the great architecture of the great happened here and bringing in new people and new businesses. projects with so much of trenton is historic and has great start delving and i'd like to see more and more of the great historic buildings. [inaudible] >> john, this has been great. i really appreciate you showing us around today. >> absolutely. the >> and standing on the grass at new jersey state capital. up next we speak with larry kidder to learn more about the city's role during the american revolution. >> "crossroads of the revolution" is very important during the revolution. something people might think about when they think about the battle of trenton that was a turning point, it is that time

to save the revolution it a point early in the war and allowed it to continue. they might have fizzled out if it hadn't for the battle of trenton. trenton goes way beyond just that when battle. washington spent more time in new jersey than any other state during the revolution and the people of "crossroads of the revolution" themselves, the craftsmen who lived here, the merchants who lived here, just everybody in trenton wound up playing a role in the war to support washington's army, to support the cause in various ways. washington wanted to avoid at all cost the kind of military action that would threaten the existence of this irony. he would fight, but he never wanted to be captured by cornwallis was the yorktown or saratoga. he wanted to avoid that

disaster. that would've ended the resolution. he always wanted to live to fight another day in his battles. the important thing to him is to keep it going and keep the army in the field. i believe new jersey and general and trenton in particular was very instrumental in helping him accomplish that goal. served hot mental learning at the hospital during the revolution. it is where washington made one of his major sort of innovations at that time by inoculating all of his troops against smallpox and saved his army which might've been wiped out around 1776. not by the british, but by smallpox. trenton played a role in that.

in addition, because of its relation between new york and philadelphia was a major supply depot. the army needed food. trenton became because of its geographic location, it was used as a supply depot from before the battle of trenton all the way through 1783 and kept the army going. one of new jersey's main contributions to the revolution in this area with can nation of its militia. militia was a state function, not a con mental congress fashion. new jersey passed a law that required men to be in it. however, new jersey because of washington's army being here, because at the british consulate in new york and for a year and philadelphia, they were called out very frequently.

he was virtually every other month or every third month sometimes it very lucky every fourth month that a man might get called out. this was very, very strenuous trying to keep the local economy going. one thing we don't currently think about the militia is as part time soldiers were full-time civilians with jobs that they had to leave to go out on militia duty. militia duty was always considered to be a last resort defense. during the revolution almost became a first resort. and then were taken away from home, farms, crafts, whatever it might need in order to go against the british and making

attacks into new jersey. it got so bad that washington described and used the phrase that people complain that new jersey militia was not always coming out and not always been vigorous. no wonder there are people harassed and exhaust it. one of the first books i wrote about, the revolution in nature's economy is that as the title of people harassed and exhausted. washington complained about the new jersey militia, the deep down inside he knew that he owed a lot to them because they had sacrificed a great deal in order to help them out. the first time he came to new jersey was on its way to cambridge to be commander of the continental army. pass right through town on its way there. in terms of bringing his troops there, it was after the new york

campaign after the battles of long island and white plains and those were all pretty bad issues for the continental army. the others were 50s. he brings his army to new jersey in order between the british army and no adelphia. 80 miles or so across new jersey. he gets to "crossroads of the revolution," december 1st and 2nd in 1776. keep in in new jersey for almost a month before that. crosses over into pennsylvania in order to keep between him and the british and philadelphia. his big concern was the british would take philadelphia before the end of the campaign season. the 18th century armies

generally didn't buy it in the winter. even though it was december, maybe they'll try to push a few more weeks and take philadelphia. he didn't go to pennsylvania and the british took over other central new jersey, including trenton and established their winter quarters here. they decided not to go on to philadelphia until spring. of course then it's washington coming back and attacking those winter quarters in late december 76. king george and boyden aren't in the british hierarchy had wanted to finish the war in a year than they have anticipated a january 1st, 1777 he was going

