The book on the subject written by a local guy. Quite good.
Thanks for the ping, Coleus. A strategic retreat indeed!
Whenever I drive through New Brunswick on the way to the Tpke and cross the Raritan (as I will this AM on the way to Mt. Holly), I always think of young Alex Hamilton setting up his cannon on the west bank and slowing Cornwallis' army down.
Braving cold to cherish history; Reenactors honor key retreat
About 40 men and a handful of women in Revolutionary War uniforms and outfits took part Saturday in reenacting events from 232 years ago when the British gained control of a key fort from George Washington's beleaguered troops. Unfortunately for the two dozen hardy souls who marched a half-mile from Fort Lee Historic Park to Monument Park on Palisade Avenue, the weather offered a bit of its own reenactment of those "Times That Try Men's Souls."
That stirring phrase by Thomas Paine was written in 1776 as General Washington prepared his soldiers to make a hasty retreat toward Trenton from Fort Lee, just months after the fledgling United States had declared its independence. Borderline freezing temperatures and occasionally high winds during the march made it easier to picture the difficult winters of 1776-77 and 1777-78 that were described in several speeches at Monument Park.
But Steve and Jennifer Prihoda of Wyckoff — along with their children, Olivia, 9, and Nicholas, 7 — enjoyed the walk nonetheless. Steve Prihoda said the event was particularly timely because his daughter was learning about the era in school. "A lot of people got sick back then, and some of them died," Olivia pointed out, referring to the high casualty rates of Washington's men.
For some, the reenactment had family resonances. Todd Braisted of Mahwah, for instance, is a descendant of British Loyalists — so he appropriately donned a commander's uniform of the New Jersey Volunteers' 4th Battalion, which fought with the British. "Bergen County is so built up nowadays, but we want people to realize that this funny name of a town comes because it was a historic military post," Braisted said.
Tom Schwarz, who grew up in Fort Lee, gave a speech in which he explained that he is the eighth-great grandson of the Bourdette family, which operated a ferry in the area during the Revolutionary War era. He joked that it was a relief to find so many kindred Revolutionary War buffs, as opposed to "boring my family with my stories." Saturday's march included a fife-and-drum musical accompaniment, with Eric Lichack of North Haledon handling the fife duties. Asked if it was difficult to play the instrument in such cold, Lichack said, "Not really, although if you had a lot of them, then they might go out of tune. The hard part is keeping your hands warm."
The 22-year-old senior at Montclair State, a music history major, wasn't the only young re-enactor amid a group that ranged in age from 18-year-old Dayne Mosconi of Tenafly — dressed as a Virginia rifleman — to some who appeared to be 60 or older. Events are scheduled at the park today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free, with a $5 charge to park.
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If you go
"The Times That Try Men's Souls," a commemoration of the retreat by the Continental Army from Fort Lee in 1776, will continue today with the following events:
11 a.m.: Camps open to public
1 p.m.: Courts martial in each camp
1:30 p.m.: Crown recruiting party
1:45 p.m.: Crown field maneuvers
2 p.m.: Congressional recruiting party
2:15 p.m.: Congressional field maneuvers
2:30 p.m.: Congressional punishment of criminal
3 p.m.: Artillery demonstration