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| Not numbered. | Bucks County | Visited: December 22, 2017 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | Washington Crossing Historic Park! |
| What makes it historical? | THE PLAQUE SAYS: Here Washington and his men braved ice and sleet Christmas night, 1776, to cross the Delaware and to surprise and defeat the Hessians at Trenton. The victory gave new life to the patriot cause.
OTHER TIDBITS: The troops had spent most of Christmas here at the ferry and inn run by Samuel McConkey, when General Washington decided the conditions were favorable for a crossing. It was really a now-or-never scenario: morale was low after many defeats, and soldiers were beginning to desert. He had sent word of his plan to Generals Cadwalader and Ewing, who were supposed to cross at southern parts along the Delaware, but Nature had other plans in store! About 2,400 troops pushed out into the ice-clogged river at 6:00 PM, long after dark. So, not only was it dark and freezing, but also the start of a blizzard that kept the two southern generals from crossing, leaving the Washington troops on their own to march the 19 miles south to Trenton! As luck would have it, though, the Hessians (mercenaries from the German states of Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Hanau) were exhausted and outnumbered. When their leader, Colonel Rall, was shot, they quickly surrendered! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | 1112 River Road Washington Crossing, PA 18977 Annotations: From Harrisburg: ~130mi (210km) — 2.2hrs |
| When should I go? | The visitor center is open daily from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM, but if you happen to be in the area on Christmas Day, bring your family to see the annual reinactment of the fateful crossing at 12:30 PM! |
