Day 3- Battle of Trenton

We also went to the Barracks at Trenton, New Jersey where the Battle of Trenton took place.  Remember how Washington crossed the Delaware?  Where did he cross to? Why.... Trenton!

While we were there we were brought in as new recruits.  We had to learn how to march, shoot, get inoculated for small pox, and find out how much we were paid and what we ate.


How many teeth did you need to have in order to be a soldier in the Continental Army?

Well, you only needed two teeth. (as long they met -one on the top and one on the bottom)  The reason? So that you could tear your powder cartridge.  But, what if you didn't have two teeth that met? Then you were assigned to the artillery.  I guess this means that you would not only have teeth but you would be deaf too!!

Here is a picture of our drill sergeant at the barracks. We were told that we were NOT the best set he's seen :-)

How long were recruits there?

Recruits had to be there for about 6-8 weeks.  While there, we also had to be inoculated for small pox.  This was a requirement by General Washington.  Inoculation was a way to make sure that the disease didn't spread.  First they would purge you of all liquids by giving you a special syrup that made you throw up or something to give you bad diarrhea and clean out your bowels.  Then they would take an old scab of smallpox, grind it up, scratch your skin, and then rub the small pox onto it.  You might get a little sick and break out all over your arm, but it was sure better than getting the full blown virus.  This might have been one of the strongest reasons why the Americans eventually won the war.

What would happen if you tried to desert, or leave?

Typically if you were caught deserting, you would be executed.  BUT, because there was low enrollment into the army they decided to not do that.  Instead, they would whip you anywhere from 80-1000 lashes with a cat-o-nine tails. YIKES!!

What did you eat while you were there?

You actually ate pretty well.  You were guaranteed bread, vinegar (to keep the disease scurvy away), a pint of beer, and meat while you were training at the barracks.  When you were actually out on the campaign and fighting....you weren't guaranteed food.  They tried to get you salted pork or beef (it traveled and kept well) and some bread.

What were you paid like?

Well...the Continental Army wasn't quite the best at paying the soldiers.  You were the highest paid soldiers in the world though at $6.50.  Except, you would be paid in paper money...which was basically worthless.  You would have rather have been paid in gold or silver like the British army.





We also went to go see the actual place where the battlefield took place at the Mercer House outside of Princeton. (Where the actual university is.  I went there later that day!)

The Mercer House is right behind me when I took this picture and looking out towards the battlefield.  You can kind of see small white pillars in the background of this picture.  Can you imagine over a thousand British soldiers marching towards you all at once here? I would be scared senseless at the sight!!!

Inside of the house:

There was a really neat museum over the battle.  In it I was able to see a really nice display of guns that would have been used during the Revolutionary War.

The guns shot out musket balls.  These little balls could do a LOT of damage.  To illustrate, the guide showed us an example he has used for school kids when they come and visit.  Notice the first picture that shows the way a musket ball would enter a body: (musket all is situated on top and the bullet hole is in the middle of the phone book)

NOW...check out what it looks like when it is coming out the back........

IMAGINE THAT GOING THROUGH YOUR BODY!!!!!

Day 3- Washington's Crossing

This was the area where Washington crossed the Delaware...although imagine it as snowy and the water chocked full of icy flows......

When did Washington’s Crossing happen?

Washington’s Crossing happened on December 25, 1776

What was happening in America right before Washington’s Crossing?

It was only in July that the Declaration of Independence was signed.  Six short months later, the war was almost over.  New York had fallen to the British and the British had chased the Americans across New Jersey.  George Washington and his troops were only saved by going across the Delaware, so the British stopped the campaign to set up for winter camp.

How did Washington get across?

Washington and his men got across on Durham boats. These looked like big canoes.  But, what about all of the artillery and horses? Well they went across on larger ferry vessels, like the picture I have taken.  It might be hard to see...but that is ONE big BOAT!! (A fellow teacher from the trip is on so you can see how big it is)

Day 2- Walking Tour of Philadelphia

On the second day I went on a walking tour of Philadelphia!! Boy did I see a lot!! Instead of writing one solid piece, I decided to break it up into like minded things. Hope you enjoy:


I had yet another fantastic day learning more about America's history.  What I think makes me most interested aren't the common facts I can read in history texts, but the corrections to that history and the flaws and interesting parts to the men involved.

Today I went to Independence Hall here in Philadelphia.  I took this picture quite a distance away, but if you look closely you can see the people in front of it. It's a gorgeous old building.  It is most famous for being the place where both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were debated, created, and signed.   

Here is a video of the assembly room where the Declaration and Constitution were signed. (Not sure if this will work, internet is slow here) Will fix when possible :-) 

But another thing that many people DON'T realize, is that this area served as our nation's first capitol, while work was going on in Washington, D.C. to build it.  You can barely see a small side of the house on the right side of the Hall. That was the building that was used as our FIRST Congressional Hall. The Senate and the House of Representatives both met in that house.

