The Forgotten War Along the Jersey Shore: New Jersey and the War of 1812 Lecture

The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County will present “The Forgotten War Along the Jersey Shore: New Jersey and the War of 1812”,  a rescheduled PowerPoint lecture by Robert L. Silverman, educator, lecturer and historical reenactor, on Sunday, February 3, 2013 at 1 PM. Admission is $5.00 for members, $7.00 for non-members. 

Though not as embedded in the country’s consciousness as The American Revolution or the Civil War, the War of 1812 had vital consequences for our young nation.

British attacks on American shipping and the impressment of its seamen were major causes of the war.  The general public regarded it as a “second war of independence” from Britain.  New Jersey provided over 6,000 troops for the nation’s land campaigns, but the state’s prominence in the war rested upon the naval battles that took place along its Atlantic coast.  Mr. Silverman will accompany his illustrated show with a vivid retelling of the most absorbing of these battles.

Although there were a minority of Jews at the time, a few individuals stand out;  Judah Touro, businessman and philanthropist, privateer  Jean Lafitte, and Uriah P Levy, who in later years was to become the first Jewish Commodore in the U. S. Navy and whose nephew L . Napoleon Levy was a prominent Monmouth County resident.

The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County is located at 310 Mounts Corner Drive, Freehold, Township   It is a 501(c)3) not-for-profit organization and is handicapped accessible. For more information call 732-252-6990 or visit www.jhmomc.org.