Im the curator here at Washington Crossing historic park in pennsylvania. Today is a very exciting day. We are doing a reenactment of George Washingtons crossing of the Delaware River on christmas night 1776. What happened here is actually one of the most unexpected and daring military maneuvers of the American Revolution. And the story is washington and the Continental Army after having lost battled in new york and retreating across new jersey came into bucks county in the beginning of december 1776. They encamped in several locations around this area including the Thompson Neely house which is also part of our park. And things are pretty desperate at this point for washington and the patriot cause. The Continental Army really needed a win. Washington was afraid that the british were going to invade philadelphia and take over the capitol and he really knew that what he needed was a bold, bold action. After meeting with his war council they made the decision that on christmas night they would cross the delaware and march to trenton to attack the hessian outpost at trenton. As they began to march down here to the mcconkeys ferry a snowstorm started. The weather was terrible. There was snow and hail and it was basically a pretty bad noreaster. All of these men, 2,400 in all, had to cross the delaware and begin their march. There were other regiments who were supposed to cross at two other locations. At the trenton ferry and the bristol ferry. And they werent able to get across for a variety of reasons. And the weather was absolutely a major part of that. Wave for the general. General washington, i know its a secret mission, but could you tell us about this operation . This is our final chance. This is our chance to make an impact in this war. The problems we have is our enlistments are expiring. Soldiers want to go home. I have ten days, just ten short days in order to make this attack. We feel that with the weather behind us, the element of surprise on our side, that well be able to take the city of trenton, raise the morale of the troops, prove to congress that we are a viable army that they should support, and hopefully, hopefully enlistments will rise. Have you done any operation like this before . We have not. The only operations weve done of every maritime order have been the evacuation from new york, which was very well done and my hats off to the marble headers from massachusetts who man the boats that removed us from new york. Then we retreated down to the jerseys to here on the banks of the delaware. Right now were trying to keep the river between us and the hessian mercenaries that are right now encamped in the town of trenton. Were trying to at least stay between them and the city of philadelphia. Tell us about your forces. What type of men are they . Hopefully you keep this among ourselves. But we do have 3,000 troops, of which i have found there are 2,400 are fit for duty. The remainder have fallen ill from malnutrition. From the weather. And we are caring for them further north of the river. But we have 2,400 troops ready to go. They have rations cooked. 60 rounds of ammunition each. And we expect them to give us a good fight. My name is frank lyons from yardley just down the street sxim portraying colonel john glover from marblehead, massachusetts. Colonel glover was the commander of the 14th continental regiment, which is also known as marblehead mariners. It was the glovers marblehead regiment. Marblehead is a small town about ten miles north of boston. When the American Revolution started, it was the tenth largest port in the United States on the east coast. Because of the intolerable acts and all those british enactments that led up to the American Revolution, most of the men in marblehead were unemployed and very unhappy and they were happy to join marblehead regiment. Glover initially signed up 550 men. They never expected to find themselves all the way down here in pennsylvania. Colonel glover and his marblehead regiment saved washington and his army three times. This being the third time. First time after the disastrous battle of long island glover and his men rode 9,000 men, horses, cannon, baggage across the lower east river from brooklyn into what is the modernday downtown brooklyn into Lower Manhattan and saved Washingtons Army from being encircled by the british. And then again at pells point when cornwallis was planning to he 15i8d up the east river out to the long quienld sound and he was planning to march across the north bronx and trap washington in manhattan. Glover once again with 700 men held off 4,000 british and hessian troops. He took about 22 casualties. The british took somewhere between 700 and 800 casualties. That gave washington time to escape from manhattan and to fight another day. And then we fastforward to this section of pennsylvania around this 22nd of december, glover marches into this area and he camps up the hill near where washingtons headquarters were and washington calls him to his headquarters and he tells him what he wants to do, cross 800 feet of a rocky icestrewn river under the cover of dark neness. And by the way, the barometers falling, we could be looking at some weather. And glover mutters to washington, he says, your excellency, it is impossible. Washington says to glover, colonel glover, i did not ask you to assess possibilities. I asked you if you could do it. And colonel glover thinks for a second and he says general washington, marbleheaders can do it. And thats when legend tells us, and its legend, its not written anywhere, but legend tells us that thats when washington made the final decision to go ahead with this bold stroke which truly did save the American Revolution. You can point to maybe a dozen events that truly changed the course of World History forever. And one of them took place right on this ground where were standing here. Its one of the three iconic parts of the revolutionary war. If you ask anyone, even the smallest amount of history, theyre going to talk about valley forge, which was an encampment, Washington Crossing the delaware, and the battle of yorkto yorktown. Everyone knows the iconic loitza painting which was obviously painted in the 1850ss based on the rhine river. But everyone knows thats Washington Crossing the delaware. Ill tell you, the river does freeze solid but you dont get icebergs. Its very thick sheets of ice that go straight across. So the reenactment part of, this what will take place . Were going to start by