07/08/2026
We have had a number of requests for the script from the July 5th Commemoration program. So here it is.
DRAFT OF THE
SCRIPT FOR THE PAULSBORO REVOLUTION 250 EVENT
JULY 5, 2026
FORT BILLINGSPORT PARK
WELCOME AND GREETING
Good morning and welcome to the Borough of Paulsboro.
My name is Walter Quint. I have the privilege and honor of chairing the Paulsboro Revolution 250 Committee.
12 score, ten years and one day ago our father’s brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
On that July 4th – 250 years ago a declaration was signed stating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
On that day, Benjamin Franklin observed a carving of the sun that was half above the horizon. He told those gathered that the sun reminded him of our new nation. He pondered – “Is the sun rising or setting.”
8 score and three years ago, President Lincoln gave a brief address in Gettysburg. At that time, he asked, “If a nation so conceived could long endure.”
Today, we answer Mr. Franklin’s question with a resounding “Rising” and Mr. Lincoln’s question with a very grateful “Yes.”
There had been unrest in the 13 British Colonies of America for many years.
Colonists had been meeting in Philadelphia to seek solutions to what was believed to be unfair and unreasonable actions by the Monarchy.
After prolonged and contentious debate, the 56 Founding Fathers approved a declaration that dissolved the ties that bound the colonies to Britain.
Immediately following the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers approved the purchase of 96 acres of land in Billingsport – now part of Paulsboro. The land became the site of Fort Billingsport. It would protect a very effective blockade of the Delaware River.
Today we gather on the land that became the first federal land purchase when Margarett Paul sold it to the 13 United Colonies.
Later this morning, we will acknowledge that the Lenni Lenape people have been the caretakers of this land for more than 120 score years.
It is now my privilege to introduce the Master of Ceremonies for this Commemoration and Educational program Paulsboro High School Class of 1972 and Inductee into the Paulsboro High School Hall of Distinguished Alumni - New Jersey State Senator John J. Burzichelli.
INTRODUCTION OF DIGNITARIES AND PRESENTATION PROCLAIMATIONS AND RESOLUTIONS
Senator John Burzichelli will make introductions of dignitaries
Jennifer Maden – Chairperson Paulsboro Historic Preservation Commission
Paulsboro Mayor John Giovannittee
County Commissioners – Director DiMarco
Deputy Director Jefferson
New Jersey Senator John J. Burzichelli
Senator Andy Kim – Sent a Resolution
Others to be announced
Senator Burzichelli will introduce Paulsboro Revolution 250 committee members to accept the resolutions
Sandy Birch
Jim Milsted
Eileen Gattuso
SCRIPT FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF THE INVOCATION
Master of Ceremonies: Please welcome Kathy Knight, Vice Chairperson of the Paulsboro Revolution 250 Committee, to the stage to introduce the invocation with a historical perspective.
Kathy Knight:
Religion in Colonial America was dominated by Christianity. Christian denominations included Anglicans, Quakers, Baptists, Catholics, Congregationalists, Lutherans, and Methodists. Judaism as well as African spiritualism helped to create a rich tapestry of religious beliefs.
In 1534, King Henry VIII declared the Church of England as the official state religion. It was the original Anglican Church. Its governance is episcopal, meaning, led by bishops. After the American Revolution, Anglicans in the United States could no longer swear allegiance to the English monarch so they established an independent church in order to maintain the Anglican traditions. The Episcopal Church is the American branch of Anglicanism. It emphasizes inclusivity and a democratic governance.
Many who came to the British Colonies in America were seeking to establish religious communities in which they could worship freely. They made religion the priority and the peoples’ lives revolved around it.
In 1681, the wealthy Quaker William Penn established Pennsylvania which welcomed people of diverse faiths as well as Native Americans. Unlike other colonies, Pennsylvania did not impose strict religious laws, but the Quaker interpretation of Christianity did inform its legal code. Pennsylvania was one of the first colonies to condemn slavery, mistreatment of Native Americans, and was also the first to pass a law mandating religious toleration and mutual respect between those of different faiths.
Please welcome Rev. Bradley – St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Rev. Day – St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Rev. Dr. Dixon -2nd Baptist Church and Gloria and Robert Horvay – Mickleton Friends Meeting to present the invocation with a historical perspective.
