Washington’s Crossing Reenactments Return December 14 and 25, 2025

Step back in time this December as General Washington’s daring Delaware River crossing is brought to life during two spectacular reenactments at Washington Crossing Historic Park, located at 1112 River Road Washington Crossing, PA 18977 at the intersection of Routes 532 and 32. Thousands will gather on the banks of the river to witness this defining moment of the American Revolution, an enduring holiday tradition now in its 73rd year.

The Friends of Washington Crossing Park will host two opportunities to experience the Crossing this season: the First Crossing on Sunday, December 14, and the Christmas Day Crossing on Thursday, December 25. Both events feature hundreds of reenactors in full Continental Army dress, bringing the 18th century to life with military drills, fife and drum music, and the dramatic river crossing in replica Durham boats. Funding for this event was provided by America250PA’s Semiquincentennial Grant Program.

First Crossing: Sunday, December 14, 2025

Time: 10:00 AM–3:00 PM (actual crossing at 1:00 PM)
Tickets: $9 for adults, $5 for children ages 5–11, free for children under 5; family rate (2 adults and 2 children under 18) is $25.

The First Crossing is not a dress rehearsal, it’s a full-day event that offers visitors a wide range of immersive 18th-century experiences beyond the historical reenactment. Guests can take part in a variety of activities designed for visitors of all ages:

  • Meet General Washington and his guard in the historic village

  • Hear the Washington Crossing Fife & Drum Corps perform

  • See reenactors row across the Delaware River

  • Participate in kids military drills with toy muskets

  • Experience live cannon fire

  • View mounted militia riding on horseback

  • Explore a follower’s encampment, flying hospital and sutlery

  • Watch blacksmiths demonstrate their craft

  • Taste period bread from Half Crown Bakehouse 

  • Join the officers’ wives for tea and conversation

Guest Narrator and Featured Author: Tom Hand


This year’s event welcomes Tom Hand, founder of Americana Corner, as guest narrator and featured author. A graduate of the United States Military Academy West Point and a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Battlefield Trust, Hand is dedicated to preserving and sharing America’s founding story through education and public history initiatives.

Hand will also participate in a special book signing and presentation featuring his recent works:

  • An American Triumph: America’s Founding Era through the Lives of Ben Franklin, George Washington, and John Adams

  • America Victorious: Lesser-Known Campaigns and Commanders That Helped Win American Independence

Book Signing and Presentation Schedule:

  • 10:00–11:00 AM: Book Signing

  • 11:00–11:30 AM: Author Presentation

  • 11:30 AM–12:00 PM: Book Signing

Members of the Friends of Washington Crossing Park receive access to a heated members-only tent with refreshments, provided by OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners. Tickets can be purchased in advance at WashingtonCrossingPark.org/cross-with-us. Proceeds from this event support educational programming and ensure the Christmas Crossing remains free.

Get Tickets

Christmas Crossing: Thursday, December 25, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM–3:00 PM (actual crossing at 1:00 PM)
Tickets: Free

The traditional Christmas Crossing commemorates Washington’s bold move across the Delaware on the night of December 25, 1776. Visitors are encouraged to arrive by 11:30 AM to secure the best view of the riverbank ceremony, which includes military processions, fife and drum performances, and an inspiring speech from General Washington himself. Admission is free, thanks to proceeds from the First Crossing and contributions from many generous donors. McCaffrey’s Food Market will provide refreshments in a heated tent for Members of the Friends.

Don’t miss the boat for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary, learn about 2026 initiatives and how you can invest in the future while honoring the past!

2026 Initiatives

Additional Details

Parking is free and clearly marked. Individuals with disabilities who need assistance or accommodations should contact the Visitor Center at 215-493-4076. River crossings are contingent upon safe river conditions. In the event of unsafe weather, which does not allow for the crossing to occur, ceremonies, speeches and living history demonstrations will still take place. 

Washington's crossing is part of the Ten Crucial Days, a pivotal campaign from December 25, 1776, through January 3, 1777, during which Washington’s army achieved three critical victories at Trenton and Princeton that changed the course of the Revolutionary War. For a complete list of partner events, including the Old Barracks Museum’s Patriots Week in Trenton (December 26–31) and the Princeton Battlefield Society’s reenactment (January 4), visit www.WashingtonCrossingPark.org.

