Really interesting article from Heather Cox Richardson this morning on the 248th anniversary of the publication of Thomas Paine's The American Crisis. She starts:
'“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
These were the first lines in a pamphlet that appeared in Philadelphia on December 19, 1776, at a time when the fortunes of the American patriots seemed at an all-time low. Just five months before, the members of the Second Continental Congress had adopted the Declaration of Independence, explaining to the world that “the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled…do…solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved.”'
The rest of the article talks about how new Americans who felt cheated by the British king rejected monarchy in favor of democracy and details the story so near and dear to all Americans, but especially to those of us in the Hopewell Valley, of the Christmas night crossing of 2400 troops over the Delaware River in a blizzard. You can read the whole thing here.
With these warm winters we have had lately, it's sometime hard to visualize the incredible effort it took Washington's troops to spend 10 hours crossing the river, then many more to slip and slide eight miles to Trenton to surprise the Hessians and turn the tide of the war. Richardson notes that the troops were "underdressed;" certainly an understatement when many were barefoot, leaving bloody footprints in the snow.
If you would like to learn more about America's fight for independence and the Hopewell Valley's important role in it, there are lots of things going on in December to memorialize those events. Historian (and HVHS Board member) Larry Kidder leads an amazing bus tour, which continues into January. Also check out our calendar, which lists Washington Crossing Park (NJ) events and other local 10 Crucial Days events.
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