INVOCATION SCRIPT – REV CHRISTINE DAY
What is today – the United Methodist Church began in 1739 in London England when Anglican priest John Wesley started his evangelical preaching mission, not in churches, but out in the open air. When John Wesley preached out of doors, he reached people who felt excluded from the church. Because of his preaching many people joined his movement, they participated in worship, classes, societies and in the ministries of the movement.
In the First Great Awakening, a religious revival movement in the 1740’s, Methodist preacher George Whitfield traveled up and down the colonies preaching to large crowds. And as the name suggests many people experienced a rebirth in their faith.
The Methodist movement started as an evangelical revival movement within the Church of England. Methodism is guided by the need for repentance of sin and then God’s gracious love of forgiveness. The focus of the church is living a life of Christian holiness, a life that is centered on loving God, loving neighbor and loving self.
The sources for the church’s teaching are based on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral – first and primary is Scripture, both Old and New Testaments are the foundation for all that we believe. Then Tradition – traditions and practices that have been handed down in the universal church help to inform our
Christian experience. Then Reason – reason does not produce faith, but it aids in understanding. And finally Experience – an individual’s personal experience is the proof of faith.
Just as a table or chair are secure on 4 legs – so too our faith is secured and nurtured on the 4 solid legs of the Quadrilateral.
The Methodist church was the first denomination to organize nationally in 1784. In 1789 the Bishops Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury of the Methodist church sent a letter to George Washington on his inauguration. The letter reads in part –
We the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, humbly beg leave in the name of our Society collectively in these United States, to express to you the warm feelings of our hearts, and our sincere congratulations on your appointment to the Presidentship of these States.
While the Methodist church here in Paulsboro, St. Paul’s was not founded until 1820 the congregation grew out of what is now the Zion United Methodist church in East Greenwich. The Methodist church in East Greenwich, Mount Royal started in 1774.
Script for Paulsboro 250 Invocation
Gloria and Robert Horvay
As we have heard this morning, the Quaker, William Penn, established Pennsylvania in 1681. However, Quakers across the river, here in what was then known as West Jersey, date back six years earlier to 1675, when Quaker John Fenwick established the first English-speaking settlement in what is now Salem. A few short years later, in 1683, Friend Henry Wood arrived in what is now Woodbury. Quakers settled across the whole of West Jersey, initially meeting for worship in Friends’ homes. Eventually meetinghouses were built in Salem, Greenwich, Woodbury, and Seaville. By 1776, there were 10 meetings in West Jersey. Somewhat later, fine brick meetinghouses were also built in Mickleton, Mullica Hill and Woodstown.
Quakers were, and remain today, tolerant of all races and religions. This springs from our belief that there is “that of God” in each person. We believe that every person can experience the Divine directly with no intermediary such as a minister, priest, or rabbi. This
experience leads us to faithful living through our testimonies, which can be remembered by the acronym SPICES – simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship. Our faith encourages our activism and discourages our taking of oaths. More information is at our table today.
In our worship we wait in silence, listening for the still, small voice within us. This listening is often guided by queries, or questions, that we ask ourselves about how faithfully we are living. As we know, freedom of religion was a major reason why Europeans came to America. Let us now, in the Quaker manner, reflect on this question: How has freedom of religion made a difference in my life? Please feel welcome to discuss this query at our tables.
To reiterate, let us all take a moment now to inwardly consider this query:
How has freedom of religion made a difference in my life?
SCRIPT – INVOCATION – REV BRADLEY
Good morning! I am the rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Clarksboro, New Jersey, just 3 miles from here. Prior to 1770, travelling preachers, predominantly ordained by the Church of England, gave sermons in various colonist’s homes.
In 1765 the first Anglican service was held in a private home in Mantua Creek, now known as Berkeley. In 1766 Nathaniel Evans, a missionary, was sent by the Anglican Church of England’s “Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.” Nathaniel Evans wrote to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel that “the people of Gloucester received him with great marks of kindness and satisfaction and behaved with civility and respect. They were thankful to the Society for sending a minister among them, never having had one before.” Nathaniel died less than 2 years after he arrived.
St. Peter’s Church was founded and chartered by the Church of England on November 9, 1770. It was the last of 20 Anglican parishes founded in New Jersey prior to the “Great Rebellion,” (the American Revolutionary War). Twenty days later, the deed for the purchase of one-half acre of land for the purpose of building a church and a burial ground was recorded in the church’s Vestry book. The land was purchased from Uriah Paul for six pounds, and deeded to Edward Evans and eleven other “managers.”
