This Is My New Jersey

As I have said over and over again, we New Jerseyans are made of tough stock. People from other states just don’t get where that “Jersey attitude” originated. Many feel it comes from our immigrant roots and their willingness to go it alone and persevere.

Well, that is part of it, however, it really goes back to 1776. The day after Christmas, to be exact.

The Battle of Trenton

Things were not going well for the Americans and George Washington. He desperately needed a battle success to literally rally the troops and convince civilians to join the fight for independence.

But there were challenges all around him.

The term for many of his soldiers were coming to a close. They were staving. They were dying from exposure to the harsh winter. Morale was down. However, Washington had a plan.

Washington’s plan had every reason to fail. It involved crossed the ice-filled Delaware River from Pennsylvania into Jersey with everything needed for success. And I’m not talking just men and muskets. I’m talking horses, cannons, absolutely everything he had.

Facing insurmountable odds, Washington and his men set out across the Delaware. As an extra bonus, a nor’easter added to the already challenging plan. It took far longer than expected to cross the river. The Continental Army then set out on its march toward the Hessian camp. Conditions were so terrible, several men died from exposure on the way to the fight. It was, as Washington put it, it was quite literally, “victory or death” for the Americans.

As Washington’s force continued their march, men literally took up their weapons and joined the march. These emboldened men possessed that “take no guff” attitude we prize here in Jersey. They were ready to fight and prove their worth.

Hours behind schedule, the Continental Army finally reached Trenton, and as history tells the tale, the Hessians were completely unprepared, as they were lazily sleeping in this morning after Christmas. The Colonial Americans quickly overtook the 1,500 Hessians with minimal casualties. This success was the boost the Americans needed. A week later the Continental Army chalked up another successful battle in Princeton.

Victory or Death

So a big part of our literal “take no prisoners” attitude, I believe, goes all the way back to those original New Jerseyans that put up a “NO” against the British and the Hessians in the fight for America’s freedom.