Frederick Douglass Reenactment Sat, Nov 8, 2025 at 1 p.m. at Historic Lehigh County Courthouse

Frederick Douglass reenactment by Darius Wallace on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 1 p.m. at the Historic Lehigh County Courthouse at 501 W. Hamilton St in Allentown
Lehigh County Historical Society will host a reenactment of the Abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ historic visit to Allentown in 1870. Douglass delivered an oration at the historic Lehigh County Courthouse to a packed audience of 500+. We will commemorate that event with an hour-long oration of Douglass speeches by a leading Douglass scholar and reenactor.
Parking will be available at the Lehigh County Prison Lot, on the street, and at the public parking garages.
FREE to the public

Special Veterans Appreciation Day at Gettysburg on Nov 11

Nov. 11, 2025

 Gettysburg, Pa. (Oct. 23, 2025)—The Gettysburg Foundation announces a special Veterans Appreciation Day at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center on Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. U.S. military veterans are invited to enjoy free admission to the Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience to honor their service. Veterans should present proof of military service to receive free admission and are encouraged to arrive early (last show of the day begins at 4:15 p.m.)

  Visitors will begin with a screening of A New Birth of Freedom, followed by the dramatic light-and-sound presentation of the Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama painting of Pickett’s Charge. Guests can then explore the 12-gallery Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War at their leisure throughout the day. Veterans are also invited to view free of charge the temporary exhibit A Rough Coarse Life: The World of the Civil War Soldier in the Gilder Lehrman Institute Special Exhibits Gallery. Featuring artifacts, documents and artwork—many connected to Gettysburg—the exhibit offers an intimate look at the experiences, struggles and memories of soldiers during the American Civil War, complementing the museum’s permanent galleries.

  Veterans, their families and guests are also welcome to visit the Friends Desk inside the Museum & Visitor Center to learn about Friends of Gettysburg memberships, volunteer opportunities and the Gettysburg Foundation’s ongoing work to preserve history and educate the public in partnership with the National Parks at Gettysburg.

  “As we honor Veterans Day, we are deeply grateful for the courage, dedication and sacrifices of our nation’s veterans,” said Jackie Spainhour, President and CEO of the Gettysburg Foundation. “This special day offers veterans and their families an opportunity to connect with history, reflect on the legacy of those who served in the past and experience the stories that make Gettysburg a place of remembrance and learning for all.”

  As always, active-duty U.S. military service members receive free admission to the Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience.

  Celebrate Veterans Day with us and honor the service and sacrifice of those who have served our country.

Stone wall damaged at Devil's Den parking area

In an October 15th post on its facebook page, The Gettysburg Foundation noted that sometime on Tuesday, October 14, one of the stone walls at Devil's Den was toppled over.

Remember that we are all stewards of National Park Service sites! Our priority is the safety of our visitors, as well as the protection of our National Parks.

Think like the cavalry and be the eyes and ears for the National Park Service during the government shutdown.

If you see something, say something, and dial the Adams County non-emergency line at 717-334-8101. If there is an emergency, dial 911.

Free Zoom Program Sun, Nov 2 at 1pm - “Last Seen: Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Family”

THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC (G.A.R.) CIVIL WAR MUSEUM & ARCHIVE

 Presents a Free Zoom Program

Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.              

        “Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Family”

By Judith Giesberg

Drawing from an archive of nearly five thousand letters and advertisements, the riveting, dramatic story of formerly enslaved people who spent years searching for family members stolen away during slavery.

Of all the many horrors of slavery, the cruelest was the separation of families in slave auctions. Spouses and siblings were sold away from one other. Young children were separated from their mothers. Fathers were sent down river and never saw their families again.

As soon as slavery ended in 1865, family members began to search for one another, in some cases persisting until as late as the 1920s. They took out “information wanted” advertisements in newspapers and sent letters to the editor. Pastors in churches across the country read these advertisements from the pulpit, expanding the search to those who had never learned to read or who did not have access to newspapers. These documents demonstrate that even as most white Americans—and even some younger Black Americans, too—wanted to put slavery in the past, many former slaves, members of the “Freedom Generation,” continued for years, and even decades, to search for one another. These letters and advertisements are testaments to formerly enslaved people’s enduring love for the families they lost in slavery, yet they spent many years buried in the storage of local historical societies or on microfilm reels that time forgot.

Judith Giesberg draws on the archive that she founded—containing almost five thousand letters and advertisements placed by members of the Freedom Generation—to compile these stories in a narrative form for the first time. Her in-depth research turned up additional information about the writers, their families, and their enslavers. With this critical context, she recounts the moving stories of the people who placed the advertisements, the loved ones they tried to find, and the outcome of their quests to reunite.

This story underscores the cruelest horror of slavery—the forced breakup of families—and the resilience and determination of the formerly enslaved. Thoughtful, heart-wrenching, and illuminating, Last Seen finally gives this lesser-known aspect of slavery the attention it deserves.