to be -- they're not going to have to worry about it anymore. they're a little bit on hot tea with general how i miss other generals for not having finished the war off. in the spring, no problem. washington was looking at the end of the road instead of the beginning of the road and he decided he had to make some kind of the move. he had been retreating ever since the battle of long island in august of 1776. he needed to come up with some pain that would not only encourages men to reenlist or should extend their enlistment beyond january 1st, but also encourage real man to join the army who had been in yet. they're raising troops the continental congress had authorized for the next campaign

and they're having trouble getting workers because things are going so badly. he needed to do some aim to stimulate recruitment for the cotton in the laramie as well as keep the men in that agreement is a period that is when he decided to go across and attacked a hessian "crossroads of the revolution." the troops were little overt and named, but the hessians of "crossroads of the revolution" for some of the crack troops the british had. people always ask why was that hessians in trenton and not british troops? why the contract the troops rather than the home troops were here. there is actually an award and an honor for those hessians to be here. they had been so well in the attacks the british had carried out the date the deep dark eyes

and a military fix is on the left side of the line. the hessians in the normal form of nowhere on the last spirit moved them to another location would have been an insult to the left was a position of honor anyway. he didn't want to insult the guys and he wanted them to know he'd done a good job. that's why he put them here in trenton. the fact that the hessians were somewhat unprepared, but also exhausted kind of set up washington's success if he will. and for that added the weather. the storm on the night of the crossing over to a 10 from getting to "crossroads of the revolution" when he wanted to

end it just dawned that he wanted to have come even though he was late getting to "crossroads of the revolution" can assert them as part of the will be kept hessians from knowing he was coming. they didn't come out quite as far as they normally would have out warning because of the weather and there were other factors that made the hessians sure that they were going to be attacked. it wasn't just because they felt the american troops were not capable. it was the weather is much of anything in the fact they had been attacked so frequently with small groups that any intelligence that god the washington with going to attack would be a small attack, not a big attack they eventually came with. so "crossroads of the revolution" became for many

reasons a very short, quick action in which washington was able to capture to third, three quarters of the hessians in "crossroads of the revolution." if you did escape. but almost 900 or so were captured. the main thing we remember the battle of trenton for in terms of its outcome and influence on the rest of the war is they gave the man in washington's army something to feel good about. ..

guys first that on the march to trenton but on the battle itself there were very few american casualties so the americans really felt good about what they accomplished there and washington was then able to get a lot of the men to reenlist, not reenlist but to extend their enlistment for several weeks which allowed them to be around for

the battle of princeton on january 3. and it did encourage them to join the continental army in those new regiments that were being formed and it just gave everybody on the rebel side or the patriots side a breath of fresh air as well, in maybe we can deal with this now. once the battle of trenton was over, the world was war was certainly not anywhere near over. the world would continue until 1783 got 6 and a half years after the battle of trenton and princeton before the war is actually over. there were people who felt after the battle of trenton that it was somewhat of a foregone conclusion that eventually the americans would win. there was certainly more hope the americans would win but it was still going to be a long, long war. trenton i believe is not understood by people as much as it should be.

and i think that if everybody understood the full role of trenton during the war, a lot more people would want to come visit trenton and visit these barracks and see the places where much was done that doesn't always make it into the history books but was vital to the survival of the continental army and to the ability of the americas to carry out that war for the 6 and a half years after the battle of trenton . it's just to me and in having researched it, i can't understand why moore hasn't been made of the contribution of trenton, why there are more signs around telling people where something happened in trenton. there are some but there's not as many as i would have thought there would be. i think that trenton represents what everybody was

going through in the revolution, not just the leaders but the ordinary people, the people who were the support for everything that was going on. support people never make it into the history books that without them, the guys that are making the history couldn't have done their jobs. and i think that's one of the big stories of trenton during the revolution can tell, that is not just the heroes that make the history books but it's the combined efforts of the whole population that leads to the success. >> behind me is the new jersey state library located in the capital city of trenton. up next they show us some of their rare books featured in their collection.>> the