seeing washington and his officers review his troops. We will hear washington give a speech to the troops and then everyone will born the boats, the joren boats that we have here, and cross the delaware. Tell us about the boats. The joren boats are one of the types of boats that were used during the crossing to get men from pennsylvania to manage manage. Whats special about the boats is that they are large and they were originally made to haul pig iron from the joren ironworks up and down the delaware. They were ideal for putting a lot of guys in and getting them from point a to point b. But they werent the only boats used during during the crossinging but thert only boats youll see ndur the reenactment. Washington when he came to pennsylvania ordered all of the boats on the new jersey side of the dl dell brought over to pennsylvania in hopes of slowing down any crossing the british night do to invade philadelphia. And in particular a ferry was used so when you came to mock knkys ferry you could get artillery across and horses across because obviously youre not going to be able to get any of them into a durham boat. Weve reached the advance waters. Officers. Glover, how do the conditions look . Your excellency, my marbleheaders have just returned from traversing the river. They report to me that the river is swift, that the river is strewn with ice. But they are confident, sir, and they are determined to convey our army across the delaware this very night. Excellent. And remember, its victory or death. We will not fail. Please return to your troops and prepare them for inspection. Thank you. Dismissed. Dismissed. Weve asked congress for many things that were short of. Food, tents, provisions, blankets. Weve had citizens of philadelphia coming up to provide us with at least some blankets to keep you warm. It reminds me of the crisis by thomas paine. Your sergeants have read to you. He wrote, these are the times that try mens souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis shrink from the service of their country but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. And my troops, you deserve that love and thanks. Youre here with me now to continue our fight. I look forward to seeing you in trenton. And remember, victory or death. Colonel sergeant . Yes, your excellency. Prepare your troops to board. That i will. The durham boats were meant to float down the river. They were not meant to go across the river. But washington knew they could be valuable for transporting troops. Basically ferries took people across the river, not the durham boats. So they dont maneuver well going across the river and its a real art form. You have to row them up the river, then tack into the wind and the current and just to get them in position. So they were really meant to float down the river. And to be poled down the river and steered with this big sweeper thats in the aft end of the boat which you see out here today. So no, theyre not real maneuverable when theyre going across the river. And it takes a little bit of skill for these guys to do it. My name is leon vaughn and im portraying a member of colonel glovers marbleheaders. 14th regiment out of marblehead, massachusetts. Cod fishermen that helped George Washington get across the water. How was the crossing today . The crossing today was very easy. Some years it has snowed. Some years it has rained. And its been cold. But today perfect weather conditions. Tell me about your portrayal. Why do you do this . I do this because its not in the average American History textbook about the 40 of colonel glovers unit. Because during that time in massachusetts black men were a large part of the whaling and the fishing industry. Being that john glovers men, they caught cod every day. And this is a typical dress of a cod fisherman. The trousers, theyre open. So just in case you fell in the water you would have in the water in your pants they could drain and come up and you would not drown that easy. And the hat, if it got cold you could have it pulled down over your ears. Not like the tricore hats. And everything was made, what you wore was practical. Now, black guys being here, we were here from day one. I have a cousin. He did Extensive Research on my fathers mother and he traced her ancestor back to one of the 20 and odd africans that was on the boat that landed at Point Comfort in hampton, virginia 1619 so i can trace my family back in this country 400 years. You have to go deep into libraries. You have to go to used bookstor bookstores. And the internet has helped also. I picked up a book out of a library, and in this book i found in the painting of george Washington Crossing the river the man rowing the boat to the right of George Washington is a black guy. His name was prince whipple. He was a servant of one of George Washingtons aides. And he is a black guy rowing the boat on the painting. We meet all year long to plan this. Theres 48 boat crew because it takes 12 per boat and there will be about 300 soldiers crossing, a lot less than the 2,400 that actually crossed in 1776. If you had to wait for 2,400, it would take all day. Took washington nine hours. But yeah, about 300 today and about 48 boat crew. And the boat crews come out and practice. They practice on a local lake. And then we come out and practice on the river. So we do theres a lot the planning goes on all year. There will be a meeting in january just to be brief and then well start planning for next year. I kind of had advanced training because my father, he never owned a motor. When we went fishing we rowed in the chesapeake bay. We caught or spots and croakers and our rockfish, we rowed into the bay. I was 10 years old. I started rowing a boat at 10. So rowing this is just a reflection of my childhood. As a reenactor ive been doing George Washington for nine years now. And its a tremendous opportunity. As you look around here and you see hundreds and hundreds of visitors that come to this park just to see this one event. Its an iconic event. And its something that not only is regionally important but also nationally important. Because without this victory the army would have collapsed. How did you get into doing this type of thing and why do you do it . As an amateur historian ive been doing revolutionary war reenacting for 26 years. And over the years when you work your way up from a private to a sergeant to an officer you look at your predecessors and you say, i think i could do a better job or i could do something different. And ive taken on the role for the last nine years and had many successful crossings. And i actually like the fact that we not only educate the public in what took place here and how much its meant to our nation but it keeps the site viable. 