At 1 PM, the reenactment of Washington's Crossing of the Delaware kicked off the events for Patriots' Week held in Trenton New, Jersey, beginning Dec. 26th to Dec. 31st. Like many Revolutionary War reenactors I've been running ever since between holiday family obligations and the events. Yesterday's Patriots' Week events were an unqualified success. Participant and audience attendance were great. This year there was a larger than usual turn out among the Crown forces that showed up for the Battles of Trenton, which is good because it makes the event more dramatic for the audience. The crowd attending the battle was enthusiastic and cooperative. The audience's cooperation is very important. Sometimes, not realizing the danger, a spectator steps into the line of fire to try to get a picture, or cross the street. Though the reenactors fire blanks, the percussive power of the guns' discharge is dangerous. Last year there were a number of complaints from reenactors about this problem.
The presentation by the Marbleheaders was packed. The presenters are members of the 14th Continental, Glover's Regiment. They portray the historic regiment from Marblehead Massachusetts, composed of watermen, sailors turned soldiers, who ferried Washington's forces across water ways between New York, Pennsylvannia, and Delaware, as he fought the British. This regiment holds particular significance to those interested in the contributions of Africans and peoples of color, which are still underepresented in education and the media. It was the most integrated regiment of the continental Army, with men of African descent comprising twenty-five percent of the ranks. After the American revolution the U.S. Army would be segregated until President Truman's executive order to integrate it.
Tags: Culture | trenton | 09:30 local | living history
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