By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
Colonial American history took a modern turn this weekend as re-enactors gathered to stage the Battle of Princeton at Battlefield State Park.
Soldiers dressed in Colonial garb and British red coats wandered about talking with spectators and answering questions about early America from children, but as the fighting began, those on the sidelines all whipped out their iPhones and digital camera to record the battle.
Spectators, once they seemed to understand who was who and what was taking place through narration, really got into the action, cheering every time a red coat went down on the field.
”It’s Memorial Day and it’s a time to remember the soldiers,” said Jack O’Neill, 11 of Philadelphia, who really liked when the British fired the cannons during the battle and when the Americans defeated the British.
Besides the battle, participants were treated to demonstrations and displays of blacksmithing, a mess tent and weaponry of the times.
Spectators came from near and far to see the battle, the first re-enactment since 2001, and experience the adventure the fight for freedom was and still is.
”I’m here because it’s my birthday celebration,” said James McCanny-Anthony, 9, of Greenwich, Conn. “I learned there was more to the Revolutionary War than I thought.”
Timing the reenactment with Memorial Day was key for the Battlefield Society, which wanted to do an event on one of the more patriotic holidays.
”We knew they had a parade in Princeton on Saturday, and that there would be people here for the parade and we figured let’s do something on Saturday,” said Jerry Hurwitz, president of the society. “People can come out right after the parade and see a piece of history.”
The re-enactment was an expansion of the society’s program offerings for the public.
”We haven’t had a battle re-enactment since 2001, so the idea was an experiment,” said Mr. Hurwitz. “We were trying to attract the public and get them interested in history.”
William Tatum, co-organizer of the re-enactment and trustee of the Princeton Battlefield Society, said they chose Memorial Day weekend for two reasons, the weather and recognition of the soldiers.
”Most people don’t want to come out in the winter and the extreme cold,” he said, noting that there are more logistics involved in a winter re-enactment. “It seems apropos to commemorate the sacrifices of our veterans on the day when it is most appropriate and on the field where their sacrifices helped to win the war because the battle was so pivotal. If Gen. George Washington had lost 9the battle) his army would have likely been destroyed and that would have been the end of the revolution, but his victory here unraveled the British war plan.”
Since people began to memorialize soldiers after the Civil War, the American Revolution veterans are out of the limelight when it comes to Memorial Day festivities, said Mr. Tatum.
The Revolutionary War soldiers are the first veterans of what Mr. Tatum, a historian who got his start in living history while studying at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., calls a “truly American army.”
The Colonists, Philadelphia Light Horse troop, were portrayed by the Second Regiment Continental Light Dragoons Tallmadge’s Troop and 43rd regiment represented the British 17th Regiment of foot, in the red coats on Saturday.
The American Revolution is pivotal because it is when the colonies began to separate from British and in effect, the rest of Europe, said Mr. Tatum. “A lot of the issues we see in modern society can be traced all the way back to the revolution, if not before,” he said. “Studying the revolution can in many respects give you a broader perspective on the big issues of today.”

