A Skirmish & a War Memorial

Today in New Jersey history:

May 30, 1813: A British landing party reportedly skirmished with militiamen near Leesburg in Cumberland County.

May 30, 1924: A sixty-five-foot obelisk was dedicated to commemorate Bergen County’s Camp Merritt, the three million troops who passed through there during World War I and, most importantly, the fifteen officers, four nurses, 558 enlisted men, four nurses and one civilian who died, mostly from influenza, while serving their county there. New Jersey Governor George S. Silzer presided over the ceremony and General Pershing was the guest of honor. Twenty thousand spectators, including the widow of Civil War Major General Wesley Merritt, for whom the camp was named, attended the dedication.