex County Volunteers Fife and Drum Corps perform for us at this year’s History on the Green event,” said Commissioner Director Shanel Y. Robinson. “Somerset County is proud of our rich heritage and our designations as both a Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area and part of the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail.”
Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeaur, General Comte de Rochambeau, led French troops through Rocky Hill, Franklin, Millstone, Manville, Bridgewater, and Bernards as they joined the Continental Army in the fight for independence. General Washington served as the commander of the allied armies, while General Rochambeau had the military expertise to play a vital role in strategic planning. In fact, Rochambeau was instrumental in the victory achieved in Yorktown, Va., in 1781, where British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army to General Washington.
“History on the Green” is being sponsored by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the New Jersey Historical Commission, in collaboration with the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association (W3R-NJ).
