PRINCETON, NJ Restaurant Dining Guide Announcement

Trenton, NJ—In a landmark event that puts the most fervent snow-lover to the test, a group of reenactors came together at the Old Barracks Museum this past Saturday to recreate Charles Wilson Peale's Company's 14 mile march to Princeton Battlefield. The day was spent drilling, firing, and marching in the 5 inches of snow that covered the Old Barracks Museum like a blanket. After a passionate reading from "The American Crisis" by Thomas Paine, which called upon patriots to continue the fight even in the harshest of conditions and darkest of times, the men prepared to leave the warm Barracks at midnight to march off towards Princeton. After four hours of marching, they finally arrived at the battlefield at dawn.

 

Many people are left shaking their heads wondering what would cause a person to march so many miles in the middle of the night, through slush, snow, and ice, wearing reproductions of 18th century clothing, toting muskets and canteens. David Niescior, Interpreter at the Old Barracks Museum and one of the organizers of this event, explains:

 

"Much of the reason for why we engage in living history is for the ability to better understand what it felt like to live in the 18th century. We are, essentially, too silly to be content to read the book and use our imaginations. Rather, as Thomas Paine said: 'What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value.' We can read the books and we don't have to imagine what our forbearers felt, we can recall those sensations ourselves. And the harder those memories are won, the more permanently they are etched in our minds."

 

If you missed this event, you can stop by the Old Barracks Museum and meet with the Historic Interpreters who were involved with the march. The Old Barracks Museum is open year-round, Monday-Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM. Tours begin on the hour; admission prices are $8-adults, $6-students & seniors, and free for Active Duty Military  and Members of the Old Barracks Association. Visit www.barracks.org or call 609-396-1776 for more information. 

 

ABOUT THE OLD BARRACKS MUSEUM: The Old Barracks Museum preserves the history of a building that was built as a French and Indian War military barracks and used as a Revolutionary War Patriot hospital. It also stood witness to Washington's crucial victory at the Battle of Trenton. In 1903, members of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames organized The Old Barracks Association and spearheaded a campaign to fund a major restoration. The building has been used as a museum for over a century, and has frequently been used as a symbol for the state of New Jersey. The Old Barracks Museum welcomes visitors from across the state as well as around the world.