Speaker 1: And we continue with our American stories and more of
Speaker 1: our Christmas storytelling, which we're doing all month long. It's
Speaker 1: called the First American Christmas because the Declaration of Independence
Speaker 1: was created the previous summer, essentially divorcing America from England
Speaker 1: and declaring our country as an independent nation. Here is
Speaker 1: the story of Christmas seventeen seventy six.
Speaker 2: My name is Brian Benjamin. I recently wrote a children's
Speaker 2: book entitled Christmas seventeen seventy six that I'll be reading
Speaker 2: for you today. It covers the Revolutionary War and follows
Speaker 2: George Washington and the Continental Army in the late months
Speaker 2: of seventeen seventy six as they were fighting and mostly
Speaker 2: losing to the British for American independence. It of course
Speaker 2: culminated in the famous crossing of the Delaware River on
Speaker 2: Christmas Night seventeen seventy six. This book, I was actually
Speaker 2: reading a biography of George Washington, and I got to
Speaker 2: the part where the Continental Army is in Pennsylvania, Christmas
Speaker 2: is approaching and the war is looking really bleak, and
Speaker 2: you know they planned the crossing of the Delaware River.
Speaker 2: The two things that struck me were one I didn't
Speaker 2: realize how bleak the picture was for the Americans. At
Speaker 2: this point during the war. We were really getting kicked
Speaker 2: around by the British, and heading into that winter of
Speaker 2: seventeen seventy six, the cause of American independence did not
Speaker 2: look well. And the other thing that struck me was
Speaker 2: how history really turned on a dime with this attack.
Speaker 2: But this really saved America's cause, and so I tried
Speaker 2: to put that in the book. You know, it is
Speaker 2: a children's books, but I had to get across both
Speaker 2: the America was an underdog and it was not looking good,
Speaker 2: and also that contingency of things could have gone different
Speaker 2: in their cases where America doesn't come through this. But
Speaker 2: with the brave actions of these men, led by George Washington,
Speaker 2: they saved American independence starting on Christmas night, so without
Speaker 2: further ado, Christmas seventeen seventy six, the year was seventeen
Speaker 2: seventy six, America faced a crisis to fix British taxation
Speaker 2: without representation angered Americans of every station. They sought the
Speaker 2: freedom to make their own laws, the right to liberty
Speaker 2: their sacred cause. American patriots took up their arms, they
Speaker 2: left their homes, their shops their farms. These farm boys
Speaker 2: had grit, but little training. The experience they lacked they
Speaker 2: would soon be gaining. General George Washington would lead them
Speaker 2: to fight Britain's oppressive imperial might. George Washington was an
Speaker 2: American born and bred, taller than most men by a head.
Speaker 2: With six brothers three sisters, he grew up strong. The
Speaker 2: start of his adventures did not take long. He fought
Speaker 2: in the French and Indian War, and by the end
Speaker 2: he'd entered American loar. When the Revolutionary War broke out,
Speaker 2: America needed a leader, no one could doubt. They turned
Speaker 2: to their only living legend. Barely another name was mentioned.
Speaker 2: George Washington would lead them in this war to take
Speaker 2: on all the British had in store. They'd face British regulars,
Speaker 2: skillfully taught, perfectly disciplined. Before they fought, the Brits had
Speaker 2: a few other friends. They'd brought some German soldiers whose
Speaker 2: support they'd bought, and all these troops would cross the
Speaker 2: sea aboard the world's best navy. General Washington and his
Speaker 2: now army prepared to defend New York City. This coveted
Speaker 2: crown jewel of the colonies stood especially vulnerable to attack
Speaker 2: by sea. The Americans worked to fortify their shore before
Speaker 2: the Brits arrived to kick off the war. The British
Speaker 2: came with one hundred ships or more and three times
Speaker 2: the men, or maybe four. The Americans tried to stand
Speaker 2: their ground, but the bridge showed up and beat them
Speaker 2: sound from Long Island. They were displaced from Manhattan. They
Speaker 2: were quickly chased from the banks of the Hudson. They
Speaker 2: were erased and into New Jersey. They ran, disgraced to
Speaker 2: the Delaware River. They anxiously fled. They crossed to safety,
Speaker 2: but were filled with dread. The war was less than
Speaker 2: two years old and the Americans were stranded in the cold.
Speaker 2: Their greatest city conquered, lost their treasury, white doubt by
Speaker 2: the cost, many Americans began to doubt and feared they
Speaker 2: faced a certain route. The Brits pursued all the way
Speaker 2: to the river, then looked across and saw their enemies shiver.
