From the “Washington’s Crossing National Park” web site: “On December 25, 1776, the icy waters of the Delaware River provided the setting for one of the pivotal events of the American Revolution. The Continental Army had little to celebrate that Christmas and seemed beat by hunger and cold.
After crossing the rough winter river at night, General George Washington and the Continental Army landed at Johnson’s Ferry, at the site now known as Washington Crossing State Park. At 4 am, they began their march to Trenton where they defeated the Hessian troops in an unexpected attack.
This battle was quickly followed by the Second Battle of Trenton on January 2, 1777, and the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777.”
Every Christmas, at the Washington’s Crossing National Park, there is a reenactment of the historic event. You can visit the Park which is based on the Jersey side, but there also is a satellite park on the Pennsylvania side.
This Christmas the crossing was cancelled due to difficult river conditions.
JERRY DEER “Rally Around the Flag”
This year the reenactment was filmed earlier than Christmas Day, and I believe it can be found on YouTube. I grew up in Bucks County, PA and we are very proud of our Washington’s Crossing State Park. I didn’t realize that there was one on the NJ side! There is a building which houses a copy of the famous painting of the crossing. From what I remember there was also a narration about the painting.