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's Brian Benjamin.
Speaker 3: I recently wrote a children's book entitled Christmas seventeen seventy
Speaker 3: six that I'll be reading for you today.
Speaker 2: It covers the Revolutionary War.
Speaker 3: And follows George Washington and the Continental Army in the
Speaker 3: late months of seventeen seventy six as they were fighting
Speaker 3: and mostly losing to the British for American independence. It
Speaker 3: of course culminates in the famous crossing of the Delaware
Speaker 3: River on Christmas Night seventeen seventy six.
Speaker 2: This book, I was actually.
Speaker 3: Reading a biography of George Washington, and I got to
Speaker 3: the part where the Continental Army is in Pennsylvania, Christmas
Speaker 3: is approaching and the war is looking really bleak, and
Speaker 3: you know they planned the crossing of the Delaware River.
Speaker 3: The two things that struck me were one I didn't
Speaker 3: realize how bleak the picture was for the Americans.
Speaker 2: At this point during the war.
Speaker 3: We were really getting kicked around by the British, and
Speaker 3: heading into that winter of seventeen seventy six, the cause
Speaker 3: of American independence did not look well. And the other
Speaker 3: thing that struck me was how history really turned on
Speaker 3: a dime with this attack. But this really saved America's cause,
Speaker 3: And so I tried to put that in the book.
Speaker 3: You know, it is a children's books, but try to
Speaker 3: get across both the America was an underdog and was
Speaker 3: it was not looking good, and also that contingency of
Speaker 3: things could have gone different in their cases where America
Speaker 3: doesn't come through this. But with the brave actions of
Speaker 3: these men, led by George Washington, they saved American independence
Speaker 3: starting on Christmas night, So without further ado, Christmas seventeen
Speaker 3: seventy six, the year was seventeen seventy six, America faced
Speaker 3: a crisis to fix British taxation without representation angered Americans
Speaker 3: of every station. They sought the freedom to make their
Speaker 3: own laws, the right to liberty their sacred cause. American
Speaker 3: patriots took up their arms, They left their homes, their
Speaker 3: shops their farms. These farm boys had grit, but little training.
Speaker 3: The experience they lacked they would soon be gaining. General
Speaker 3: George Washington would lead them to fight Britain's oppressive imperial might.
Speaker 3: George Washington was an American born and bred, taller than
Speaker 3: most men by a head. With six brothers three sisters,
Speaker 3: he grew up strong. The start of his adventures did
Speaker 3: not take long. He fought in the French and Indian War,
Speaker 3: and by the end he'd entered American loar. When the
Speaker 3: Revolutionary War broke out, America needed a leader no one
Speaker 3: could doubt. They turned to their only living legend. Barely
Speaker 3: another name was mentioned. George Washington would lead them in
Speaker 3: this war to take on all the British had in store.
Speaker 3: They'd face British regulars, skillfully taught, perfectly disciplined. Before they fought,
Speaker 3: the Brits had a few other friends. They'd brought some
Speaker 3: German soldiers whose support they'd bought, and all these troops
Speaker 3: would cross the sea aboard the world's best navy. General
Speaker 3: Washington and his new army prepared to defend New York City.
Speaker 3: This coveted crown jewel of the colonies stood especially vulnerable
Speaker 3: to attack by sea. The Americans worked to fortify their
Speaker 3: shore before the Brits arrived to kick off the war.
Speaker 3: The British came with one hundred ships or more and
Speaker 3: three times the men, or maybe four. The Americans tried
Speaker 3: to stand their ground, but the bridge showed up and
Speaker 3: beat them sound from Long Island. They were displaced from Manhattan.
Speaker 3: They were quickly chased from the banks of the Hudson.
Speaker 3: They were erased and into New Jersey. They ran, disgraced.
Speaker 2: To the Delaware River.
Speaker 3: They anxiously fled. They crossed to safety, but were filled
Speaker 3: with dread. The war was less than two years old
Speaker 3: and the Americans were stranded in the cold, their greatest
Speaker 3: city conquered, lost their treasury, wiped doubt by the cost.
Speaker 3: Many Americans began to doubt and feared they faced a
Speaker 3: certain route. The Brits pursued all the way to the river,
Speaker 3: then looked across and saw their enemies shiver. With winter
Speaker 3: coming December. Here, the Redcoats felt they'd had a good year.
