| These are replicas of the Durham Boats that George Washington used to cross
the Delaware River.
Washington had appropriated the boats from the Durham furnace upriver.
Colonel John Glover and his sailors from Marblehead Massachusetts were
invaluable in aiding the crossing. Once Washington had crossed the
Delaware he marched south to attack and defeat the Hessians at Trenton,
New Jersey. This marked the turning point of the Revolutionary War.
They are on display at the park during the year. There is a reenactment
of the crossing every year on Christmas Day if the weather permits.
One famous anectode is that when General Washington was ready to cross
himself, he found that Henry Knox, his artillery commander was seated in
the boat. Knox was of considerable size. Washington told Knox to move over
- carefully and not swamp the ____ boat. The result was that it gave
a huge morale boost to the men who heard it and word spread quickly
throughout the men.
The net result of the crossing and subsequent defeat of the much feared
Hessians was that it was a turning point in the war. George Washington,
with one bold move, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
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