2013 we had six inches of snow in four hours. And when i launched my boat to go across you couldnt see the shoreline on either side once you got in the middle of the river. And they canceled it right after i went out there because it was deemed unsafe to cross any more boats. And it was one of those it started out as a day like today, sunny, a little cool, and by the afternoon, by the time of the crossing you had six inches of though on the ground. It certainly did feel like the period. And ive also been here when it rains, sleeted and snowed all on the same day. And the troops are grumbling. Theyre complaining. Theyre standing out waiting to cross. And i have to look at them and say these are the conditions that the troops actually crossed under. And im sure they were complaining about the same discomforts. I have a general staff. I also have a commander in chiefs guard. And we also have our standard bearer who carries the commander in chiefs flag. Thats how you know where the general is in the battlefield or in camp, that specific flag which the original is now in the museum of the American Revolution in philadelphia. And pull. And pull. And pull. The officers were aware of where they were going, where they were marching to, and that they were attacking the hessian outpost. The men in the boats didnt exactly know where their destination was, but clearly they were aware that something significant was about to take place. They were cold. Many of them were sick. They were hungry. You know, they didnt have the equipment as far as appropriate clothing that they needed to protect them from this weather. They did this under great hardship. They were very brave. And did accomplish something that i dont know i know that i certainly couldnt do under those circumstances. They marched nine miles after this crossing in a snowstorm, they marched nine miles south to trenton and they attacked the hessians, who were not expecting to be attacked. For a number of reasons. First of all, because it was just after a major snowstorm. It was also the time of year, wintertime, where most armies went into their winter camps and stopped fighting. And the hessians had actually been engaged several times by some of the local militias in new jersey and were really on edge. This wasnt a type of fighting they were accustomed to. So by the time it was christmas and there had been a major snowstorm they were hoping to have the opportunity to rest a little bit. And of course that didnt happen. They were attacked by the Continental Army, who was able to defeat them in pretty short order. The army stayed in trenton for just a short amount of time and then prisoners, about 900 or so prisoners back and crossed again at a couple different areas including mcconkeys. And officers were kept overnight at the tavern here at mcconkeys ferry and enlisted and eventually the officers were taken to newtown, pennsylvania which is just a couple miles from here. Well, its always good to know your history. Know from where you have come. That way you know where you are going and you try not to repeat some of the same mistakes. When i was in school, i hated history because it was always teaching me about what somebody else did, not what my people did. Now i have to join this hobby to learn what i didnt learn in high school nor in college about real American History, allinclusive American History one time i was given a lecture at an office of homeland security. It was their black History Month program. After i gave a short speech on the black involvement in the civil war one of the white men in the audience stood up and said why are you here teaching us black history . I said sir, im not teaching you black history. Im teaching you American History. It just happened to be about black people. Most people are probably familiar with the emmanuel loitza painting. Yes. What do you think of that painting . I think its a lovely painting. Loitza was not trying to provide a snapshot. Loitza was telling a story. And in that painting you see the story of the American Revolution. He was trying to inspire people in germany at the time and their quest for revolution. So you see Washington Crossing. You see james monroe, who ends up being president. You see a flag, what we now call the betsy ross flag has used in the painting. Well, that flag wasnt being used in 1776, but leutze already knows how the story ends, so he includes it there. So youre seeing two future president s. Youre seeing this flag. And you see a variety of different types of people in that boat, which was just like the makeup of the army. A variety of different types of people. Every saturday night American History tv takes you to College Classrooms around the country for lectures in history. Why do you all know who Lizzie Borden is . And raise your hand if you had ever heard of this murder, the gene harris murder trial, before this class. The deepest cause where well find the true meaning of the revolution was in this transformation that took place in the minds of the american people. So were going to talk about both of these sides of this story here, right . The tools, the techniques of slave owner power. And well also talk about the tools and techniques of power that were practiced by enslaved people. Watch history professors lead discussions with their students on topics ranging from the American Revolution to september 11th. Lectures in history on cspan 3, every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv. And lectures in history is available as a podcast. Find it where you listen to podcasts. Historian, author and reenactor Jared Frederick describes the 4th infantry divisions role in the 1944 dday invasion and shows us an encampment of his furious 4th world war 32 reenactors group. We talked with him at the annual Army Heritage days this carlyle, pennsylvania hosted by the u. S. Army heritage and Education Center. My name is Jared Frederick. Im an instructor of history at penn state altoona. Im also a reenactor with the furious 4th world war ii living history group. And we are here at Army Heritage days at the u. S. Army heritage and Education Center in carlyle, pennsylvania. And at this event it is
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