Excitement was in the air. It was the beginning of last year’s annual celebration of Patriots week in Princeton and Trenton. I attended as many events as I could but if you are a die-hard Revolutionary war fan, it is never enough. As the events included many wonderful talks, I wanted to mention those whom I felt were the top 5 Revolutionary War speakers, although many others added luster to the week’s events.
Sponsored by the Trenton Downtown Association, Patriots Week consists of a large number of events including reenactments, talks by noted speakers, as well as guided tours of the Trenton battlefields. Hundreds of re enactors came from all across America to depict for us the historic events that actually took place right here, in downtown Trenton. The battles provided the Continental Army’s first victories, became the turning point of the war, and led to victory and the birth of our free nation.
All In all it was an American Revolutionary War fan’s delight.
At the week’s opening, I attended a wonderful talk at the Princeton Library by author Thomas Fleming. A noted historian, he has written many books on the Revolutionary War period. This talk was sponsored by the Princeton Battlefield Society.
I witnessed a reenactment of the 2nd Battle of Trenton right before my eyes. 50 to 100 men in colonial uniform crossed the new metallic bridge (very near to the famous “old stone bridge” where the battle actually took place). The soldiers fired their muskets and the cannon roared. The re enactors gave it their all, even allowing their spotless uniforms to get muddied as they “fell” in battle.
I attended the end of the luncheon for the re enactors, and got to hear a fantastic talk by author Larry Kidder: “A people Harassed and Exhausted “, the story of a New Jersey militia Regiment.
Finally I took an excellent walking tour of the Battle of Trenton with noted interpretive guide Ralph Siegel. It was a bit cold that day, but Mr. Siegel’s dynamic commentary made up for it, as he showed us the actual sites where the fight took place.
Other noted speakers performing during the week included Peter Osborne who talked about Washington’s Crossing, and B. David Emerson who gave a talk as George Washington.
There were many more events each day, turning downtown Trenton, for one week, into an American Revolutionary village. Anyone who has an interest in the heritage of freedom in America should not miss this year’s events which have now been scheduled.
For further information be sure to visit:
Trenton Downtown Association’s Patriot Week web site:
http://www.destinationtrenton.com/events/patriots-week/
And be sure to visit the Historical Society of Princeton’s website to watch for Patriot Week events:
AT BARRY SINGER HISTORY ADVENTURES, we also do American Revolutionary War speaking engagements and walking tours of Princeton’s revolutionary war sites. For further information or to book a talk please visit:
Barry Singer, West Windsor, New Jersey
December 1, 2015