Revolutionary War reenactment vividly brings history to life

UPPER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP,  Pa. (PIX11) – Every Christmas morning, Lance Peterson becomes a drummer in General George Washington's Army.

"You may misunderstand a command by listening to a voice, but when you hear the drum beat, you'll know exactly what it meant," said Peterson.

He's one of hundreds who have reenacted the historic moment of the Revolutionary War, which occurred in 1776: Washington crossing the Delaware.

"A lot of our history is taught in schools, and when you're young, it's names and it's dates and it's boring," said Peterson. "Then when you see people of all walks of life -I'm a computer repairer- and there's doctors, lawyers, just regular vocations out here, we're all in this because we love history, and we want the crowd to see what it's actually like."

On a cold, icy, and bleak Christmas night, Washington and his troops pulled off one of the most crucial moments in our nation's history, crossing the Delaware River into Hopewell Township before a surprise attack on Hessian soldiers in Trenton.

Tamara Montgomery was among the first of thousands of spectators to crowd the shore on the Pennsylvania side.

"The feeling of the history and just watching it happen - when it happened," said Montgomery.

She encourages more young people to come out in the future and take in history. 

"People always say, 'If you don't know your history, you're doomed to repeat it,'" said Montgomery.