Crossing re-enactors get across Delaware

WASHINGTON CROSSING, N.J. – Hundreds of spectators along the Delaware River saw the first complete re-enactment since 2001 of Gen. George Washington’s historic crossing.

Unlike the past three attempts, when days of precipitation pushed water levels and speeds above safety levels, this Christmas presented a more placid route from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.

Jim Gibson, portraying Washington in a full uniform replete with sword and peaked cap, and about 60 of his fellow re-enactors made it across in two longboats just as a raw mist became a steady rain.

The actual crossing took place in the dark, in driving sleet, starting on Christmas night 1776 and finishing early the next day. The sentries’ passwords: “Victory or death.”