Princeton Battlefield and New Jersey's Revolutionary War Legacy

Explore Princeton Battlefield State Park, a pivotal site and part of the key role New Jersey played as a Crossroads of the American Revolution. Darley Newman interviews historian Larry Kidder, author of "Ten Crucial Days," and interpreter Will Krakower, who provide fascinating insights into the Battle of Princeton, where the Continental Army under General George Washington achieved significant victories. Learn from David Duncan about the ongoing preservation efforts by the American Battlefield Trust and new developments for travelers visiting this New Jersey State Park. Whether you're a history enthusiast or adding this to your travel itinerary, this episode offers a deep dive into the remarkable events that shaped America's fight for independence. Learn more about Princeton Battlefield State Park and preservation efforts at battlefields.org. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
New Jersey is known as the Garden State, but if you know anything about American history,

(00:04):
you may also consider it the Crossroads of the American Revolution.
General George Washington and the Continental Army spent more time in New Jersey
during six years of conflict than any other state, and landmark battles took place in New Jersey
that would change the course of the American Revolution. We're traveling in this podcast

(00:25):
to Princeton Battlefield State Park, a destination travelers can visit to learn about the American
Revolution in New Jersey. We meet two experts on location, Larry Kidder, a historian,
an author of the book Ten Crucial Days, Washington's Vision for Victory Unfolds,
an interpreter Will Krakower. We'll also hear from the American Battlefield Trust

(00:51):
about new plans for interpretation at Princeton Battlefield State Park. It's a travels with
Darling Podcast where we take you on location to learn about history, culture, food, and travel.
I actually e-biked to Princeton Battlefield State Park on an overcast spring day.

(01:14):
I've been traveling throughout New Jersey to understand the state's role in the American Revolution.
A huge part of the story happened in Princeton, including on the campus of what is now Princeton University.
The open lands of the battlefield, lush green and dotted with a few beautiful trees,
including the famous Mercer Oak, a gorgeous tree, not far from where General Humeurser fell during

(01:40):
the battle. It's just a mile southwest of Princeton University. Larry Kidder, a historian,
an author of the Ten Crucial Days book, joins me at the site of the battle, now preserved as
Princeton Battlefield State Park. This battle would be the third surprising and significant victory

(02:01):
to cap off what many historians refer to as the Ten Crucial Days. We stroll over to an interpretive
sign. What is the significance of the battle of Princeton in the greater American Revolution?
It really turned the tide. The tide had been flowing in the direction of the British victory.
The war could have ended if it hadn't been for the Battle of Princeton, but it went off for six and a

(02:23):
half years after. And that's because Washington did what he did here and was successful.
Before the Battle of Princeton was the time that Thomas Payne referred to as these are the times
that try men's souls. The revolution was essentially envisioned as being close to over by both sides
and the Americans obviously losing. By the end of the Battle of Princeton and the Ten Crucial Days,

(02:47):
everything had turned around and the Americans had a new lease on life and the British were saying,
"Uh oh, we've got a long thing going here." A battle was not planned that early in the morning,
but the continental troops were moving north to Princeton just as the British were traveling south
to attack Trenton. The area where Princeton Battlefield State Park is today was at that time

(03:09):
farmland and it's where the two armies would suddenly confront each other. Both Washington now and
the British commander had to make a decision. Do I keep going where I'm supposed to be going?
The Princeton and Washington side to Trenton on the British commander side or do I try to find out
what's going on here? And the Battle of Princeton took place because both decided to find out what

(03:32):
was going on here. Why is it important for people to visit Princeton Battlefield State Park?
Not only can they learn about the military actions that took place, which were extremely important,
but they can also learn about how military actions affect the people whose property
of the actions take place on. The Battle took place on the farm of Thomas Clark,

(03:55):
whose original two-story half-Georgian frame house still stands today. The seven-room home is
furnished in the period of the revolution. Inside travelers can learn from exhibitions. A plan is
underway to restore the core of Princeton Battlefield and add traditional interpretation and new technologies
to share the full story of the battle. David Duncan of the American Battlefield Trust shares

(04:19):
further context on how the Battlefield Trust helps save land and interpret history.
We were involved in a campaign to save the field where Washington made his final charge several
years ago. And as important as it is for us to save these properties, and in this case, there was

(04:41):
going to be some development slated for the land that we saved, so we were able to forestall that.
If we just save an open field and let it become overgrown and you don't interpret it, you don't
tell people what happened there. You've done something important, but you haven't done the full story.
You haven't told the full story that you need to tell. So we are working very closely with the local

