The Pursuit of History: The British Empire Strikes Back – NJ
Trenton, NJ 08608 United States
Even as the United States declared their independence, the British military returned to New York. Starting in August 1776, Gen. William Howe pushed Gen. George Washington off Long Island, off Manhattan Island, and down into New Jersey. The Continental Army struggled through battles at Brooklyn, Harlem Heights, White Plains, and Fort Washington. By late December, the Congress was evacuating Philadelphia, Washington was estranged from top aides, and Continental soldiers’ enlistments were about to run out. Only by counterattacking Gen. Cornwallis and his Hessian vanguard at Trenton and Princeton did Washington reenergize the American cause.
Presenters + Guides
J. L. Bell is the program director for The Pursuit of History for America’s 250th, the travel series exploring events of the American Revolution, from Rebellion in New England (2024) through to the Treaty of Paris (2033). John maintains the Boston 1775 website (boston1775.net). He is the author of The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War, a National Park Service study of George Washington’s first year as commander-in-chief, and articles on subjects from the signing of the Declaration to why Americans used snakes as a political emblem.
Ricardo Herrera, PhD, joins the Pursuit of History Weekends as a program director and faculty member. He is Senior Historian at the George Washington Leadership Institute at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, having previously served as Professor of Military History at the U.S. Army War College and as an Armor and Cavalry officer. Rick has written Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778 (2021), For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775–1861 (2015), and, for the U.S. Army Center of Military History, The New York Campaign 1776 (2026).
Friederike Baer, PhD (friederikebaer.com), is the author of Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War (2022), honored with the American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia’s Annual Book Award and the Society of the Cincinnati Prize. She is a Professor of History at Penn State University Abington College.
Benjamin L. Carp, PhD (benjamincarp.com), wrote The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution (2023), Rebels Rising: Cities and the American Revolution (2007), and other award-winning studies of the American Revolution. He holds the Daniel M. Lyons Chair in American History at Brooklyn College within the City University of New York.
William L. “Larry” Kidder, MA (wlkidderhistorian.com), has written several books about the Revolutionary War, including Ten Crucial Days: Washington’s Vision for Victory Unfolds, Crossroads of the Revolution: Trenton 1774–1783, and Revolutionary Princeton 1774–1783: The Biography of an American Town in the Heart of a Civil War. He is a veteran of both the U.S. Navy and forty years of teaching high school.
Phillip Papas, PhD, explored the life of the Continental Army’s most confounding commander in Renegade Revolutionary: The Life of General Charles Lee (2014). Also author of That Ever Loyal Island: Staten Island and the American Revolution (2007), Papas is Senior Professor of History in the Economics, Government, and History Department at Union County College in Cranford, New Jersey.
Books
Included with Registration
The New York Campaign, 1776, by Rick Herrera. Available now as a PDF; we anticipate making a paperback version available, too.
The New Jersey Campaign, 1776–1777, by Steven E. Elliott. Available now as a PDF; we anticipate making a paperback version available, too.
The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution, by Benjamin Carp and published by the Yale University Press.
Ten Crucial Days: Washington’s Vision for Victory Unfolds, by Larry Kidder and published by Simon & Schuster.
Recommended Reading
While these aren’t included in the Registration, we recommend them:
By Larry Kidder: Defending Fort Stanwix: A Story of the New York Frontier in the American Revolution (Cornell University Press); Revolutionary Princeton 1774–1783: The Biography of an American Town in the Heart of a Civil War (Knox Press); and, Crossroads of the Revolution: Trenton 1774–1783 (Simon & Schuster).
By Rick Herrera: Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778 (University of North Carolina Press) and For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775–1861 (NYU Press).
By Phillip Papas: Renegade Revolutionary: The Life of General Charles Lee (NYU Press).
By Friederike Baer: Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War (Oxford University Press).
Sites + Schedule
Friday, November 6
Our main meeting place will be the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton, just reopened after a thorough refurbishment. The Old Barracks were built in 1758 to house British soldiers fighting the Seven Years’ War. During the Revolutionary War those buildings were used by both armies passing through Trenton, as well as for holding prisoners of war and for inoculating soldiers against smallpox. The remaining structure became a historical museum in the early 1900s. Restored to close to its original appearance, the Old Barracks Museum is operated by the state of New Jersey for the benefit of the public.
While in Trenton, we will visit Mill Hill Park, a crucial site in the Battle of the Assunpink Creek (Second Battle of Trenton), and the New Jersey State Museum’s exhibit “The Power to Change: Revolutionary Stories from the New Jersey State Archives.”
On Friday evening we will enjoy a lantern tour of the Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania, where the Continental forces set off across the Delaware River on December 25, 1776, followed by dinner at the Washington Crossing Inn.
Saturday, November 7
Once again starting the day with talks in the Old Barracks Museum, we will head out by bus to visit the museum at New Jersey’s Washington Crossing State Park, where the Continental boats came ashore. Expert guides will then conduct us around the Princeton Battlefield State Park and other sites of fighting in Princeton, including the university’s Nassau Hall.
We will end the day with dinner in the Peacock Inn, whose core is a house built in 1779 that hosted members of the Continental Congress when that body met in Princeton.
Sunday, November 8
We will visit Morven Museum & Garden, the estate of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his wife, the poet Annis Stockton. In late 1776 Richard Stockton was captured by the British forces and forced to decide whether to renounce his political activity.
Finally, attendees will have the option of touring Princeton University.
Registration
All of the programs in this series are limited to 40 people and previous attendees are given the first opportunity to register. Registration opens for all at 11 am Eastern on Saturday, September 5.
Updated at 2:30 am Eastern on Saturday, September 5: There are 10 spots remaining.
Registration is $1,495. This covers the program Friday through Sunday (early afternoon), including lunch, dinner, transportation between sites, and any admissions on Friday and Saturday, and transportation between sites and any admissions Sunday. The Registration does not include lodging.
Cancellations must be received by October 15 to receive a refund. We recommend the “purchase protection.” See additional information on the registration form.
Travel and Lodging
Travel to the location and lodging are the responsibility of each guest.
We don’t yet have a hotel recommendation or room block. When we do, we’ll send an e-mail to those who have already registered.
Click here to register