Delaware Crossing/Battle of Monmouth (Day 6- 6/7/08)

Crossing of the Delaware

I’ve studied this when I learned about the Revolutionary War and discussed it with my students when I teach it, but I have never really put too much emphasis on this event; I focus more on the Battle of Trenton. However, when we got off the bus at the Delaware River and walked along the banks of this beautiful river, it struck me what a significant and important event this was (so much so I decided to do my lesson plan on it!) I really liked hearing our guide talk about the famous picture first and what was accurate/inaccurate- I could see doing this with my students. Then having the opportunity to walk around and see all of the buildings was great. The only thing I wished was we could see more- like go into the icehouse or go into the upstairs of one of the homes, just my own curiosity wanting to see more:)! On such a hot day it was kind of hard to imagine what it must have been like when the soldiers crossed the river, I would love to visit that same place in the dead of winter to truly get a feel for what it must have been like! I am also constantly amazed at how smart of a general Washington seems to have been. Our guide told us that for how many men there were, there should have been 6 cannons that he took with him; however, to fool the enemy, Washington took 18 so it looked like he had more men. Maybe because I am not military-minded, but I would not have thought to do that- or maybe it was just the heat that made me think it was so brilliant!! Also, how cool was the little factoid about the bar and grill? I love the little tidbits of history we learn along the way- those are the things students love to hear about, they really stick in their minds:)!

Battle of Monmouth

Another visit to a battlefield- to me sometimes it seems hard to imagine all the carnage that took place there because these areas are so beautiful and peaceful. Usually I can imagine what it must have been like, but today, with the wind blowing through the tall grass it was hard to imagine so many soldiers fighting each other in one area. I’m glad these battlefields are preserved the way they are, that way we will never lose the history of the area. I would have loved to have seen the reenactment our guide was telling us will occur there! Even though it was a little hot and sticky (ok, maybe a lot), I really did like going on the 2/3 mile walk back to the visitors center- I think the weather reminded me of when I grew up in Iowa! You just can’t beat how beautiful and green everything out here is!

Something I wouldn’t have thought was that this was a turning point in the war for independence. I considered a few others more important… Saratoga and Yorktown come to mind… but I guess for the people fighting in the battles and the people in the town, every battle could be considered a turning point.