Colonel Knox and His Canons

Battle of Trenton

Hello All! Here are a few pictures at Washington's Crossing:

Here I am marching to Washington's Crossing with my faithful film crew, Melanie, my beloved Daughter, on Dec. 20, only 4 days before the anniversary of the crossing (note the snow on the ground). The conditions were much different on Christmas Eve 1776. We walked a few hundred yards from a heated van on a very calm but cold day. Washington and his army of about 2,400 men, many whom were sick and many without shoes (yes, it's not a myth: the "route was easily traced, as there was a little snow on the ground, which was tinged with blood from the feet of the men who wore broken shoes" - Major Wilkinson, "More than a few were without shoes" - David Hackett Fischer in Washington's Crossing) marched to this point in a blinding nor'easter. If you've lived through a northeast snow storm you know what it's like. The men marched against driving rain, sleet and snow on ice to McConkey's ferry, crossed the Delaware, then marched southeast for 9 miles to Trenton against this raging storm that did not abate the entire night. Some described it as "hurricane" winds. The men were exhausted, freezing and drenched to the bone; and yet, Colonel Cadwalader remarked that "not one man complained".

Why would so many men, including Washington, have such resolve to march in conditions as this? One word...liberty! Colonel Joseph Reed wrote to Washington a few days before the battle pleading by the love of his country, wife and children that they should act without delay. Another reason why these men fought so bravely can be summed up by an interview with Captain Levi Preston who fought in the battle of Lexington and Concord when asked at the age 91, if the tea tax, stamp act or men like Harrington, Sidney and Locke influenced him: "I never saw any stamps...never drank a drop of the stuff...never heard of these men. The only books we had were the Bible, the Catechism, Watts' psalms and hymns and the almanacs...we always had governed ourselves and we always meant to..."

This is a 3 1/2 pound cannon at Washington's Crossing. They were light and agile. Washington often used them as an offensive weapon.

There are certain men, at certain times, in certain places that seem to be ordained by God in pivotal times of history. John Knox was that certain man, who on the evening of Dec. 25, on the banks of the Delaware was responsible for the crossing of all Washington's men. Why was this so providential? John Knox was a very large man who had a very loud voice! His bass voice could be heard across the Delaware over the howling snowstorm. Fischer writes that "Several commanders of the army believed that the crossing would have failed "but for the stentorian lungs of Colonel Knox"". Wow, that's amazing! How would you like to be the man who was responsible for getting Washington's entire army across the Delaware in a battle that would come to be known as the turning point of the Revolution! He was not only responsible for getting all the men across the river, but Colonel Knox was in charge of all the 18 pieces of artillery. Each piece was successfully taken over. The last piece arrived on the opposite side at about 3:00 AM on the 26th. The reason it was so important for Washington to have these cannons is that the muskets and wading were too wet to use and since the cannon firing holes were wrapped well they were used very effectively to win this battle. By the way, Knox captured 6 Hessian brass cannons in this fight. Not a bad prize.

Here's a great piece of art. It says: "NEAR THIS SPOT, WASHINGTON CROSSED THE DELWARE. ON CHRISTMAS NIGHT 1776. THE EVE OF THE BATTLE OF TRENTON.

Constructed 1898 "

(I look very short in this picture. This monument is at least 6'2" tall! Note the river in the background.)

Yes, it's true, Washington would have stood up in the Durham boats that crossed the Delaware like in the painting by Emmanuel Leutze. A few others reasons that the soldiers would have needed to stand is because there weren't any seats except the pilot's seats, there was freezing cold water in the bottom of the boats and the men needed to jump up and down to dislodge the ice that was sticking to the boats. This was even more amazing given that it was the middle of the night, it was dark and it was in the middle of a raging snow storm. Any volunteers?!!! These men were sacrificing their "fortunes, their lives and their sacred honor" for sure! After the battle, John Knox (Boston book seller and a gregarious friend of many in the city) wrote home to his wife and said that "perseverance accomplished what at first seemed impossible". Jesus said, "In this world you will have tribulation, but take heat, I have overcome the world". Also, in the book of 1 John, it says that faith overcomes difficulties. Many of these men were men of great faith. Without it the war would not have been won. They placed their trust in a faithful God who remained faithful to the very end.

Washington wrote this to Martha on June 8, 1775: "I shall rely, therefore confidently on that Providence which has heretofore preserved and been bountiful to me, not doubting but that I shall return to you in the fall"