Speaker 2: With winter coming December. Here, the Redcoats felt they'd had
Speaker 2: a good year. They retreated to conquered Nyc, to warm
Speaker 2: beds and Tory hospitality. They left behind their German dogs
Speaker 2: of war to guard the Delawares Jersey shore. With American
Speaker 2: hopes plainly fading and British troops relaxing celebrating, Washington knew
Speaker 2: he must take bold action for the revolution to regain
Speaker 2: some traction. He gathered his men to plan and plot
Speaker 2: how to grab the victory they so desperately sought. They
Speaker 2: decided on a holy night to begin their brave and
Speaker 2: noble fight. On Christmas night, they would embark and cross
Speaker 2: the river in the dark, then march ten miles to
Speaker 2: surprise their foes, and arrived to attack just as the
Speaker 2: sun rose. Awaiting their final orders, the men held their breath.
Speaker 2: George Washington stated gravely, victory or death. With the plan
Speaker 2: all set now just to wait. They must keep the
Speaker 2: plan a secret and their heads on straight. They braved
Speaker 2: a tense Christmas Eve and mourn, then approached the ships
Speaker 2: on which they'd be borne. In a light rain. General
Speaker 2: Washington crossed first. The river was choppy with ice interspersed.
Speaker 2: When the sun fell on that Christmas day, the weather
Speaker 2: turned and their plan gave way in an army with
Speaker 2: men of every station, twas the fishermen that rose to
Speaker 2: this occasion. These expert sailors guided boat after boat across
Speaker 2: nature's deadly makeshift mote. The rain had shifted to snow
Speaker 2: and hail, but these brave men refused to fail. They
Speaker 2: moved twenty four hundred men across, and not a single
Speaker 2: soul was lost. But the vicious weather had another cost.
Speaker 2: Three hours against the plan were lost. Finally, by four am,
Speaker 2: their march began, and they braved the elements to a man,
Speaker 2: They marched ten miles in hail and snow to meet
Speaker 2: their skilled and rested foe. They arrived well after the
Speaker 2: morning sun, not sure if by their lateness they'd been undone,
Speaker 2: these brave men charged from the woods at a run,
Speaker 2: and the German mercenaries were simply stunned. How could an
Speaker 2: army arrive ready to fight after the terrible weather of
Speaker 2: the previous night. General Washington led from the front on
Speaker 2: horseback and rebuffed every German counter attack. American cannons fired
Speaker 2: with precision, guided by Alexander Hamilton, they raced through the town,
Speaker 2: took prisoners galore. They shocked the mercenaries pressing for more.
Speaker 2: The Germans lost almost one thousand men, the Americans lost
Speaker 2: less than ten. After battling the weather all through the night,
Speaker 2: it took less than an hour to finish the fight.
Speaker 2: The next ten days were a complete whirlwind. They crossed
Speaker 2: the river back and again, first to deposit their prisoners
Speaker 2: in booty, then returning to continue their tour of duty.
Speaker 2: They stimied a British assault at Trenton, then launched a
Speaker 2: surprise attack at Princeton. At Princeton, the fame British regulars
Speaker 2: were beat and the world was astounded by this colonial feat.
Speaker 2: In the space of ten days, they'd secured two victories.
Speaker 2: In the space of ten days, they'd changed the course
Speaker 2: of history. On Christmas Eve, the American cause had been dead,
Speaker 2: but now Britain was back on its heels instead. The
Speaker 2: morale of the troops and colonists soared. They again believed
Speaker 2: in what they were marching toward, towards life, liberty, and
Speaker 2: the pursuit of happiness, to secure their rights and to
Speaker 2: crush British haughtiness. America's birth was never a certainty, but
Speaker 2: it was filled with men that would fight for it fervently.
Speaker 2: These brave men volunteered to fight and die, not knowing
Speaker 2: what their sacrifices might buy. But we know the eventual
Speaker 2: success of their plan and the day America's future began,
Speaker 2: the day their deeds left the world transfixed Christmas seventeen
Speaker 2: seventy six, and.
Speaker 1: A terrific job on the production and editing by our
Speaker 1: own Craig Hangler, and a special thanks to Brian Benjamin.
Speaker 1: His beautifully illustrated book Christmas seventeen seventy six is available
Speaker 1: wherever you buy your books, head over to Amazon or
Speaker 1: the usual suspects. And what a story he tells, and
Speaker 1: what a great way to share it with a child
Speaker 1: or a grandchild. And we try to tell every kind
Speaker 1: of story, but also in every kind of way. And
Speaker 1: my goodness to hear the Battle of Christmas seventeen seventy
Speaker 1: six reduced to rhyming poem. Well, it's just spectacular. The
Speaker 1: story of Christmas seventeen seventy six as told in rhyming
Speaker 1: verse by Brian Benjamin. Here on our American Stories