Speaker 3: They retreated to conquered Nyc, to warm beds and Tory hospitality.
Speaker 3: They left behind their German dogs of war to guard
Speaker 3: the Delawares Jersey shore. With American hopes plainly fading and
Speaker 3: British troops relaxing celebrating, Washington knew he must take bold
Speaker 3: action for the revolution to regain some traction. He gathered
Speaker 3: his men to plan and plot how to grab the
Speaker 3: victory they so desperately sought. They decided on a holy
Speaker 3: night to begin their brave and noble fight. On Christmas night,
Speaker 3: they would embark and cross the river in the dark,
Speaker 3: then march ten miles to surprise their foes, and arrived
Speaker 3: to attack just as the sun rose. Awaiting their final orders,
Speaker 3: the men held their breath. George Washington stated gravely, victory
Speaker 3: or death. With the plan all set now just to wait.
Speaker 3: They must keep the plan a secret and their heads
Speaker 3: on straight. They braved a tense Christmas Eve and mourn,
Speaker 3: then approached the ships on which they'd be borne.
Speaker 2: In a light rain.
Speaker 3: General Washington crossed first. The river was choppy with ice interspersed.
Speaker 3: When the sun fell on that Christmas day, the weather
Speaker 3: turned and their plan gave way in an army with
Speaker 3: men of every station, twas the fishermen that rose to
Speaker 3: this occasion. These expert sailors guided boat after boat across
Speaker 3: nature's deadly makeshift mote. The rain had shifted to snow
Speaker 3: and hail, but these brave men refused to fail. They
Speaker 3: moved twenty four hundred men across, and not a single
Speaker 3: soul was lost. But the vicious weather had another cost.
Speaker 3: Three hours against the plan were lost. Finally, by four am,
Speaker 3: their march began, and they braved the elements to a man,
Speaker 3: They marched ten miles in hail and snow to meet
Speaker 3: their skilled.
Speaker 2: And rested foe.
Speaker 3: They arrived well after the morning sun, not sure if
Speaker 3: by their lateness they'd been undone, these brave men charged
Speaker 3: from the woods at a run, and the German mercenaries
Speaker 3: were simply stunned. How could an army arrive ready to
Speaker 3: fight after the terrible weather of the previous night. General
Speaker 3: Washington led from the front on horseback and rebuffed every
Speaker 3: German counterattack. American cannons fired with precision, guided by Alexander Hamilton,
Speaker 3: they raced through the town, took prisoners galore. They shocked
Speaker 3: the mercenaries pressing for more. The Germans lost almost one
Speaker 3: thousand men, the Americans lost less than ten. After battling
Speaker 3: the weather all through the night, it took less than
Speaker 3: an hour to finish the fight. The next ten days
Speaker 3: were a complete whirlwind. They crossed the river back and again,
Speaker 3: first to deposit their prisoners in booty, then returning to
Speaker 3: continue their tour of duty. They stimied a British assault
Speaker 3: at Trenton, then launched a surprise attack at Princeton. At Princeton,
Speaker 3: the fame British regulars were beat and the world was
Speaker 3: astounded by this colonial feat. In the space of ten days,
Speaker 3: they'd secured two victories. In the space of ten days,
Speaker 3: they'd changed the course of history. On Christmas Eve, the
Speaker 3: American cause had been dead, but now Britain was back
Speaker 3: on its heels instead. The morale of the troops and
Speaker 3: colonists soared. They again believed in what they were marching toward,
Speaker 3: towards life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to secure
Speaker 3: their rights and to crush British haughtiness. America's birth was
Speaker 3: never a certainty, but it was filled with men that
Speaker 3: would fight for it fervently. These brave men volunteered to
Speaker 3: fight and die, not knowing what their sacrifices might buy.
Speaker 3: But we know the eventual success of their plan and
Speaker 3: the day America's future began, the day their deeds left
Speaker 3: the world Transfixed Christmas seventeen seventy six.
Speaker 1: And a terrific job on the production and editing by
Speaker 1: our own Craig Hangler, and a special thanks to Brian Benjamin.
Speaker 1: Is 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, while 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