One gunshot fired by a single person could be powerful enough to move a whole nation. Most of us are familiar with the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, William McKinley, and Martin Luther King Jr., and their long-lasting consequences. However, history is littered with lesser-known gunshots that have had equally echoing outcomes. Some were small mistakes or misjudgments, while others were acts of intent that sparked events that are now documented in our history textbooks. A single bullet serves as the catalyst for each of the stories in this book. We may or may not know who fired each bullet. Nonetheless, we know each bullet's endpoint and, more crucially, the effects they had on America's trajectory: the wars, social movements, and political and economic paradigm shifts. Because they are probably not discussed in history classrooms, the names of those involved may not be recognizable enough to elicit any feelings of outrage. However, the events that their acts precipitated have become etched in American history. 

"The author has crafted some remarkable stories that will, no doubt, touch the heart and even bring a tear to the eye. Sit back and let these inspiring stories of heroism on the sea, in the air, and on far-off beaches, steaming jungles, and blazing battlefields wrap around you like a flag."

Flint Whitlock

Former Editor, WWII Quarterly

Awarded by the President of the United States in the name of Congress, the Medal of Honor commemorates those who have shaped our nation's history and continue to inspire its future with their acts of valor, humanity, patriotism, and sacrifice.

New Jersey has been credited with ninety-three honors in the state's military history. Robert Augustus Sweeney was the recipient of two non-combatant medals when he jumped into stormy waters to save a fellow sailor twice becoming one of only nineteen double Medal of Honor recipients of all time and the only African American to do so. On the infamous day of December 7, 1941, Peter Tomich, serving on the USS Utah, sprung to action when it became evident his ship would capsize from the two Japanese torpedoes, staying behind to man the fireroom to ensure the boilers were secured to prevent an internal fire and saving countless additional deaths.

Author Peter Zablocki reveals the harrowing stories of New Jersey's most valorous moments in the defense of our nation and freedom around the world.

Some, like Abraham Lincoln in 1861, came to garner support. Others, like N.J. Governor Woodrow Wilson in 1912, remained and rode that support to the White House. And still, others, like James Garfield in 1881, came to die. New Jersey's past is full of memorable Presidential visits - and home to some lesser-known ones. Thousands of people came out to support Teddy Roosevelt, his cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Others like Franklin Pierce, Benjamin Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, and even more recently, Donald J. Trump saw the Jersey Shore as the perfect rest stop from the hustle and bustle of the capital. The story of these visits and others like them transcend politics to show the historical significance of not just the great men, but also that of the Garden State.

Author Peter Zablocki presents the heated elections, political events, and critical moments of Presidents in New Jersey.

The saga of the Morristown ghost has been told around campfires and dinner tables in Morris County for generations. Local legend claimed British Loyalists secretly buried stolen Patriot treasure on Schooley Mountain as they fled the oncoming forces of George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Years later in 1788, a former school teacher from Connecticut, Ransford Rodgers, convinced local prominent Morristown families that a ghost was protecting the true location of the treasure and he alone could exercise it. Little did the victims know, Rodgers was perpetuating an elaborate hoax and eventually extorted large sums of money from the embarrassed local elite. The tale has been recounted in various sensational pamphlets and publications ever since, leaving behind a mystery of what is true or myth. 

Denville in the 1950s was an idyllic place to live, yet a dark chapter in the era's history has remained uncovered. During the summer of 1953, a wealthy traveler with a secret rap sheet as a convicted sex offender arrived in town to continue his misdeeds. A group of thirteen local boys ranging in age from fourteen to twenty-two took it upon themselves to teach the man a lesson and drive him out of town. What resulted was his brutal death and the largest number of people ever indicted for murder in the nation at the time. The harrowing trial and its aftermath revealed a town forced to grapple with how to protect its youth and come to terms with the gruesome incident. Local historian Peter Zablocki covers the crime and a small town's path to redemption.