(05:06):
community there in Princeton, also with the state, to create something we're calling Washington's legacy.
And it is a reimagining of the interpretation of that battlefield, which for the last 40 or 50 years
has been dominated mostly by joggers or walkers or dogwalkers or things like that with a few signs,

(05:28):
but we want to bring to the fore the importance of the Princeton battlefield to our country's history.
So again, a lot of the same things in a phased approach, new battlefield interpretive signs.
We're creating one that's called window to the past. It's still low tech,
but you will look through a clear panel and be able to see how the forces were aligned on the

(05:53):
battlefield actually were your standing, so it's not just a map on a traditional sign, but the same
thing with videos and augmented reality, virtual reality, eventually in later phases, we're also
hoping and working with the state of New Jersey to possibly have a new visitor center created at

(06:15):
that battlefield. So we know that's extremely important. People like to go to visitor centers,
see some museums, it's pedestrian, but people are interested in bathrooms as well in gift shops,
so you need to have those types of amenities to really get people to come out to the battlefields.
So we're just really excited about Princeton. We're still engaged in some pretty significant fundraising

(06:39):
that we need to do for that effort as well, but again, bringing that battlefield to life in ways that
it's never been brought to life before. Back at Princeton Battlefield State Park, inside the Thomas
Clark House, I'm meeting Will Krakower who interprets the history and share some details
about the family, what happened in the days after the battle. Thomas Clark lived here with his sister

(07:04):
and an enslaved woman owned by the Clark family named Susanna and the three of them were here in
this house with obviously shrapnel shot and shell coming through the building. They hid below our
feet in the basement of this house. They were Quakers, pacifists, so they are deeply thought of as
suspicious by both American and British military forces. That translates here in the Clark House in

(07:27):
an interesting way. After the battle, these Quakers get to take a little agency back by deciding who
comes in and they decide everybody, both British and American soldiers will be taken here and treated
in the house. Prior to visiting Princeton Battlefield State Park, I went behind the scenes at Princeton
University and I gained access to view and film a special Charles Wilson Peale portrait that I bring

(07:50):
up to will. We were able to take a look at the Charles Peale portrait of George Washington depicting
the battle of Princeton. Brigadier General Hugh Mercer here at Princeton, his brigade is right in
front and so it is Mercer who will be mortally wounded when the British ban at charge into the Apple

(08:10):
orchard. He's taken to this room here about two hours after the conclusion of the battle and he will
remain in that room for the rest of his life the next nine days. General Hugh Mercer is shown in
Peale's painting as expiring in the arms of surgeon Benjamin Rush. At the time of his death, he's the
second highest ranking continental army officer who have been killed in the line of duty thus far

(08:31):
during the war. We have this battle happening on the 10th day of what is called the 10 crucial days.
That's years or some people say for some more. Yes, that's a bad raid. You ask any historian, they'll say,
oh, the five days before our important or the five days after our report, right? So maybe
colloquially, we call it the 10 crucial days of the 25th of December until the 3rd of January.
But there are things happening on either side of these 10 days that could also be included,

(08:57):
you know, in this campaign that are just as crucial battle of Petticoat bridge, the battle of iron
works hill, these are small battles in South Jersey, near Mount Holly, that play a major role and what
happens up here in central Jersey around Trenton and Princeton. But they get sort of brushed away
little silently for the three big battles up here, the two Trenton and the one at Princeton.

(09:18):
10 crucial days for people who aren't aware of what those even are. Can you give me a rundown? Sure.
The 10 crucial days was a campaign which Washington and the continental army embarked on in the
end of December of 1776. Up until that point, the continental army had faced a series of defeats,
which were pushing the revolution towards an untimely end. And in these 10 days, Washington and the

(09:42):
continental army managed to win three incredible victories and pretty much turned the tide of the war
from utter defeat to the possibility of victory. One of their contemporaries said that it gave
reputation to their arms and in that sense, hope was rekindled that this revolution could be one.

(10:03):
I still have six more years of war, but these 10 days are the first step towards victory.
I continue to read about Princeton Battlefield and the greater American Revolution
as we create these podcasts and also the video version of the Travels with Darley TV series,
where you can watch our visit to this destination in New Jersey as part of New Jersey Revolutionary

(10:24):
Roadtrips Part 1 and refer to our other podcasts covering American Revolution in Civil War
battlefields in South Carolina and Virginia. And if you want more information on Princeton Battlefield
State Park and other battlefield sites you might like to visit, check out battlefields.org.
Have a topic you want to hear or see us covering? Please reach out and thanks for listening.

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