George Washington’s daring 1776 Christmas night river crossing explored on Fox Nation
Pete Hegseth hosts Washington Crossing Park’s annual reenactment of the Continental Army’s fateful Christmas crossing of the Delaware. This highly-anticipated event marks a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War and our nation’s history.
Pete Hegseth, co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend" and narrator of "Washington’s Christmas Crossing" on Fox Nation, hosted the Washington Crossing Park’s annual reenactment of the Continental Army’s fateful Christmas crossing of the Delaware. The highly-anticipated event celebrates a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War and our nation’s history.
This year’s reenactment will mark the 241st anniversary of George Washington’s famous trip across the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776.
The crossing — the trek that turned the tide of the Revolutionary War — is the highlight of the annual event that draws thousands of people to the banks of the river in Washington Crossing, Pa., and Titusville, N.J.
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"It was desperate. They were definitely losing the war, and this was a last-ditch, bold stroke to try and turn the thing around," a Fox Nation contributor told host Pete Hegseth.
The effort to get nearly 2,000 of Washington’s soldiers across the Delaware River was led by Colonel John Glover and his unit of "Marbleheaders."
The conditions were grim. The Marbleheaders spent nine hours ferrying troops across the icy river in the cover of night while contending with a swift current and cold wind.
Revolutionary War reenactors cross the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (Reuters)
The army’s attack prompted the battle of Trenton and what historians call the Ten Crucial Days - which helped put Washington on track for his eventual victory and "profoundly changed the course of the war."
"So if Glover and the marble headers had not assisted in making the crossing possible, it is not too far-fetched to say that we may not have won the war," added a contributor.
"We may all be subjects of the crown."
Hegseth delivered the keynote address at the reenactment, which drew a crowd of more than 4,000 people. He noted the many lives that were lost through the course of the war that led to America’s freedom as a nation.
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"When you add up that sacrifice, it starts to give you a tiny sense of what the cost of freedom has been in this nation," said Hegseth.
Watch the full episode of Pete Hegseth’s "Washington’s Christmas Crossing" available now on Fox Nation.