Bergen County Historical Society EVENT:

The 239th Anniversary of the British Invasion & American Retreat

Saturday & Sunday, November 21 & 22, 2015    

The 239th Anniversary of the British Invasion & American Retreat from Fort Lee to New Bridge, The Bridge That Saved A Nation.

On November 20th, 1776, five thousand British, Hessian and Loyalist troops, under command of Lt. Gen. Lord Cornwallis, scaled the Palisades at Lower Closter Dock and marched against Fort Lee. Warned by an alert officer, the American garrison escaped entrapment by safely crossing the Hackensack River at New Bridge, now known as the Bridge That Saved a Nation, and lived to fight another day.

To mark the 239th Anniversary of the "times that try men's souls," the Bergen County Historical Society, along with Outwater's Militia and Fourth Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers, will co-sponsor a weekend of living history and scholarly presentations on November 21 and 22, 2015.

Saturday:

• 7:00 pm. Reading of the "American Crisis" on the Bridge, followed by a Lecture in the Steuben House.

Sunday:
Site opens 11 am, with varied events throughout the site

• 11:00 am. George Washington will discuss these "trying times"
• 11:30 am. American Troops begin to assemble to defend the bridge
• 12:00 pm. Skirmish at the Bridge - A reenactment of the rear guard engagement that occurred at New Bridge during the retreat
• 1:30 pm. Lecture at the Steuben House
• 2:00 pm. Children's Drill - Demarest House

Adults $10, Students (6-22 yr) $7. BCHS members admission free. Refreshments including cider donuts will be available.    

Free parking is available or take the train on the Pascack Valley line to "New Bridge Landing" train stop. Walk one block north to Historic New Bridge Landing, 1201 Main St, River Edge, NJ. HNBL is only 7 miles from the GWB.