ON a very cold Christmas morning in 1776, history was about to be rewritten by a band of common men with a singular cause.
Thomas Paine wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls,” just before this day, when a defeated Continental Army retreated across New Jersey, with the British hot on their heels. Once safely in Pennsylvania, the approximately 2,000 men—many of whom hadn’t been paid in months and lacked proper winter provisions—became fed up. Their leader, General George Washington, also knew that half the Army’s enlistments were about to expire.
Frank Lyons, a Revolutionary War reenactor dressed for his role as part of the Marblehead Regiment said, “General Washington knew that the revolution needed a bold stroke. This was a crucial turning point in the revolution, or…