richardcampbell

He Saw His Ragged Continentals Row

Over the President's Day weekend, the New York crew visited the Trenton area, in a small way retracing the Revolutionary Army's path from Pennsylvania, across the Delaware River, and on down to Trenton, where the first significant victory in the war was won. It so happened that we drove on a day when the temperature was about the same as it was on Dec 24/25 1776, when Washington's troops crossed the river.

The site of the crossing, at Johnson's and McKonkey's Ferry, Pennsylvania, looking across to New Jersey.

The trip was inspired by the brilliantly researched and written Washington's Crossing, a meticulous exposition of the initial battles of the Revolutionary War, focusing on the pivotal moment of the Battle of Trenton.

At the visitor's center here, there are some modern copies of the Durham boats used for the crossing, now used during annual re-enactments.

In downtown Trenton, there is an impressive monument marking Washington's primary position during the attack. Sadly, while Trenton is the state capital, few New Jersians seem to know of this monument:

Educational notes: You can read the introduction to the book here . Wikiepedia has some info about the famous painting . The title of this blog entry is an anagram of "Washington Crossing The Delaware" - as is every line in this sonnet .

Posted by netrc at February 22, 2006 01:18 PM