To the Editor:

Ms. Arntzenius omitted the best part of the story, at least as legend has it, about Sinjin (St. John) Terrell’s early crossing re-enactments (“Rehearsal for Washington’s Christmas Day Crossing Offers Less Crowded Alternative,” December 3, 2014).

In the late 1940s and 1950s, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania was still a rural area of mostly farmers. My father and a few of his cronies, all local residents, somewhat amused and a bit irritated, I suspect, decided to play a joke on this man from the city who was puffing himself up as George Washington.

They went over to Trenton, rented Hessian costumes, got a rowboat, and during the festivities launched their own surprise attack on Terrell from the Titusville side.

“We soaked them!” my father, age 96, recently confirmed, although it remains unclear to me whether he and his friends re-enacted the Hessians’ inebriation as well.

And what did Terrell do following his humiliation, Christmas mid-river defeat? I asked.

“He moved to New Jersey.”

Deborah Golub

Washington Crossing, Pa.