There is no existing picture of what the new chapel in Berkeley looked like. Only clergy from the Church of England were allowed to preach in this church. Only the subscribers of the church were permitted burials in the Burying Ground. The little chapel in Berkeley was now exclusively an Anglican Church of England, two of the Managers were Dr. Bodo Otto, Jr. and Gabriel D. Vibber. They helped manage the infant church.
Dr. Bodo Otto, Jr. was assigned the responsibility to “inspect the morals and abilities of such persons as shall desire to preach in said Church and to approve or disapprove of them as he shall see fit.” During the Revolutionary War, Dr. Bodo Otto, Jr. with his father and brother, served in the Continental Army as surgeons spending the winter at Valley Forge with General George Washington. Dr. Otto, Jr. served until 1781.
The Rev. Robert Blackwell arrived at St. Peter’s in November of 1773. Rev. Blackwell was sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to lead St. Peter’s. Rev. Blackwell studied medicine and divinity at Princeton University, graduating in 1768. Rev. Blackwell went to England to receive Holy Orders and ordination, returning to New Jersey in November, 1773.
Rev. Blackwell was named as a Manager and Clerk to fill the vacancy left by Edward Evans at St. Peter’s. Rev. Blackwell served the church at Berkeley for six years. During the Revolutionary War he served as both Chaplain and Surgeon in the Continental Army.
The turmoil of the Revolutionary War ended the activities of the Church of England for a long period of time. The next entry in the St. Petter’s Vestry Book was in 1802, which was after the Episcopal Church had been founded and were separate from the Church of England. The War had divided neighbors and family into Loyalists to the Crown of England, Neutral parties, and those who favored independence, the Patriots. It is interesting to note that Managers Jonathan Chew and Gabriel Vibber became officers in the British Army, while Rev. Blackwell and Dr. Bodo Otto, Jr. served in the Continental Army.
As in all things in these times of major upheaval during the Revolutionary War, there was division among both the clergy and laity of the Church of England in America. Across all of the colonies, only 27% of all Anglican priests supported independence including only one from New Jersey, Rev. Robert Blackwell of St. Peter’s. Impacting clergy’s allegiance were two factors: the origin of their “paychecks” and the dual oaths taken at time of ordination.
It’s interesting to note that approximately three-quarters of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Anglican laymen including Thomas Jefferson and George Wythe, additionally the Continental Army’s Commander-in-Chief, George Washington was Anglican. Other famous Patriots leaders who were Anglican were most notably: Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee, and Benjamin Franklin.
Let us pray 2 prayers from the 1666 Book of Common Prayer to bless this celebration.
Pause
Let us pray.
O Lord Our Heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hath safely brought us to the beginning of this day; defend us in the same with thy mighty power, and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God, who hath given us grace at the time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee, and doth promise, that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name, thou wilt their requests; Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.
INTRODUCTION FOR THE PUBLIC READING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Master of Ceremonies: Please welcome Teresa Colanero Member of the Paulsboro Revolution 250 Committee, to the stage to introduce the public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Teresa Colanero:
For much of the early history of the 13 British Colonies in America, the King had allowed them to govern themselves. Following the French and Indian Wars, Great Britain sought to take a greater role in the lives of the colonists. One important goal was to have its North American Colonies contribute financially to the mother country. In other words, Great Britain protected the Colonies during these wars and now believed that it was appropriate for them to contribute to the financial recovery of their protectors.
As a result, Parliament and the King passed laws such as the Stamp Act to raise money from the Colonies. The colonists felt that it was unfair to be taxed without a voice in the process – Taxation without Representation. While all of the colonies were aggrieved by the actions of the mother country, they were very divided over how to resolve the grievances.
Some felt that it was all just a great misunderstanding. If the Colonists could explain their grievances to Parliament and the King, they would take action to resolve their concerns. Others felt that the time had come to take much more decisive action.
Following prolonged and contentious debate, on July 4th 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the final draft of the Declaration of Independence announcing the separation of the 13 United Colonies of America from Great Britain.
With a sense of fairness, the Founding Fathers felt that it was critical to explain why the separation was necessary. As a result, the Declaration of Independence is, for the most part, a list of grievances.
