Washington's Crossing

This famous illustration is a semi-realistic depiction of what happened that Christmas night.

About 20 minutes from my house is the site where General George Washington and men of the Continental Army and militia crossed the Delaware River in 1776 and marched to Trenton, New Jersey.

Every year Washington State Park puts on a reenactment of Washington's fateful trip, including several historic sites in the area. See -Washington actually wasn't a winning general; his men struggled and lost a lot. They needed a victory during this time and morale was low. To top it off, the weather was extremely challenging. Many people don't know that they were actually going through a mini ice age; as you can see in the classic picture above, mini ice bergs filled the Delaware (It was probably all the global warming). Grave sites for Artillery Captain James Moore and many unknown soldiers of the American Revolution who died during the winter encampment of 1776-77 are also still in this area.

On a personal note, I have seen this site several times but my family never attended any of the reenactments but, supposedly, they attract a lot of tourists, local residents, and even press. I look back on this as such a important missed opportunity because it has only been recently that I became more interested in the Revolutionary War -especially the father of our country.

The reason for my growing obsession