Arriving at Washington Crossing Historic Park for the annual reenactment of Washington Crossing the Delaware on Christmas Day as we have done the previous two years (click here for He’s No Chicken But He Crossed The River To Get To The Other Side), my husband immediately noticed that there were no boats in the water. Sharing this with me, we discussed the possibility that they were doing something different this year, maybe they would carry the boats to the river as part of the program. We would soon learn that the water level was too low for the boats.
What if this was the case in 1776 when General Washington took his troops over to Trenton? This pivotal attack in the American Revolution would not have occurred. Timing is everything, the Continental Army had to cross when they did. Too much ice. Not happening. No ice, river moving too fast. Nope.
The reenactment took place without the boarding and launching of the boats, still providing an interesting and patriotism-inducing experience for all who were there. As disappointed as the spectators were, the women and men who practice all year for the crossing must have been crushed.
As I sat on the banks of the Delaware River, I was struck by the realization that the significant events in our country’s history, so ingrained in us, could very well have not taken place, setting in motion an extremely different everything. It was a much needed reminder that as vital as it is that we appreciate our present, we must not take our past for granted either. If not for 330 million gallons of water, or 5 trillion drops of rain, I would be writing my stories with a British accent.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter #ushistory #americanhistory #usa #america #unitedstates #americanrevolution #washingtoncrossinghistoricpark