 Link to purchase Last Seen

  

Judith Giesberg holds the Robert M. Birmingham Chair in the Humanities and is Professor of History at Villanova University. Giesberg is author of Civil War Sisterhood: The United States Sanitary Commission and Women's Politics in Transition (2000),“Army at Home:” Women and the Civil War on the Northern Home Front (2009), Emilie Davis's Civil War:  The Diaries of a Free Black Woman in Philadelphia, 1863-1865 (2014) and Sex and the Civil War:  Soldiers, Pornography, and the Making of Modern Morality, (2017).  Her new book, Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Family, published by Simon and Schuster, on February 4, 2025.

 

Giesberg directs a digital project, Last Seen:  Finding Family After Slavery, that is collecting, digitizing, and transcribing information wanted ads taken out by formerly enslaved people looking for family members lost to the domestic slave trade.  This project was featured in, among other media outlets, the New York Times, Washington Post, CBS Evening News, and NPR’s All Things Considered.  As of this past April (2024), the website (informationwanted.org) had been accessed more than twelve and half million times. Giesberg founded and serves as Director of the Rooted Project which is working to research and tell a history of Villanova University informed by today’s movements toward racial and economic justice.

Giesberg lectures widely to audiences of genealogists, teachers, and interested members of the public at libraries, schools, museums, and churches.  

 To reserve a virtual seat for this outstanding presentation, reply by e-mail to garmuslib1866@gmail.com

 You will be sent a link with a password that will enable you to access the program within 24 hours of the start of the presentation. 

 Deadline for signing-up is Saturday, October 31, 2025 at Noon.

 As a lover of history, you know how critical it is to keep history alive, especially today.  We very much appreciate your continued support for the GAR Civil War Museum & Archive

 

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC MUSEUM & ARCHIVE
8110 Frankford Ave. (Holmesburg - N.E. Philadelphia), 19136
 www.garmuslib.org

Road Work has Begun Around Allentown's Civil War Memorial

The Center Square Redesign Project at 7th and Hamilton around the Civil War Memorial has entered its first stage. Listed below are some traffic restrictions in the coming weeks. The city reports that they anticipate the entire project will be completed by the end of 2026.

Click here for a history of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Traffic Alert: 7th & Hamilton Street Lane Restrictions

  • Beginning Monday, October 20, lane restrictions and closures will take place in five phases for work on the Center Square waterline at 7th & Hamilton:

  • 10/20–10/22: Lane restrictions only

  • 10/23–10/29: No left turn onto Hamilton St. (southbound 7th St.)

  • 10/30–10/31: Lane restrictions only

  • 11/3–11/4: No right turn onto 7th St. (eastbound Hamilton St.)

  • 11/5–11/14: Lane restrictions only

This is the first stage of the Center Square Redesign Project. We anticipate the entire project will be completed by the end of 2026.

Please plan ahead and use caution when traveling through the area during this time.

Gettysburg During Shutdown

Gettysburg's battlefield and Eisenhower's farm belong to all of us.

Even while our National Park Service partners step back during the federal shutdown, the Gettysburg Foundation continues to care for these historic places, so their stories never go silent.

What’s open for your visit

The Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center: open daily, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.Park Roads: Open to vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.Gettysburg National Cemetery: Open.Eisenhower home grounds: Accessible from sunrise to sunset; home tours are paused.NPS Programs: Educational and Interpretive activities are paused; rangers and volunteers are unavailable.Protection Rangers: Continuing patrols for safety and resource protection.

How You Can Help

We all play a vital role in protecting our National Parks. Please help us keep Gettysburg safe and welcoming:

Practice Leave No Trace principlesStay on marked trails and respect wildlifeLeave artifacts where you find themReport safety concerns when appropriate

If you see something, say something - dial 911 when it's safe to do so.

Our Role

As National Park Service operations pause, preservation continues through every act of care by the Gettysburg Foundation and everyone who shares in this commitment.

In our role as the nonprofit partner of the National Parks at Gettysburg, we work alongside our community to safeguard Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic site - helping these places remain open, protected, and meaningful for all people, for all time.

To learn how you can support the Gettysburg Foundation, visit us online at GettysburgFoundation.org.

A Civil Conversation with Dr. Wesley Moody Online with ZOOM October 2!

Join us on Thursday, October 2, 2025, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm for this Civil Conversation via ZOOM, featuring author Dr. Wesley Moody and NCWM Education & Program Coordinator - Katie Dick. This online program will delve into the life of a fascinating American hero. We look forward to having you join us.

About the book: As the commander of the US garrison at Fort Sumter in the fateful early hours of April 12, 1861, Robert Anderson (1805–1871) played a critical role in the unfolding of the Civil War. Although his leadership and his courage under fire catapulted him into national recognition, the attack on Fort Sumter was just one chapter in Anderson’s story. That story, told here in full for the first time, offers a unique lens on the development of the US military and the country itself before and during the Civil War.

