Discover the role of your town in the most significant event in American history – the great Civil War that determined whether our country would survive as a free and united nation Click on pages to enlarge Discover Your Community’s Civil War Heritage Review - Robert J. Fridlington Professor Emeritus, Department of History, Kean University Fort Wagner, SC, Cranford NJ resident John R Myrick fought here and detailed in “Discover Your Community’s Civil War Heritage” New Jersey Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee is a subcommittee of New Jersey Civil War Heritage Assn, PO Box 442, Wood-Ridge, NJ 07075 Info@njcivilwar150.org "This book is beautifully written, scholarly and tightly  organized. It also serves as a handbook for using a  computer to perform historical research. I am mightily  impressed, and I am sure others will be, too." This book from New Jersey Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee  provides important research assistance and guidance to local historians  and genealogists.  Discover Your Community's Civil War Heritage, by Steven D. Glazer, is the  Committee’s latest publication. The 62-page, 8 1/2-by-11-inch-format book serves as a comprehensive and up-to-date manual for those wishing to research the  stories of their own community’s Civil War veterans. It will appeal to a wide range of readers, including local historians, educators, genealogists, grant writers and  journalists. After asking local historians how many Civil War veterans had lived in Cranford  Township (established in 1871), and receiving only one or two names in response, Glazer began to investigate the subject himself. He eventually came up with over eighty Cranford residents, many of them local officials, who had fought in the war or otherwise had a material connection to the momentous events of the era. He  discovered that Cranford was even home to a former Confederate colonel, who  lived there with his family while he designed the foundation and pedestal for the  Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Other Cranford residents had interesting  connections with Abraham Lincoln; one helped foil the first assassination plot  against Lincoln, while another was present in Ford’s Theatre the night the  president was fatally shot. Uncovering the deeds of New Jerseyans of the Civil War era provides a way to  honor their memory as well as establish local connections to the transformative  national events of 150 years ago. Among many other positive results, the process of identifying and studying a town’s Civil War heritage can expand interest in local history, promote heritage tourism, support historic preservation efforts and incorporate Civil War connections into Veterans Day and Memorial Day celebrations. This unique guide, conveniently produced in ring-binder format for easier use, details the research approaches and numerous  historical sources the author employed, with a particular emphasis on leveraging the power of the Internet. And unlike any other  available publications, this one provides a clear road map for discovering any New Jersey town’s Civil War heritage, including the  identity of veterans who lived there. It is also an indispensable tool for individuals exploring their family’s Civil War connections.  Although specific to the Garden State, the book’s instructions and sources are readily applicable elsewhere.