An Independence Day Note

Central Jersey played the pivotal role in the birth of our nation. We still do.

Happy Independence Day!

We know you have day planned with events, barbecues, maybe even a beach visit, and some quintessential firework shows so we’ll keep it brief.

It never escapes us how lucky we are to live in this country.

We also cannot forget the pivotal role Central Jersey played in the founding of our nation. It was here that General Washington’s Ten Crucial Days began. After a series of defeats in New York and New Jersey, Washington knew that low morale and enlistment expirations could have lost the war entirely. He had to think of something.

Peering out over the icy Delaware River on Christmas of 1776, Washington pondered his next move. Scouts reported a camp of Hessians - German mercenaries hired by the British to take out high ranking officers like him - lay beyond the river. 1,500 of them.

Washington quietly summoned his troops to battle.

The crossed a choppy river in the middle of the night, marched ten miles and laid siege to the British camp hosting these merchants of death, fueled only by the spirit of revolution. Some Hessians retreated to Trenton where they were defeated on December 27th. The tide of war had shifted, and the genius of Washington began to dominate the war.

Nearly two years later, the Battle of Monmouth became the new turning point in the war and the hotly-debated legend of Molly Pitcher was born, someone who’s story confounds even the most astute war historian.

During 1783, our nation’s capital was located at Princeton University’s Nassau Hall where the Treaty of Paris was signed that September, ending the war and giving birth to these United States.

Civilizations have come and gone. The Ottoman Empire lasted 623 years. The Papal States lasted 1,114 years. The British Empire? Over 400 years.

America is about to breach 250 years.

We previously wrote about Monmouth County’s celebration of our republic’s semiquincentennial birthday, but it’s important to remember that, at 250 years, we’re still figuring out the American experiment - the same way Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Stockton did.

Is our history complicated? Yes. Everyone’s is, and understanding that is crucial to our survival.

Are we still testing out this American “experiment?” You bet – and we’ll keep testing until we get it right.

We here at CJN are proud of the role New Jersey played in our nation’s founding and are proud to freely deliver news, opinion, and general musings freely.

While this may just be an email that links to an online journal and some social media pages, think of the many people who yearn for the freedom of speech and of the press that is delivered to your inbox every day -  and those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to ensure we have these freedoms for generations to come.

God Bless American and God Bless New Jersey.

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