Anderson’s family, harking back to the nation’s founding, included William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame) and Chief Justice John Marshall. His father crossed the Delaware with George Washington. And among his acquaintances were presidents ranging from the aged John Adams to seven-year-old Theodore Roosevelt. Historian Wesley Moody charts Robert Anderson’s path from an upbringing on the Kentucky frontier to a West Point education and a military career that saw him fighting in nearly every American conflict from the Black Hawk War to the Civil War—catching malaria fighting the Seminoles, taking several bullets while serving in Mexico, writing the textbook for field artillery used by both Union and Confederate forces, mentoring William Tecumseh Sherman.

Central to Anderson’s story was his deft and decisive handling of the Fort Sumter crisis. Had Major Anderson been the aggressor, as many of his command urged, President Abraham Lincoln would have been unable to rally the Northern states to war. Had Anderson handed his command over to the Confederate troops, a demoralized North would have offered little resistance to secession. To understand this pivotal moment in US history, one has to understand the man at its center; and to understand that man and his masterful performance under extraordinary pressure, one can do no better than to read Moody’s thoroughly absorbing, richly detailed biography.

Register Here

Dr. Wesley Moody bio:

Dr. Wesley Moody is a professor of history at Florida State College at Jacksonville. He is a specialist in the American Civil War, Colonial American history, and Florida history. Dr. Moody is the author of four books, including Demon of the Lost Cause: Sherman and Civil War History, based on his Ph.D. dissertation. He studied under Dr. Wendy Venet at Georgia State University and John Ferling at the University of West Georgia.

Gettysburg NMP Museum & Visitor Center Remains Open During Federal Government Shutdown

Gettysburg, Pa. (Oct. 1, 2025)—During the Federal government’s lapse in appropriations, the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center and its complex, owned and operated by the Gettysburg Foundation, will remain open during regular hours to welcome and serve visitors. The Museum & Visitor Center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

While many services typically provided by the National Park Service (NPS) are paused during the shutdown, the Gettysburg Foundation is continuing to operate the Museum & Visitor Center and provide access to a wide range of visitor experiences, including:

  • Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience: View A New Birth of Freedom followed by the dramatic light and sound show of the 360-degree Gettysburg Cyclorama painting. Then, explore artifacts, interactive exhibits and short films that bring the stories of the battle to life in the Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War.

  • Licensed Battlefield Guide Tours: Continue by bus and car. Car tours require reservations.

  • Shopping & Dining: The Museum Book Store and Battlegrounds Café & Grille remain open for shopping, snacks and meals.

  • McKenna Foundation Resource Room: The Resource Room is open with Gettysburg Foundation volunteers available to help guests explore Civil War ancestry and begin research.

  • Tickets & Maps: Visitors may purchase tickets to Foundation programs and obtain maps at the Ticket Counter and Friends Desk.

National Park Service Facility Status:

Lost and found items should be turned in to the Security Desk in the Museum & Visitor Center located at 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg.

Members of the media may contact Bruce McConnel, Vice President of Marketing Communications, at bmcconnel@gettysburgfoundation.org for more information.

Tickets, maps and visitor updates can be found at GettysburgFoundation.org.

Princeton Battlefield’s Next Chapter Starts Here!

Although not Civil War, this American Revolution site is nearby…

The American Battlefield Trust cordially invites you to a special community meeting to discuss an exciting new initiative: a reimagining of the Princeton Battlefield, including the opportunity for a Visitor and Education Center. The meeting will be held at Morven Museum & Garden on Tuesday, October 7 at 6:30pm.

Please RSVP to Oct7Princeton@gmail.com

The Visitor and Education Center will provide important improvements for Princeton, including:

Increasing appreciation of the battle and interpretive educational opportunities, as well as the importance of preserving this amazing story of American resilience as part of the 10 Crucial Days that changed the course of our nation.Creating a better understanding of not only the experience of the men who fought here, but how the battle impacted those men, women and children who lived in Princeton in 1777 as well.Preserving and making more accessible green space for community use of the park including the replanting of 18th Century trees and cropland. Enhancing Princeton’s appeal as we approach our nation’s Semiquincentennial and creating local job opportunities through increasing the time visitors spend in the area.Generating growth opportunities for local historical groups including the Princeton Battlefield Society and other local and regional partners.

Please RSVP to Oct7Princeton@gmail.com and join us in this forward-looking discussion. We look forward to your involvement and to seeing you on October 7.

Sincerely,

Jim Campi, Chief Policy and Communications Officer
American Battlefield Trust