TEN CRUCIAL DAYS: Princeton Battlefield Society will be hosting three different events relating to the Battle of Princeton beginning on Sunday, December 2 with presentations at Morven Museum and Garden by four Revolutionary War historians, continuing on December 8 with Young Patriot’s Day at Princeton Friends School, and culminating on December 30 with a Battle of Princeton real time tour. (Photo courtesy of the Princeton Battlefield Society)

By Donald Gilpin

“Soldiers and Civilians in Princeton During the Ten Crucial Days: Winter 1776-1777” will be the subject for four Revolutionary War historians on Sunday, December 2 from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at Morven Museum and Garden on Stockton Street.

Sponsored by Morven and the Princeton Battlefield Society, the four authors, whose books will be for sale during the event, will discuss the people and the military actions of Princeton during a pivotal time in America’s War for Independence.

Focusing on the civilians, retired Hun School history teacher Larry Kidder will discuss the experiences of people who lived in and near Princeton in 1776-1777 and how they survived the darkest of the ten crucial days. Kidder is the author of A People Harassed and Exhausted: The Story of a New Jersey Military Regiment in the American Revolution; Crossroads of the American Revolution: Trenton 1774 to 1783; and Ten Crucial Days: Washington’s Vision for Victory Unfolds.

Don N. Hagist, managing editor of the Journal of the American Revolution, will discuss the background and experiences of the common soldiers of the British 17th Regiment of Foot, who fought at Princeton. He will include comments on the diversity of the army and the careers of several individual soldiers. Hagist’s most recent books include The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs and British Soldiers, American War.

Joseph Seymour, historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History and author of Pennsylvania Associators, 1747-1777, will present the history of the Philadelphia Associators, the legendary militia which helped to turn the tide of battle against a more experienced, better equipped enemy at Trenton and Princeton.

Glenn F. Williams, senior historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History and a retired army officer, will moderate the proceedings. He is the author of Year of the Hangman: George Washington’s Campaign Against the Iroquois and the recently released Dunmore’s War: The Last Conflict of America’s Colonial Era.

“It’s a natural part of Morven’s legacy to partner with Princeton Battlefield Society,” said Morven Museum and Garden Executive Director Jill Barry.  “As the site of many Revolutionary War activities in Princeton, as well as home of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Stockton, Morven is the perfect venue to bring these four authors’ words to life.”

The cost of the program is $15 per person, onsite $20, with registration online atmorven.org/occupiedprinceton.

The Battlefield Society will host two additional Revolutionary War-related events in December. On Saturday, December 8 it will sponsor a Young Patriot’s Day with a “Revolutionary Celebration” of books for young readers at Princeton Friends School on Quaker Road from 2 to 4 p.m.

Trinka Hakes Noble, Wil Mara, and Rob Skead, authors of books on the American Revolution for young people, will present their books, sign them, and speak at the event.

On December 30 from 7 to 10 a.m., local historian Kidder, along with re-enactors of various regiments, will conduct a “real time historical tour” of the Battle of Princeton that culminated the Ten Crucial Days campaign. Donations for this event, to benefit future educational programming, are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Visit www.pbs1777.org for further information.