It is one of the most influential documents in history. It sets forth the ideals of democracy and human rights that have shaped not only the United States of America but also those of governments around the globe.
Please welcome Paulsboro Council President Tahje Thomas and Paulsboro High School students as they carry out Thomas Jefferson’s desire to have the Declaration of Independence performed not just read.
Tahje Thomas Reads:
Picture this, a group of politicians from the 13 American colonies come together just across the Delaware River from where we are now gathered - in Philadelphia - to plot what turns out to be a revolution. A contentious Continental Congress needs to set forth some convincing reasons for declaring war. Congress turns to a brilliant 33-year-old aristocrat from Virginia, Thomas Jefferson. In a matter of days, the red-haired wonder writes one of the most celebrated manifestos for human freedom and self-government in the history of western civilization. The Continental Congress authorizes Philadelphia printer, John Dunlap, to print 200 broadsides, poster sized sheets. The document, unsigned, is then rushed to waiting horseman who put it in the saddle bags and gallop throughout the colonies, to see if this revolutionary war could be won with the thousands of farmers and tradesmen who must be persuaded to take up arms and fight, and they do. Not many people realize it today, but scholars believe Jefferson intended for the declaration to be performed not just read. Its words and rhythms were written to be spoken in proud and defiant tones in grand and public places. It can be a safe bet that the members of Congress never had in mind a performer like me, that is to say a black man. Thomas Jefferson was not ignorant of the problem of slavery, of course. He called it a moral and political depravity. And, in the original draft of the Declaration announced slave trade as a cruel war against human nature itself, but congress thought better of this particular item and deleted it. In fact, there was no mention of slavery or black people or women for that matter in this preeminent statement on the equal rights of man. So, it makes you wonder how can a man who himself held slaves write with such incredible passion and eloquence about human liberation and the promise of a democratic republic. Why some may ask, why do I bring up such embarrassing truths on this glorious occasion? I answer, the real glory of the Declaration of Independence has been our nation's epic struggle throughout history to close the gap between the ideals of this remarkable document and sometimes painful realities of American life. The declaration symbolizes the birth of our nation, of course, but also the constant struggle to achieve its ideals. Consider, the words of this document inspired the French Revolution in 1789. Two hundred years later the revolt of Chinese students in Tiananmen Square. It inspired Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Martin Luther King, Jr. had to fight for civil rights and women's suffragettes to fight for the vote. This business of fulfilling the Declaration of Independence is a difficult struggle but it is also an ennobling struggle. Jefferson called the Declaration an expression of the American mind. It is why this nation is so great and why I am so proud to be an American. Here now are those sentiments as first expressed just a few short miles from where we gather today to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Student Readers:
1. Chris Neff
2. Rose Hardan
3. Cortnie Bettis
4. Shawn Williams
5. Dasoni Scott
6. Eric Love
7. Aniyah Wynne
8. Kemea Tate
9. Mirna Hardan
10. Jackson Solina
WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them,
a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—
That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes;
and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.
Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.
The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.
To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyrants only.
He has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.
He has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.
He has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.
He has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.
He is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized Nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.
Nor have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them from
Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us.
We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here.
We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity,
and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence.
They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.
Group We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General
Congress, Assembled,
appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the
Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare,
That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States;
that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown,
and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved;
and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce,
and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence,
we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
Master of Ceremonies: Please welcome Irma Stevenson, Inductee into the Paulsboro High School Hall of Distinguished Alumni and member of the Paulsboro Revolution 250 Committee to the stage to introduce the National Anthem.
Irma Stevenson:
The Star-Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814. Key had just witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. He was inspired by the United States flag, with its 15 stars and 15 stripes, that continued to fly triumphantly above the fort.
The Star-Spangled Banner was first recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889. On March 3, 1931, the United States Congress passed a joint resolution making the song the official national anthem of the United States of America. Herbert Hoover signed it into law shortly afterward.
Please welcome Glenn Roemmich, Paulsboro High School Class of 1979 who has been an active member of the Paulsboro Fire Department for 47 years including several terms as Chief. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee for the Gloucester County branch of the New Jersey State Fire Association.
Please stand and join Glenn as he sings the Star-Spangled Banner – our National Anthem.
