Washington's Crossing

A Christmas Day gallivant

Some people sit by the fireplace and admire the tree on Christmas morning. I decided to drive for an hour to watch the annual reenactment of Washington crossing the Delaware with the Continental Army to engage Hessian mercenaries in the 1776 Battle of Trenton, which along with the larger Battle of Princeton, was decisive in turning the tide against the British Crown in the American Revolution. I was not alone. A thousand or so people gathered on both sides of the river, and along the aptly named Washington Crossing bridge (which is one of the few toll-free methods of leaving the state of New Jersey.) I snagged lunch and a beer at the Patriots Crossing Tavern and Wine shop, then watched from the bridge.

If I’d known it was a whole thing, I would have visited earlier. New Jersey is criminally lax in promoting the state’s instrumental history in the American Revolution. Now that our cold, smelly beaches are becoming ridiculously expensive to visit, we should pivot to celebrating our historic sites, from Chestnut Neck Battle Monument to Batsto Village where cannonballs were forged for the war, to Trenton and Princeton’s battlefields, Jockey Hollow where troops camped for the winter, and Washington’s Headquarters in Morristown, to name but a few.

The yearly reenactment is a hard sell, because it happens on Christmas Day. Thankfully not in the middle of the night, when Washington and 2400 soldiers crossed the river in 1776. They kick off around noon and by the time I skedaddled an hour later, only one of the four boats had paddled across the river. So I suggest coming early for an outdoor table at Patriots Crossing, if the weather is mild like it was this week, and enjoying their pub fare. True American stuff, like cheese steak egg rolls, mushroom crostini, and a solid lamb gyro. That’s not a joke. (The ethnic eclectic spread of a New Jersey diner menu is more American than tasteless colonial crud like shepherd’s pie, in my opinion.)

I did have a Yuengling instead of one of the many craft beers on tap, because they’re the oldest American brewery still running, and their lager is good on draft. Patriots has good food and service, and I’d visit again if I’m in the area. They’ve got a great view of the river, and it would be lovely in the autumn. It’s a good thing to do on a lazy day. I wish I’d stayed longer, but I had to make it up north for Christmas dinner.

If you’re interested in a deep focus on how decisive this risky decision to sneak attack on Christmas Day was, I recommend reading Washington’s Crossing by David Hackett Fischer, which gets into details such as a teenaged Alexander Hamilton commanding a group of private cannon that destroyed lines of British troops in Princeton, after he managed to surprise them from a position on a hill. For a read that covers the whole year, 1776 by David McCullough also explains the importance of these two battles in turning the tide of the war, after Washington was driven out of New Jersey and the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia.

Crossing the Delaware

It was also a moment where the British monarchy was given a taste of its own brutal medicine. Two years later in Chestnut Neck, they would slit the throats of fifty Americans as they slept, to avenge a lost naval battle; Washington was well aware of the massacre at Culloden and other such atrocities committed by the crown, so attacking on Christmas Day was simply a matter of what’s good for the gander.

For good measure, the reenactors fired a few cannons as the ships landed. The bridge is closed for the day to allow visitors to view the reenactment, so if you want to watch from the Pennsylvania side, you have to walk across or take a different bridge over. If you park on the New Jersey side, it is less than a mile walk from the parking area to the bridge. There is a paved path the entire way, without steps, so it is somewhat accessible. Some of the ramps and walkways are a little steep. You can learn about the park and be prepared for next year at the Washington Crossing Park website.

Heather Cox wrote about the significance of this victory in her newsletter, which I recommend. She always manages to put today’s news in a historical context that makes it worth reading daily.

December 25, 2023