The Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission and the Cornelius Low House Museum will present a free program titled "Meet the Historians" at 1 p.m. on June 6 at the museum, 1255 River Road, Piscataway.
The event, which will allow visitors to tour the museum’s exhibit "Our Long Endurance: The Story of New Jersey in the Civil War," also will provide the opportunity for participants to speak one-on-one with three Civil War historians — Dr. David Martin, John W. Kuhl and Lavada Nahon — about the war and the role that New Jersey played in the conflict.
David Martin has written numerous books on the Civil War and New Jersey troops. Visitors at the museum event will be invited to talk to him about the various New Jersey regiments and the campaigns in which they participated. Martin also will have information about regimental flags, women who served as nurses and the daily life of the average soldier.
John Kuhl will share approximately 3,000 images of New Jersey Civil War soldiers. He also will make available a set of lists providing the basic service record of New Jersey soldiers and sailors during the war. Visitors will be able to consult the documents to find names of ancestors. Kuhl is an expert on the weapons used in the war and the men from New Jersey who served during the conflict. Visitors may bring in Civil War artifacts to discuss with the historian.
Lavada Nahon specializes in 18th- and 19th-century American food and has been involved in food history work for more than five years. She will discuss battlefield food, its preparation, and how foraging often played a roll in the soldiers’ diet.
The program is funded in part by the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of cultural affairs in the Department of State.
For more information and to register, call the museum at (732) 745-4177. Individuals with hearing impairments may call (732) 745-3888, or 711 via the New Jersey Relay System.