Bill > SCR58

Introduced Session

This concurrent resolution urges the New Jersey State Park Service to establish a visitor's center at Princeton Battlefield State Park. Princeton Battlefield State Park preserves a critically important piece of American and New Jersey history. Important leaders in the early history of the United States of America, including General George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Charles Willson Peale, and Dr. Benjamin Rush, were present at the Princeton Battlefield. It was also the hallowed ground where several important military leaders gave their lives, notably, General Hugh Mercer of Virginia, Colonel John Haslet of Delaware and Captain William Shippin of Pennsylvania, the first United States Marine to fall in land combat. The Battle of Princeton ended ten long days of battle between the Continental Army, the hired Germanic auxiliary troops, and the British military forces, beginning with the famous Christmas Day crossing of the Delaware River by General George Washington and his Continental Army. Victory for the Continental Army at the Battle of Princeton was a major turning point in the war for America's independence. Preserving the Princeton Battlefield is crucial. The site memorializes the sacrifice of those who defended the United States in its first war, and is a tribute to those who still defend the nation almost 250 years later. The battlefield's status as a State Park is not enough. Establishing a visitor's center will highlight its importance in New Jersey and in American history by providing a permanent place in which visitors can learn about the Battle of Princeton and the American Revolutionary War. Without a visitor's center to welcome and educate the public, the physical site of the Princeton Battlefield is at risk and its story could become lost. Private donations would help the State Park Service in developing the best possible visitor's center.

Committee Categories

Andrew Zwicker (D)*, 

Reported from Senate Committee, 2nd Reading (on 03/04/2024)

Official Document