Friday, December 26, 2008

Midnight Blue: Washington at the Delaware pics

Every Christmas, reenactors gather at the site where George Washington led his Continental Army across the Delaware River into New Jersey and dealt Hessian soldiers a decisive defeat in 1776.

The American Revolution may have failed if Washington lost this battle.

But for the second year in a row weather, high winds, prevented Ronald Rinaldi II, who portrayed the Father of our Country, and his Continentals from crossing the Delaware.

Skye of Midnight Blue was there and took pictures. The crossing was cancelled, but there was plenty of other festivities for the 12,000 attendees to enjoy.

Pajamas Media's Rick Moran explains the importance of the Christmas of 1776 in his article How George Washington saved Christmas — and America.

Technorati tags:
at

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:24 PM

    What struck me was how we have changed since Washington boldly crossed the Delaware on Christmas Day.

    The river was somewhat calm, I've seen it churned up and this was downright peaceful for the Delaware. The wind was not gale force, it was a perfect day for a crossing.

    Talking to one of the colonial re-enactors, the older gentleman in the officer's outfit, who mentioned that the reconstructed Durham boats were quite pricey - upwards to $100,000 a boat. They did not want to risk losing control of the boat and smashing it against the pylons of the bridge.

    December, 1776 Washington instructed the colonial army to confiscate "Boats and Crafts, particularly Durham boats" prior to the march on Trenton. These boats were the lifeblood of many families on the Delaware. Yet the continental army took them. The struggle for freedom and self-determination was far more highly valued than the intrinsic worth of those Durham boats in 1776.

    In 2008, we don't cross the Delaware if there is any possibility of damaging these boats.

    Prior to that fateful crossing, Washington quoted Thomas Payne "What we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value."

    Do we as Americans value freedom any more? If so, how would the antithesis of what Washington and his troops struggled for on Christmas Day in 1776 become president in 2009?

    Thomas Payne is rolling in his grave..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous11:57 PM

    Just think what you could do if you
    had 20 of those Durham boats.
    You could sell them, and buy
    yourself a house in Lake Forest.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:03 PM

    Here kitty kitty.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jim Roper4:55 PM

    You aren't being very nice Johnny!

    ReplyDelete