[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 27]
[House]
[Page 36287]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  PATRIOT WEEK IN TRENTON, NEW JERSEY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of my 
colleagues to Patriot Week in Trenton, New Jersey. On December 26, 
1776, Colonial soldiers under the command of General George Washington 
crossed the Delaware River and engaged in the first Battle of Trenton. 
As Thomas Paine wrote, this happened during ``times that try men's 
souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this 
crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it 
now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, 
is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the 
harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.''
  On this historic day more than two centuries ago, over 2,400 patriots 
proved that they were not summer soldiers, battling their way through a 
winter sleet storm, strong winds and the ice-strewn Delaware River. 
Against all odds, Washington and his soldiers completed the crossing, 
marched silently to Trenton on Christmas night with cannon, and arrived 
taking the Hessian garrison by surprise. This engagement, followed by 
the pivotal Battle of Princeton, has been called ``the beginning of the 
winning.''
  The crossing of the Delaware is a story that must be told again and 
again so all generations will know this feat and the new life it gave 
the American Revolution. On December 26 through 31 of this year, again 
this year, the Trenton Downtown Association will celebrate the 131st 
anniversary of this history-changing event through Patriot Week, the 
largest Revolutionary War festival in America.
  Patriot Week in the Trenton area will include over 50 events, 
including the reenactment of Washington's crossing of the Delaware, 
puppet shows and other children's activities, tours by bus and on foot, 
and lectures and panel discussions. These events will help pass down 
this great and important story to our children and to adults, the story 
of the War for Independence. I am sure these events will be both 
informative and entertaining, as they have been in previous years, and 
I look forward to attending some of these events myself.
  I am proud that in my central New Jersey district we honor the 
sacrifices that were made to found this great Nation through events 
like Patriot Week and through the Crossroads of the American Revolution 
which commemorates 14 counties in New Jersey where the War for 
Independence took place.
  However, our battles against Britain for a free and democratic nation 
took place in over 19 States and over two wars, and each of these 
States has its own unique story about its role in the American 
Revolution and the War of 1812. Many States, however, have not taken 
sufficient steps to preserve the sites of those battles. Out of the 825 
significant battlefields and associated sites of the American 
Revolution and the War of 1812, more than 100 of these battlefields 
have been lost, about 250 are in fragmented or poor condition, and 
another 220 are in danger of being destroyed within the next few years. 
Therefore, some of us have sponsored here in the House of 
Representatives the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 Battlefield 
Protection Act, H.R. 160, and the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 
Commemorative Coin Act, H.R. 158. H.R. 160 would create a national 
program for the preservation of historic battlefields. It would allow 
officials of the American Battlefield Protection Program to collaborate 
with State and local governments and nonprofit organizations to 
preserve and protect the most endangered historical sites and to 
provide up to 50 percent of the cost of purchasing battlefield land 
threatened by sprawl and commercial development. H.R. 158 would provide 
the necessary funding for these purchases by authorizing the creation 
and issuance of commemorative coins for these two wars.
  History is best understood by those who have had the opportunity to 
touch it, experience it and live it. On December 26 through 31, over 
4,000 people will be reliving the history of the Battle of Trenton 
during Patriot Week. It is my hope that Congress will pass H.R. 160 and 
H.R. 158 to allow other States the privilege of preserving their 
historic battlefields where their citizens, and all citizens, can 
experience the history of the founding of our great Nation.

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