The Story Behind the Images
Washington Crossing the Delaware 1776 and 2006
Every year reenactors stage Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas day. This year the reenactment seemed especially meaningful, as the nation again finds itself at war and has asked brave volunteers to endure tremendous hardships as they risk their lives. Two recent books have spurred interest in the topic—Washington’s Crosssing by David Hackett Fischer and 1776 by David McCullough. Both books are very detailed yet readable.
I wanted to capture the intensity of the reeanctors. Many of them study the details of revolutionary battles, regiments, and historical figures so that they can portray them as accurately as possible. Like the participants in the original crossing, there are people of many backgrounds and a variety of economic and social groups represented. It is also a family affair, with boys and girls as well as adult fathers and sons participating.
In this series of photographs, I tried to show how things had changed, and how they had stayed the same. Woman and African-Americans were participants in both 1776 and 2006, but of course their circumstances of their lives have changed drastically. It was a chilly day in 2006, but the original crossing took place in a blizzard, at night, when clothing, supplies and morale was low. The annual crossing demonstrates how difficult it is to get a number of men, not to mention cannons and horses, across a river even under the best of conditions. I tried to show that, much like the original soldiers that made the crossing, today? reenactors are also fighting to preserve the spirit of liberty and pass it to future generations.
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