WESTFIELD — “The Inclusive History of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail — Westfield, NJ” will be offered on Tuesday, March 26, from 3 to 5 p.m., as a free, public, hybrid presentation. The program will take place in person at the Reeve History and Cultural Resource Center, located at 314 Mountain Avenue, Westfield, as well as virtually. An RSVP is required.
From August 2023 to March 2024, the Westfield Historical Society embarked on a journey to research Westfield’s full relationship to the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail during the time of the march to Yorktown, Va., in August 1781.
The research focused on uncovering lesser-known narratives about the people who inhabited Westfield at the time, structures which existed and the roads that were traversed by “Continental Army General Benjamin Lincoln’s Left Column with its mass of an estimated 1,800 troops, multiple wagons, Alexander Hamilton’s Battalion of Light Infantry, the New Jersey Regiments, the integrated Rhode Island Regiment, and some women and children,” according to the research produced by Robert A. Selig, Ph.D.
The presentation will be given by researchers Dr. Selig, historical consultant for the National Washington- Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association; Claire Garland, president, Sand Hill Indian Historical Association; Susannah Mary Chewning, Ph.D., senior professor of English at Union College; Sean Dineen, adjunct professor of history at Kean University, and Kendall Robertson, a Fulbright Scholar, who were led by Robert Forloney, a cultural institution consultant and Johns Hopkins University adjunct faculty for museums and society.
They will share their research of the Continental Army, Indigenous people, African-Americans (enslaved and free), local militia and inhabitants of the West Fields during the August 29, 1781 troop march. The presentation is designed to help provide an inclusive illustration that also will inform attendees about the full context of participants in and witnesses to this historic event.
“This is the first time, for the Trail in New Jersey, such a research project has been done that ties so many elements together and gives a scholarly foundation to Westfield’s identity as a Trail Town,” according to Julie Diddell, Westfield Historical Society member, grant writer and project manager, and Brian Remite, Westfield Historical Society president.
The research is meant to be used by the Westfield Historical Society and others to develop future educational programs, pamphlets and publications, commemorations honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, exhibits, memorials, markers and signage in Westfield.
The project is made possible by a FY 2024 Project Grant from the New Jersey Department of State, New Jersey Historical Commission.
Supporting the researchers were Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle and the Town of Westfield; New Jersey State Senator Jon Bramnick; the National Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association; the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Westfield; the West Fields Chapter Sons of the American Revolution; the Westfield Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution; Robert Wendel, Westfield Historical Society; Catherine Paretti, vice chair for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route New Jersey; and the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route New Jersey.
The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail is a unit of the National Park Service. It is a 680-mile, landand- water corridor that begins in Newport, R.I., and passes through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/waro.
For more information, including the Zoom link or to make a reservation to attend, email westfieldhistoricalsociety@gmail.com or call (908) 654-1794.
