Washington becomes a walker: In times to try men's soles, re-enactors take bridge across Delaware

UPPER MAKEFIELD, Pa. -- George Washington crossed the Delaware, all right. He took the bridge. For the second year in a row, high water and strong winds stymied the annual Christmas Day re-enactment of the famed crossing of 1776 that preceded the Battle of Trenton and, along with the Battle of Princeton, turned the tide of the Revolutionary War. But Ronald Rinaldi Jr., the man selected to play Gen. George Washington, said the decision to forgo the Durham boats only underlined how treacherous the original crossing must have been.

"It's 1 o'clock in the afternoon. He did it in the middle of the night. We only have a hundred men. He had a thousand," Rinaldi said. "If we can't do it in the middle of the day with the river a little high, I find it a miracle he was able to do it."

Rinaldi, who lives in Branchburg and has been participating in the crossing every year since the Bicentennial, when he was 14, still inspected the troops, delivered Thomas Paine's immortal words, "These are the times that try men's souls," and led his troops across the Delaware on the nearby steel trestle bridge.

Lining the riverbank to watch the spectacle were more than 10,000 people, according to officials with Washington Crossing Historic Park. Only a handful of men have portrayed Washington in the on-location re-enactments since they began in 1954. These days, those who think they can fill the general's black leather boots compete for a two-year term, in a contest based on their military bearing, their uniform, good sportsmanship, and their knowledge of Washington and the Revolutionary War. The Washington stand-in also appears at events at the park throughout the year.

Though Rinaldi missed out on the Christmas Day crossing both his years due to the swollen river, he did cross in character during last year’s rehearsal. “He’s probably one of the better ones,” said his father, Ronald Sr. “Naturally, I’m going to say that.” Rinaldi had persuaded his father — who used to join him on the re-enactment circuit — to take his uniform out of mothballs and join him and Rinaldi’s 11-year-old son, Ronnie, also a re-enactor, this year.

WOODEN CANTEEN, KNIT CAP

Earlier yesterday, after the presents had been dispatched, Rinaldi, dressed in a black scuba-like long-sleeved shirt and yellow breeches, retreated with his son up to the bedroom. While Ronnie put on a vest over his loose white shirt and tan breeches, and buttoned the spats over his buckled shoes, Rinaldi donned the handsome yellow uniform, blue overcoat and black three-cornered hat. It’s the same uniform Rinaldi wore when he first started reenacting, down to the knife he carved from an old metal file and the wooden canteen on which he scorched “U States.”

“I don’t like to talk about this because it’s not manly,” Rinaldi said, reaching into his closet and pulling out an orange knit cap that reads “Liberty or Death.” Yes, he had made it himself: When he was a teen, he worked at the Old Barracks in Trenton, and he said the little old ladies who volunteered there taught him to knit. Rinaldi knew earlier in the week the weather might not cooperate with his ambitions, and he sounded philosophical about the turn of events. “I was Washington whether I crossed or not,” he said. “I wouldn’t have a problem passing on the torch and going back to being a soldier.”

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	Gods Graves Glyphs	First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his country. Thanks Coleus. the decision to forgo the Durham boats only underlined how treacherous the original crossing must have been. "It's 1 o'clock in the afternoon. He did it in the middle of the night. We only have a hundred men. He had a thousand," Rinaldi said. "If we can't do it in the middle of the day with the river a little high, I find it a miracle he was able to do it." Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
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