Locals took an opportunity to step back in time through history on Dec. 28 when the Bordentown Historical Society sponsored an event on the American Revolution.
The “Dark Days of the Revolution” was the event that day when residents heard tales and stories from George Washington portrayer, Samuel Davis.
Garbed in the military attire of Washington with a navy-blue overcoat, beige vest and leggings with brass buttons, Davis spoke from the persona of the famous founding father to the event attendees, describing scenes of battle, retreat and intimate conversations with other historical figures from the Revolutionary War period.
As Davis captured the room’s attention with vigor and diction in his voice and poise as Washington, he brought to life scenes from famous battles in local areas such as Princeton, Trenton, Fort Lee and the crossing of the Delaware River.
Outside scenes of combat, Davis demonstrated a personal side of Washington’s character as well. He recited personal letters that Washington sent to historical figures; shared accounts of what it was like to march in hostile cold weather while he and his army crossed the Delaware River and how he escaped with his troops across the East River in New York.
Davis, a retired high school science teacher, said the role of portraying Washington holds much significance to him, having ancestral background ties into the life of the historical figure.
“It’s an honor to actually portray Washington,” Davis said. “My ancestors actually fought at the battles of Princeton, Trenton and Red Bank because [they] came here in the 1650’s and they fought right along Washington – right beside him.”
Through the personification of Washington, the role serves as a symbol of Davis’ dedication to learning and sharing the history of the United States with adults and young people as well.
“I’m very proud of our history and this is why I do this,” Davis said. “Not for money. Not for anything else. Just because it’s the right thing to do. It’s all about our country and to teach history the way it should be taught – not just by a teacher from a book, but to give strength to our children of the United States and for them to be proud of the beginning of our history.”
Following Davis’ performance, he took questions and comments from audience members, answering them from Washington’s point-of-view.
As Davis’ extensive knowledge of Washington came forth throughout the session, he replied to questions from the audience pertaining both to the performance and related history outside of it as well.
Although the event was organized in correlation to the historical society’s “Bordetown Goes to War” exhibit, which opened in October, the exhibit is in the process of being broken down and transformed into a new theme within the upcoming month.
Co-president of the historical society, Doug Kiovsky, said the organization wanted to close out the exhibit with a final demonstration.
“It was the end of our ‘Bordentown Goes to War’ exhibit, and it was Patriots week as well, so we wanted to bring in that ‘wartime’ theme,” Kiovsky said. “We figured let’s end the program with something interesting, so we brought George Washington here.”
Although the event served as an evening of entertainment and interaction for the attendees at the historical society building, Kiovsky said demonstrations like this provide locals with the opportunity to learn more about Bordentown and the surrounding area too.
As the historical society prepares to transition into its new, upcoming exhibit, Kiovsky said he hopes the organization can provide more events like the George Washington reenactment to get more people interested and knowledgeable about the area’s history.
“It enlightens people more and they can say, ‘I never knew that,’” Kiovsky said. “If people [come away from this] by learning at least one fact from a presentation that we do, that would be interesting.
“It’s education and bringing history to life that we want to do as a historical society. We want to do more of these programs whether it’s in-house like this or at another location, but to basically educate people on historic figures that [once] passed Bordentown or lived near Bordentown.”