By Gina Turdo
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – The Civil War and its events have been reiterated to students their entire life inside the classroom. What may not have been taught through the history textbooks is New Jersey’s direct involvement in the war. For students at Camden County College, that opportunity is approaching this month.
Dr. William Gillette, a history professor at Rutgers New Brunswick and author of Jersey Blue: Civil War Politics in New Jersey, 1854-1865, will be coming to CCC to speak about New Jersey’s contributions to the war.
Dr. John Pesda, the director of the Center for Civic Leadership and Responsibility at CCC, served on the New Jersey Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Committee with Gillette and is familiar with Jersey Blue and his knowledge and expertise on New Jersey and the Civil War.
“Students can benefit in learning more about the role of their state in the war, and also experiencing a lecture by a university professor,” explained Pesda. “While many people know about the Civil War, few are aware of the role played by New Jersey.”
Gillette has also written The Right to Vote: Politics and the Passage of the Fifteenth Amendment and Retreat from Reconstruction, 1869-1879. He is associated with the New Jersey Historical Society and Advocates for New Jersey History. Gillette has been at Rutgers University since 1967 and regularly teaches Development of US II, Civil War and Reconstruction, New Jersey History, and Seminar: History of New Jersey since 1801.
The lecture will be 7 p.m. Nov. 16 in the Civic Hall in the Connector Building on the Blackwood campus.