Click on the days of the week for the events of that day.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29th

The Soldiers of Washington’s Army at Trenton

Saturday, December 29th 9:45 am to 10:45 am

Masonic Temple Library, Front and Barrack Streets 2

Author and educator Mike Cecere of the 7th Virginia Regiment will talk about the American army on the eve of the Battles of Trenton. Mr. Cecere, the author of five books on the Revolutionary War, will identify the American units that participated in the assault on Trenton and describe their condition and what they endured in the months leading up to this crucial attack.

First Battle of Trenton

Saturday, December 29th 11:00 am to noon

Reenactment begins at the Battle Monument9

Follow the action from the symbolic first cannon shot fired at the current site of the Battle Monument, down Warren Street to a final skirmish in Mill Hill Park. In just a few hours on the day after Christmas, the rebel forces— exhausted, dressed in rags, ill from the cold and lack of sleep and decent food—had accomplished the impossible by inflicting a crippling blow to the world’s greatest army. If you arrive early, head to the Old Barracks as troops muster and prepare for battle.

Veterans’ and Reenactors’ Lunch

Saturday, December 29th Noon to 1:00 pm

Masonic Temple Library, Front and Barrack Streets 2

The Masons of the 15th Masonic District of New Jersey and Church & Dwight Co. welcome New Jersey veterans, current military service personnel and reenactors for an honorary luncheon at the stately Masonic Temple.

The Arrival of Colonel Hand

Saturday, December 29th 1:00 pm

Reenactment begins at the Battle Monument9

Be on hand to cheer the arrival of Colonel Edward Hand and his men, whose stalling tactics helped ensure Washington’s victory in Trenton. Colonel Hand and the 1st Pennsylvania Riflemen will be arriving in Trenton for the end of their historical march of the patriot Colonel Hand Coffee, Chocolate, Tea, Spices, and Many Other Items Too Tedious to Mention;

18th Century Imports into Philadelphia

Saturday, December 29th 1:15 pm to 2:45 pm

Masonic Temple Library, Front and Barrack Streets 2

For over 25 years Deborah Peterson of Deborah Peterson’s Pantry has been a practicing hearth cook. As a culinary historian she spent most of her time searching for those hard-tofind ingredients to replicate the old time receipts (what we call recipes today) from our English colonial era.

Come and learn from the historian about coffee, chocolate, imported and patriotic teas, spices, isinglass, hartshorn, gum dragon, pearlash, sweet oils, pickles, sweetmeats, rose and orange-flower waters and many other items too tedious to mention here that were part of our nation’s imported foods.

Second Battle of Trenton

Saturday, December 29th 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

First Presbyterian Church, 120 East State Street11

After its commencement on East State Street, Mill Hill Park is the scene of much of the action for the Old Barracks -orchestrated reenactment of the Second Battle of Trenton. Three times British General Charles Cornwallis ordered his men to take control of the Assunpink Creek Bridge, and three times they failed. Soon after, the American troops escaped by backroads toward Princeton. Years later, Cornwallis conceded that he lost the war when Washington gave him the slip in Trenton.