National Anthem:
Oh, say! can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming;
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
Oh, say! does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave
INTRODUCTION OF THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Master of Ceremonies: Please welcome Sandy Quinn, President of the Greater Paulsboro Chamber of Commerce and Branch Manager of Century Savings Bank, to the stage to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Sandy Quinn:
The Declaration of Independence was 109 years old when Captain George Thatch Balch, a Union Officer during the Civil War, penned the Pledge of Allegiance in 1885. The Pledge was revised by Francis Bellamy in 1892 as part of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. Bellamy’s version of the Pledge is largely the same as that adopted by Congress in 1942.
The official name “The Pledge of Allegiance” was approved in 1945. The current version of the Pledge added the words “under God’ in 1954.
Please rise and join me as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
INTRODUCTION TO THE RE-ENACTMENT OF THE SIGNING OF THE DEED
Master of Ceremonies: Please welcome Jeff Duvilla Member of the Paulsboro Revolution 250 Committee, to the stage to introduce the signing of the deed for the first federal land purchase.
Jeff Duvilla:
In 1776, the small farming community of Billingsport – now part of the Borough of Paulsboro - was well known to the residents of Philadelphia. As early as 1700, the community was a transportation hub with ferry service to Pennsylvania.
Billingsport was located just down river from the capital in Philadelphia. The Delaware River narrows and turns at Billingsport so ships need to slow as they continue their journey to Philadelphia.
The river bank at Billingsport is a high bluff providing a commanding view of the Delaware River. As such, it was an excellent location for cannons to fire on British ships moving toward Philadelphia.
On June 14, 1776, the Committee for Safety sent a petition to the Continental Congress requesting that an enclosed defensive position and a blockade of the Delaware River be constructed at Billingsport. The goal was to prevent the British Navy from reaching the capital of the new nation in Philadelphia. As such, Billingsport became the Birthplace of Homeland Security.
On July 4, 1776 the Continental Congress approved the purchase of 96-acres of farm land for ₤600 in Pennsylvania script from Margarett Paul and her son Benjamin Weatherby.
The actual signing of the deed was, most likely, an informal event that took place in the parlor or kitchen of Margarett Paul’s farmhouse. It is also likely that letters between the Committee for Safety and the Paul Family had been exchanged between January and June 1776 in order to iron out the details of the land purchase.
In 1776, women had very limited rights so Margarett Paul’s son Benjamin Weatherby shared ownership of the property and needed to co-sign the deed which included an explanation of Margarett’s right to own the land.
We are honored that Charlie Sockwell, III and his grandson Charlie Sockwell, V are participating in the re-enactment of the signing of the deed for the first federal land purchase. Margarett Paul, portrayed today by Faith Langdon, acquired the land when her husband, John Paul, passed away. Charlie, III will portray Samuel Morris, who served as a witness to the signing of the deed is a 10th generation descendent of Philip Paul. Charlie, V – a 12th generation descendent of Philip Paul will portray Benjamin Weatherby. Matt Moore will portray Thomas Rowan who also served as witness to the signing.
Join us in a humble farm house in the small village of Billingsport as the 13 United Colonies prepare to defend their daring Declaration of Independence by making the first federal land purchase for the purpose of protecting its capital from the most powerful military force in the late 18th century.
Revised 5/23/2026 3:24 minutes + 5:00 Signing
We need to allow time for set-up
Dialogue for reenactment.
Margarett: Good day Samuel, Thomas. Tis a fine day. How are thee and thine?
Samuel: Good day Mistress Paul. Tis a fine day indeed. Not a lick of misery hast visited our homestead. Have thee the papers to be signed? Hast thou received thy monies?
Margarett: Tis true, the papers and monies arrived this morning by courier from Philadelphia. Benjamin has them here by the table.
Benjamin: Let us hasten, the courier will return soon. Here are the papers. Mother and I have examined them carefully and they are correct in every detail. Mother, you should start.
Samuel: Thy mark here, Mistress. And Benjamin, just here. The witnessing, now. Thee first Thomas.
Thomas: The feather, please, Samuel.
Samuel: And finally, my own hand.
Margarett: That went without bother. Wouldst thee join me in the cabin for tea?
Samuel: Wonderful! I hear the British left some in Boston!!
