10 Crucial Days - The Battle of Princeton

A little detour before we head on to the next Signer of the Declaration of Independence.

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Did you know that when George Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night, to attack an undefeated British force, made up of 30,000 soldiers from Canada and England brought to our shores by 400 warships, the continental Army was on the verge of collapse? The British forces under the command of General William Howe seemed unstoppable. The Revolution was dying, it was the dead of winter, food was in short supply and the soldiers had literally walked out of the boots and had to wrap their feet with whatever they could get their hands on.

With only 6,500 effective soldiers at his disposal, Washington asked these men to give him one more month, one month and they would be allowed to go home, one month and they would have a warm bed, a full belly and dry clothes.

3,300 men, chose to remain, for an additional $10.

They had just fought a battle 2 days prior, Luckily, the temperature dropped. This allowed Washington to escape certain defeat at the hands of General Cornwallis, and march his men 12 miles on roads that hours earlier were a muddy slush, now a frozen solid road that led them to Princeton.

This is a good example of finding a significant piece of history on my journey to find the signers. It was a somber moment, to be the only person on this battlefield. You can almost hear the cannons and the screams of battle. We take too much for granted.

The Following video explains the battle of Princeton in 4 minutes.

You can't hear the story of Washington leading his troops into battle on his Charger without thinking about this classic commercial.

This is where I ask you to think about what these men did to secure our freedoms, the pain and doubt that not only were they most likely to die a horrible death, shot and freezing on a battlefield, but if they were unlucky enough to live, they would be hung and sometimes tortured for their treason. As we sit here in front of our talky boxes being told how to think, what to think and how to feel, remember as uncomfortable it might be to listen to a differing opinion on a subject that most of us are not even experts on, it will never be as uncomfortable as the Colonial Marines were, who at the time of the Battle of Princeton, the now United States Marine Corps met the enemy on land for the first time.?Learn More

We are all in this together, whether we like it or not. So wrap your feet up, grab your $10 and get in line. We've got another 12 miles to go. Just one more month.