Old Barracks Museum

Old Barracks Museum. Ten Crucial Days.

"We entered the town with them pell-mell, and here succeeded a scene of war of which I had often conceived but never saw before. The hurry, fright, and confusion of the enemy was [not] unlike that which will be when the last trump shall sound. They endeavoured to form in the streets, the heads of which we had previously the possession of with cannon and howitzers. These, in the twinkling of an eye, cleared the streets. The backs of the houses were resorted to for shelter. These proved ineffectual: the musketry soon dislodged them." , - General Henry Knox , to his Wife, Lucy, Dec. 28, 1776

, After embarking on a treacherous crossing of the Delaware on the night of December 25, 1776, General Washington’s army of 2,400 men and 18 cannons marched nine miles south to Trenton with a sleet storm at their backs. They arrived at 8 AM on December 26. Three hours later, the 1st Battle of Trenton was over. At the cost of just a few men wounded, the rag-tag Continental forces had killed or captured over 900 Hessians, 6 cannons, and all enemy supplies – a victory when it was needed most., Washington’s troops retraced their steps back across the river to Pennsylvania but returned four days later to occupy Trenton. General Cornwallis and his British forces arrived on January 2, 1777 in an attempt to retake the town. The ensuing 2nd Battle of Trenton continued until well after sunset, but the Continental Army quietly slipped away in a stealthy nighttime maneuver and surprised the British Rear Guard to emerge victorious at Princeton the next morning. These “Ten Crucial Days” strengthened the morale and resolve of the Continental Army and marked the turning point of the American Revolution., Built in 1758, the Trenton Barracks was one of five constructed by the colony of New Jersey as winter housing for British troops during the French and Indian War. On that fateful December 1776 morning it was occupied by Loyalist refugees and civilians attached to the Hessian brigade then in control of the town. After Washington’s victory, the Barracks briefly housed both American troops and British prisoners. For most of the Revolutionary War, though, it served as a Continental Army smallpox hospital and was an integral part of the first successful mass inoculation in the western hemisphere., After the war, the building served a variety of purposes and a portion of it was demolished to make way for a street extension. Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames spearheaded a campaign to “Save the Old Barracks” in 1902. This National and State Historic Landmark was restored over the following decades and is now owned by the State of New Jersey and operated as a museum by the Old Barracks Association., Today the Old Barrack Museum offers an immersive experience where visitors interact with officers and soldiers, help 18th century medical practitioners ply their trade, and learn about the role of African Americans on both sides of the War for Independence. The Museum tour takes visitors through a military hospital, a typical enlisted soldiers’ barracks and the relative luxury of the Officers’ House, as well as exhibit galleries, a reproduction outdoor oven and parade ground., For more information, visit WWW.BARRACKS.ORG