November Author Program at the NJ State Library Commemorates the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War

When National Park Service rangers at the Civil War battleground in Manassas, Virginia, fired a cannon shot on Jan. 1 to welcome in the New Year, they also kicked-off the start of a four-year commemoration of the Civil War's 150th anniversary. As part of the commemoration, the New Jersey State Library will present a program by author/historian Joseph G. Bilby based on his book New Jersey Goes to War: Biographies of 150 New Jerseyans Caught up in the Struggle of Civil War. The book is the first publication of the New Jersey Sesquicentennial Commission. The program will take place in the 2nd Level Reading Room of the State Library on Thursday, November 17, from noon to 1 p.m.

Bilby, the assistant curator of the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey, assembled a team of 25 contributors to compile this volume, which provides overviews of 150 figures associated with New Jersey’s Civil War story, and includes writings on soldiers, civilians, men, women, heroes, scoundrels – and a heroic horse.

Born in Newark, NJ, Bilby received his BA and MA degrees in history from Seton Hall University and served as a lieutenant with the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. He is a member of the Irish Brigade Association, the North-South Skirmish Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America. He is the author of over 200 articles on history and outdoor subjects and has served as a consultant for several television programs on the Civil War. He is a columnist for The Civil War News; a contributing editor for Military Images Magazine, and is the author of three books, including Remember Fontenoy: The 69th New York and the Irish Brigade in the Civil War, and was a contributor to A History of the Irish Brigade, an anthology.

Those planning to attend the program should RSVP to cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.