MANALAPAN, NJ (PIX11) – On the hallowed grounds of Monmouth Battlefield State Park, re-enactor Jesse Nokes commemorates the service and sacrifice of General Washington’s Continental Army.

“My favorite thing about being here is that I get to work where the country was founded,” Nokes said. “The thing about history is that we see black and white photographs, we see pictures, and it’s not history. History is colorful. History comes alive.”

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Without their sacrifices nearly 250 years ago, the United States may never have existed.

In the shadow of this battlefield, New Jersey on Friday expanded its efforts to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. DevrimNJ offer.

With our nation’s sesquicentennial on July 4, 2026 still just over a year and a half away, New Jersey plans to commemorate this historic event through ceremonies, education and reenactment programs, and $25 million for the rehabilitation of ten Revolutionary Battle sites statewide.

“We have a great story to tell here,” said Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ); “the most important story of any American State.”

The Battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Monmouth—each in their own way—marked the turning point of the American Revolution. But Murphy says New Jersey lags behind states like Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in terms of the notoriety of the Revolution.

“We should be at least at the same level, if not where people are,” Murphy said.

State leaders hope this celebration will spark a desire to learn more about the American Revolution and evoke a newfound sense of American pride.

“If you remember those of us who remember the bicentennial, it was the same then,” said Battlefield historian Michael Timpanaro. “As we got closer, people began to understand the importance and history of the country and the nation as a whole, they began to want to return to some places, to revisit some forgotten places. Now here I predict the same for the 250th half-fifth.”

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