235th Anniversary March from the Crossing and Battles of Trenton

I was among those hardy souls who made it the full 9 1/2 miles from Washington's Crossing to Trenton on New Years Eve Day.  You can read the After Action Report I wrote for my fellow marchers in the 1st NJ here.   I'll only add that our hosts for this event from Outwater's Militia and the Old Barracks Museum did an outstanding job!

While my left knee still reminds me that I did something highly unusual in straight last shoes last weekend, I would not have missed it for anything.

I wore my spatterdash gaiters, with the buttoned moved yet again to attempt a tight fit, with mixed results.  Still, they stayed in place, which is the main thing, and protected the lower part of my knit wool mustard yellow stockings that are my favortie winter wear.  It was a warm day, reaching the high 40s, but I was still glad to have fingerless gloves in the afternoon when the temperature started to drop.  I also wore my new Benjamin Warner model knapsack that I sewed myself from a Stuart Lilie kit.  The extra weight was not an issue, especially because I was able to sling my musket rather than carry it at the shoulder.

It was murder on the feet, but my stoclings held up and my shoes did not wear out and that was remarkable given the hard surfaces we travelled.  We followed in the footsteps of General Greene's Column from McKonkey's Ferry and had a running fight down the streets of Trenton leapfrogging by platoons and hitting the Hessians (and their allies from the Crown Forces) from several sides.  I greatly admire those who portrayed the Germans at this event, and rarely get to see so many Hessians in one place.  Nor was it common for the Jersey Brigade to field nearly 20 men together, as was the case for the first of two battles that day. 

I've posted a fair number of images from the March and Battles on Facebook which can be viewed here and here and my friend Janice Erikson Smith has an album there with some great images of the streetfighting and battles from the sidelines.  For those who don't do Facebook, here is a taste of what was an exhausting but also thrilling end to 2011.