One of the first tests of our country’s Constitution, was when Washington finished his second term.  Who was going to be president??  Would Washington give up power?  Thomas Jefferson and John Adams ran against one another, and Adams won just by 3%.  This was the FIRST time that our president was not elected unanimously. (Can you imagine that? A whole congress and country united behind ONE candidate?!)

If you go up into the upper part of Congress Hall, you will also see two huge portraits hanging up.  One is of King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette.  Apparently to remind the United States of their friendship with France, they gave them portraits of themselves.  Isn’t that what you do with your friends??

After that we were off to the American Philosophical Society.

**Many phrases of speech we know today are relics of the past. Have you ever heard of the phrase "stand trial"?  Well in the 18th Century, when you were charged of a crime you actually had to stand the entire duration of your trial on a platform with bars all around it.

Day 2- American Philosophical Society

The American Philosophical Society is very concerned with natural philosophy and it was Benjamin Franklin’s attempt at bettering human kind through reasoning.  Franklin was extremely interested in the world around him, looking at the environment around him and using his reasoning to figure out its function.  Benjamin also wrote many papers on his thoughts, observations, and letters over new ideas.

A letter from Benjamin Franklin to "His Excellency John Hancock, Esq."  Look at that signature!!!

This was one of Lewis and Clark's journals from their expedition.  I actually got to see and read a facsimile (exact replica/copy) of it.  It was incredibly detailed and the descriptions were unreal! Just looking at the picture you can see all of the teeny tiny writing.  The entire journal is the size of my hand and no thicker than a deck of cards.

One of the coolest things that I saw here was an original pamphlet of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.  This was the pamphlet that helped instill many of the ideas that led to the American Revolution.  Another cool tidbit was that I saw a recollection and record of a treaty that took place.  Even though I have read about and heard about the tactics of rhe Americans to swindle Native’s out of their land, it was still mind boggling to see it in writing. (Picture to be added later)

Day 2- Franklin's Privy and Printshop

Franklin Court was in the heart of the city in Benjamin Franklin’s day.  There I was able to see where Franklin’s house was, his printing shop, and his privy.

Are you wondering what a privy is? Well a privy was a bathroom.  A privy would be dug about forty feet deep and lined with stone so that it wouldn’t cave in upon itself.  Chamber pots would be emptied into it, but also it was a common trash area.  For example, say I was working one day and I dropped a tea pot on the ground and it shattered. I would sweep up the pieces and go dump them into the privy.

Over time the privy would fill up and be filled in.

As time goes on, all of the human waste disintegrates and all that is left is the garbage.  When archeologists find a privy, they get very excited.  From here, they can tell what daily life was like for whichever family lived there.  For instance, remember that tea pot? Well an archeologist would find the shattered pieces, try reassembling them together, and maybe find a stamp on the bottom telling where it was bought.  From here, they would be able to figure out if we could afford “x amount of money” for a tea pot then we were probably a lower, middle, or upper class family. 

Who knew a privy could tell the future so much?!

As a side note, there was also a capped off water well near the privy? Guess how far away???  Only about 10-20 feet away!  That tells you what people back then did NOT know about disease.

What did Benjamin Franklin do?  Most of us think of Franklin as an inventor? Diplomat? Scientist?  But, did you know that Franklin was actually a printer?

Franklin grew up in Boston, and was apprenticed to his older brother as a printer.  Ben didn’t like that though, and he ran away to Philadelphia, which was a growing city.  He worked as an apprentice in a print shop there, later went to England, and then came back to open up his own print shop. 

For the first 30 years of Ben’s life, he was a “leather apron guy” and always thought of himself as a tradesman.  Franklin retired since most people died of an early age at 42, and then began is life as a scientist, and then eventually as a diplomat.  He ended up living until the age of 84, but still considered himself a printmaker.  While we were here, I was able to see a demonstration of how printmaking was done in Ben Franklin’s time.

Day 2- Quaker Meeting House

What’s a Quaker?  You have probably seen or heard of them, even if you aren’t quite sure.  For example, ever eaten Quaker Oatmeal?

One famous Quaker, was William Penn, the man who was issued a tract of land in the colonies, which we now call Pennsylvania.  Quakers were peaceful people and believed that all men were equal.

         Does that mean they didn’t own slaves?

Nope! Much to my surprise, some Quakers did own slaves.  They were businessmen and slavery was common throughout the colonies.  That did begin to change during the 1800’s in the lead up to the Civil War.  Quakers played a large role in the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement of the 1850’s.

Are Quakers still around?

Yes! Quakers are still around and I had to opportunity to go into their meeting house and meet a few.  They look no different than you or I.

How did Quakers worship?

