MORRIS COUNTY, NJ – The Morris County Board of County Commissioners hosted their Annual 2023 Memorial Day Observance, where Distinguished Military Service Medals were presented to 15 veterans outside the Morris County Courthouse in Morristown. 2023 Annual Memorial Day Observance
On May 27, Commissioner Director Krickus also spoke and presented Morris County Distinguished Military Service Medals to seven local veterans in Washington Township, where officials and local veterans hosted the township’s annual Memorial Day ceremony.
The Morristown Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) also invited Director Krickus to speak at a Grave Marking Ceremony on May 28 to honor Revolutionary War Surgeon Dr. Jabez Campfield.
Born in Newark, New Jersey on December 24, 1737, Dr. Jabez Campfield was a surgeon for the Morris County Militia, Continental Army, present at the first and second battles of Springfield, Ash Swamp, Germantown, Brandywine, Sullivan Expedition and Short Hills. He was discharged in 1783 after 45 years of service.
History of Dr. Jabez Campfield, Revolutionary War Surgeon
Dr. Campfield’s home remains standing at 5 Olyphant Place in Morristown and was the recipient of a Morris County Historic Preservation grant. The doctor’s house billeted surgeon general Dr. John Cochran and was the medical supply house in the winter of 1779-1780. Elizabeth Schuyler also stayed there during her romance and engagement to founding father, Alexander Hamilton.
A resident of Morristown, Dr. Campfield applied there for a pension in his home in 1818. He died two years later in Morristown on May 20, 1820, and was buried in the First Presbyterian Churchyard located at 57 Park Place.
Dr. Campfield was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati, named in honor of ancient Roman hero Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a hero of the Roman Republic, and the oldest veterans organization in the United States. Founded in 1783 by officers of the Continental Army who fought in the American Revolution, the society’s original mission was to promote knowledge and appreciation of its achievement in American independence and to foster fellowship among its members. George Washington served as the society’s first President General.
One of Morristown’s residents was not only a member of the oldest veterans organizations in the United States, but earned membership by courageously working to save the lives of those soldiers who bravely fought for their lives right here, in Morris County.
Dr. Campfield is just one of the many Morris County heroes who bravely fought for our nation’s freedoms and was honored through Memorial Day ceremony this year.
Their service deserves recognition not just on Memorial Day, but every day we are blessed to call this county home.
