History

Today, the Ten Crucial Days are recognized as a critical turning point during the Revolutionary War. But at the time, was anyone beyond the soldiers waging battle even aware of the Christmas night crossing that put everything in motion? “The crossing became well-known fairly quickly,” says Kimberly McCarty, the park’s curator. On December 27, General George Washington sent a letter to John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress, in which he described his account of the crossing and the ensuing Battle of Trenton. Congress read the letter four days later. And four days after that, on January 4, 1777, Read More

In a free public lecture with Washington Crossing Historic Park on Sunday, April 11, Christian McBurney will discuss his new book George Washington’s Nemesis: The Outrageous Treason and Unfair Court-Martial of Major General Charles Lee during the Revolutionary War. The lecture will begin at 1:30 PM and last about an hour. Registration is required.  Major General Lee, second in command in the Continental Army led by General Washington, was captured by the British in December 1776. “Washington ordered him to come to the Bucks County encampment. But Lee felt he should have been in charge. So, instead of coming straight here, he Read More

Reviewed by Joe Camaratta, a historical interpreter at Washington Crossing Historic Park John Haslet’s World: An Ardent Patriot, the Delaware Blues, and the Spirit of 1776 is David Price’s third in a trilogy on the Ten Crucial Days, the period from Washington’s crossing of the Delaware to the Battle of Princeton. Price focuses on those heroes underrepresented by most historians when they tell the story of the fight for American independence. The book details John Haslet’s life as an Irish immigrant who embodied the grit and determination of the patriots fighting against Great Britain. Price unfolds the development of Haslet Read More

Following their retreat across New Jersey, an air of desperation shrouded General George Washington and his troops as they arrived in Bucks County in early December 1776. Having suffered defeat after defeat – and with winter bearing down on them – food and warm clothing were in short supply. Washington watched his army shrink as soldiers deserted and enlistments expired. And yet, within a month, their fortunes – along with the tide of the war – would turn dramatically. From the Christmas night crossing through the Battle of Princeton, Washington always seemed to be one step ahead of his opponent. Read More

Five prints depicting the Christmas night crossing and the Battles of Trenton and Princeton are now on sale in the gift shop at the Washington Crossing Historic Park (PA) Visitor Center. The prints, which were created by New Jersey painter Lloyd Garrison, are being sold by the Swan Historical Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering appreciation of the American Revolution. Three of the paintings in the collection portray scenes from the crossing. Garrison painted the rendering of a ferry crowded with soldiers, horses, and oarsmen in the middle of the Delaware River through a consignment with Washington Crossing State Park Read More

How well do you know your horticultural history? These plants were known to the colonists back in George Washington’s day – but not all of them could be used to heal. Washington Crossing Historic Park’s historical horticulturalist Anna Davis shares four plants that were known to the colonists.   White Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) Anna has grown this plant at the Thompson-Neely Farmstead. Used for centuries and spoken of by both Dioscorides and Pliny, Horehound is renowned for treating asthma, coughs, pulmonary consumptions, some liver and spleen disorders, and “filthy ulcers.” “It was used as a dry or fresh herb in Read More

Native Americans’ participation in the Revolutionary War – and particularly George Washington’s Delaware River crossing – is a sometimes overlooked topic. And it has a complex answer. “It’s convenient to think of everyone from that time falling into two basic camps, the Americans and the British (Loyalists), but there were lots of different groups caught in the middle, with Native Americans being one of them,” says Katherine Becnel, Washington Crossing Historic Park’s volunteer coordinator and a former gallery educator at the Museum of the American Revolution. Native Involvement in the Conflict Initially, Native Americans were discouraged from getting involved in Read More

The challenges that George Washington and his 2,400 soldiers faced ahead of the crossing are too many to list here. In short, they’d experienced only defeat, and many were showing signs of the toll that had taken. They were exhausted, starving, and ill-equipped for the winter. According to the book, Supplying Washington’s Army (a study, in part, of the Continental Army’s Commissariat which supplied food and equipment) every soldier was to be provided with the following daily ration: One pound of beef Three-quarters of a pound of chicken or pork One pound of bread or flour Three pints peas or Read More