Quakers are very interesting in that they have no dogma in their religion. (Dogma would be considered the rule book to how you worship)  Their meeting house is set up with multiple pews are facing one another in a square pattern.  They have no church leaders, no minister, no preacher. (In fact, their meeting house is very plain inside with no ornamentation at all!)  Instead, they sit for about ten minutes silently and then someone might stand to say something.  From there, people think about their words and then someone might comment back a few minutes later.  In fact, would be completely acceptable for an entire meeting (about an hour) to be silent the entire time.

         Were Quakers liked?

Not entirely.  In the time period, Quakers were often criticized because they did not show proper respect.  If you were walking down the street and met someone of a higher rank or station ( a judge perhaps) it was expected that you would stop, tip you hat, and say good morning.  But, Quakers did not do this since they believed that all were equal.  This was seen as a big NO NO in the time period!

Day 2- Christ Church and Christ Church Burial Ground

Have you ever heard of Christ Church?  How about the Episcopalian Church? Well, Christ Church is the mother church of all Episcopalian churches the United States over. (Episcopalian churches began after the split with the church of England)

When you walk into the church you might realize that you are walking on the people’s tombs.  This was a common English practice which carried over into colonial America.  On the outside of the church are also tombs.  When tombs are on the outside, you are supposed to not walk on them.  BUT, when it comes to graves inside of the church, it is considered good luck to walk upon the dead.  These men who were buried here, wanted to become a literal part of the church when they died.

When was Christ Church’s last service?

Christ Church is still an active church.  They hold services every day as well as being a historic landmark.

Who attended Christ Church?

Some of the people who attended Christ Church might sound very familiar to you: George Washington, Robert Morris, Benjamin Franklin, and Betsy Ross.

Where did they sit?

When you went to Christ Church you actually paid for your seat.  You had your own private pew and the most important towns people (aka the rich) had the pews closest to the pulpit.  Those who were not as rich would sit closer to the back of the church.

How long has Christ Church been around?

                 Christ Church was found in 1695, but the current church was built in  1744.  To put that in perspective, Christ Church has only had TEN                ministers since our country was born in 1776. That means that today I am only teaching the TWELTH generation of Americans!!! (Makes you think!)

I was also able to go and see Christ Church Burial Ground.  It’s very unique because there are lots of gravestones all around, but you can actually read very few.  Why? Well because most of the stones are made of limestone and they have been worn away through time and erosion.  One of the men running the burial ground realized this years ago and actually went around and drew a map of all of the graves that he could still identify. Unfortunately, many of the stones were already in a condition where they couldn't be read, so we do know that certain people were buried there...just not where.

Why are some of the stones two different colors?

One set of stones that I saw was two different colors.  The top was unreadable and the bottom perfect! Why? Well the tombstone had sunk overtime and they pulled them back up.  These tombstones actually belonged to Philip Syng (pronounced sing) and his wife.  Syng was a famous silversmith and it was an inkwell that was used in both the signings of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Here is a picture I took.  Based on the picture…who is buried here and WHY are there pennies on the tombstone?? (Answer at end of blog)

 Why are some people buried there, when they aren’t from Philadelphia?

Back then, transportation was difficult and transporting dead bodies was just not something you did.  If you died in a city, you were buried there.

Who is all buried at Christ Burial?

There are many people who we know and don’t know buried at the church, but most famously there are four signers of the Declaration of Independence:  Dr. Benjamin Rush, Francis Hopkinson, Joseph Hewes, Benjamin Franklin, and George Ross.

**ANSWER: The tombstone is of Benjamin Franklin.  People leave pennies because of Franklin’s famous saying, “A penny saved, is a penny earned.”

Day 2- President's House

When our country first began and Washington D.C. was getting built, our countries first capital was Philadelphia.  Not too far away from Independence Hall was where President Washington lived.  Today you can go and see where his house was and peek into some excavation archeologist have done to find out more about his home.

One story that people have given about his home is that President Washington had a window and he would open it for an hour once day.  As long as people were polite, they could walk by and talk to him about any concerns or grievances that had.  Do you think our President today would be able to do that?!

Was George Washington nice to his slaves?

This was a question that many students have asked.  I am still finding out more information to fully answer this question, but here’s what I have found out so far.

Washington had a personal manservant (slave) who was his constant companion.  He even rode into battle with Washington and it’s recorded that they were very good friends.

But while Washington was President, he did have 8 slaves attempt to run away and 2 who did successfully.  In his diaries, Washington can be seen lamenting that one of his slaves, Hercules, he had treated “nicely” so he didn’t understand why he had run.

The truth of the matter is….they were still slaves.  

Day 2- Liberty Bell

The Liberty Bell was NEVER rung when they signed the Declaration of Independence, like so many people like to believe.  Instead, the Liberty Bell never got that name until the abolitionist movement.  There is an inscription around the bell.  In the mid 1800’s, abolitionists found this out and nicknamed the bell Liberty Bell.

On this day, we walked…walked…walked…walked…and WALKED all over Philadelphia.  It was a great time…minus the 100 degree heat with 100% humidity.  It was HOT!!! J