The Prince Rodgers Foundation with the Somerset Patriots, Somerset County Historical Society and Wallace House & Old Dutch Parsonage State Historic Sites shares the story of the military service of the Prince Rodgers family and African Americans of New Jersey in the Armed Forces of the United States in celebration of the 250th Birthday of the U.S. Army in June 2025.

The Prince Rodgers Foundation is steward of the Prince Rodgers Cemetery, an African American family cemetery on Foothill Road in Bridgewater. The Prince Rodgers Foundation will introduce the life of Prince Rodgers, a leading Black citizen of Somerville and Bridgewater in the nineteenth century, and the generations of service of the Prince Rodgers family in the Armed Forces of the United States.

Begin at the origins of the U.S. Army 250 years ago in the Revolutionary War. Wallace House & Old Dutch Parsonage Historic Sites, George Washington’s winter headquarters and historic home of the founder and first president of Rutgers in Somerville, with the Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage Association presents Oh Freedom! Blacks on the Battlefront and in the Aftermath of the Revolutionary War in New Jersey, a traveling exhibit from New Jersey State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites.

Continue through the struggle for freedom and the Civil War. Somerset County Historical Society introduces African American life and citizenship in Somerset County in the 1800s including the years of the life of Prince Rodgers. A guide from Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission honors the soldiers of the U.S. Colored Troops buried in Somerville’s New Cemetery.

Enter World War I with the story of the “Harlem Hellfighters,” a Black unit of the American Expeditionary Forces including a descendant of Prince Rodgers. The “Black Rattlers” or “Men of Bronze” of the 369th Infantry Regiment were honored by their French allies and feared by their German adversaries.

The Somerset Patriots offer a special feature on the New York Black Yankees, a baseball team of the historic Negro Leagues, and introduce their community initiative honoring the Black Yankees alongside Prince Rodgers and the African American heritage of Somerset County.

The Prince Rodgers Walk remembering African American soldiers of the Civil War begins at 10 a.m., visiting the graves of U.S. Colored Troops of the Civil War and following in the footsteps of Prince Rodgers. The walk covers about 3 miles and takes about 1 ½ hours.

Children and adults are invited to color or write cards of appreciation to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces for delivery to New Jersey Veterans Memorial Homes in honor of the 250th Birthday of the U.S. Army & Armed Forces.

? Revolution NJ is New Jersey’s official observance of the 250th anniversaries of New Jersey’s first Constitution July 2, 2026 and the American Revolution in New Jersey from 2024 – 2033.