Revolutionary War to pay Edison Sept. visit

EDISON — Residents will be able to travel back to the late 1700s during a two-day Revolutionary War re-enactment slated for Sept. 11 and Sept. 12.

St. James Episcopal Church is co-sponsoring the event with Mayor George A. Spadoro and the Township Council.

The event will feature the battle of Piscataqua, encampment grounds, artillery and infantry demonstrations, a Colonial marketplace, period church services and music by singer Linda Russell.

It will be held behind the church, at 2136 Woodbridge Ave., in the township’s Piscatawaytown section.

Gen. George Washington, played by William Sommerfield, will make an appearance on Sept. 12. Washington will "take breakfast" and attend church services on the grounds.

The Rev. Abraham Beech, the church’s pastor during the war, was forced to close the church, part of the Church of England, when a Colonial soldier could not guarantee the pastor’s safety if he continued to pray for the king, according to a pamphlet on the event.

Once closed, the church was used as a hospital and barracks for the British.

Woodbridge Avenue, then known as Post Road, was the site of seven battles from February to May in 1777, according to the pamphlet.

Both American and British soldiers are buried in front of the church in the Piscatawaytown burial ground, which dates back to 1664.

The event is free.

Free parking and bus transportation from Meadow Road will be provided.

For the schedule of events, visit www.edisonnj.org/events/1777/war.asp.