INTRODUCTION TO THE NATIVE AMERICAN BLESSING
Master of Ceremonies: Please welcome Kathy Knight, Vice Chairperson of the Paulsboro Revolution 250 Committee, to the stage to introduce the Native American blessing of the land.
Kathy Knight:
In 1795, Samuel Paul, a descendent of the family that founded Paulsboro, built a house along the shore of the Mantua Creek. The house still exists a short distance from our present location. Samuel Paul operated a fishery. More specifically, he fished for Shad along the Mantua Creek and Delaware River. Little did Samuel know that he was not the first to fish for Shad in Paulsboro.
In 2012, an archeological investigation discovered an intact, undisturbed Native American encampment on the side yard of the Samuel Paul House. The small encampment was most likely a seasonal hunting and gathering camp associated with a village located nearby. The Lenni Lenape or Nanticoke encampment is between 2,500 and 1,700 years old. What is known for certain is that Native Americans were present in our location several thousand years before Samuel Paul began operating his shad fishery. It is also known that, like Samuel Paul, the Native Americans fished for shad in the waters around Paulsboro.
We gathered here today to commemorate the first land purchase made by the newly declared 13 United Colonies of America. Moreover, we are gathered here on Lenapehokink (Lun-nah-pay-ho-king) ancestral homeland of the Lenape People that once was and still is sacred to the Lenape People. It is here that the people called the “grandfather tribe” and the “peacemakers” have thrived, spoken their language, and held their ceremonies for thousands of years, before being subjected to removal and colonization through forced assimilation.
In honor of them let us pause, remembering where we are and who we are with.
Born and raised in the southernmost tidewaters of Lenapehoking, Denise Bright Dove Dunkley is an award-winning Master Artisan, Educator, Public Speaker, Tribal Councilwoman, and an enrolled citizen of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation of New Jersey. For over twenty-five years, Denise has used her artwork as vessels to carry forward the histories, traditions, and cultural practices of her people, particularly those passed down by her grandmothers. She holds a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, strengthening her ability to pair art with advocacy, advance self-determination, and secure Indigenous rights. Denise has served as an ambassador amplifying Indigenous voices internationally, including in Canada and the Netherlands. Her work has been exhibited at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, Stockton University, and the Amsterdam Museum, and appears on Philadelphia’s first Climate Justice Initiative mural. Guided by the belief that art is power, her work addresses MMIW, climate justice, and the protection of Indigenous peoples and the Earth.
We are now honored to be joined by Denise “Bright Dove” Ashton-Dunkley to bless the land of her ancestors.
No Script Available for Ms. Ashton-Dunkley’s blessing and remarks.
SCRIPT – OVERVIEW OF THE REST OF THE PROGRAM
Master of Ceremonies: Please welcome Cindy Quint, Member of the Paulsboro Revolution 250 Committee, to the stage to explain the program for the rest of the day.
Cindy Quint: Let me begin by thanking Senator Burzichelli for serving as the Master of Ceremonies this morning. John always brings the sense of dignity and a little humor that is so appropriate for a commemoration 250 years in the making.
It is also fitting and proper to remember the late Mary Knestaut, a 1946 graduate of Paulsboro High School and, in 1971, the first woman elected to the Borough Council of Paulsboro. Mrs. Knestaut established and chaired the Fort Billingsport Committee in 1972 in order to preserve this historic site. Thanks to her hard work, Fort Billingsport Park was re-dedicated as a public park and historic site on July 4, 1974. Mary then researched and documented for the Congress of the United States of America that Paulsboro was the location of the First Federal Land Purchase on July 5, 1776. It is thanks to Mary Knestaut that we are able to gather on this historic site.
There are too many people to thank and recognize for making this program possible. Certainly, the Mayor, Borough Council and citizens of Paulsboro as well as Paulsboro Refining Company deserve a sincere thank you for financially supporting this event. I would also like to recognize and thank the members of the Paulsboro Revolution 250 Committee for their tireless efforts to prepare for and conduct this historic event. I respectfully request that you visit the Paulsboro Revolution 250 page to see a complete list of those people and organizations that made this program a reality.
I invite you to visit the numerous displays, programs and living history activities. Don’t forget to have your Passport to History stamped at each tent.
Enjoy the music of the Bonsal Blues Band and the delicious food being served by the Sons and Daughters of Italy Lodge.
Thank you for participating in the Paulsboro Revolution 250 event. Enjoy your day.
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