Christmas 1776

A fine Christmas-time movie, though not a Christmas movie, is The Crossing (2000), about Washington’s crossing of the Delaware and capture of the Hessian troops stationed at Trenton on Christmas Day 1776, saving the cause of American Independence in its darkest hour. Starring Jeff Daniels in a very good performance as George Washington, the movie, unlike many historical movies that try to cover too much, is concentrated on the several days leading up to and including the attack. It shows how Washington, having retreated to Pennsylvania to escape the British who have now occupied all of New Jersey, and facing the imminent dissolution of the Continental Army, gets the daring, unprecedented idea of bringing the entire army back across the Delaware in the middle of the night, marching ten miles through the snow in the pre-dawn darkness, and attacking the enemy forces at Trenton before they can realize what has happened. One of the good things about the movie is the way it shows Washington functioning as a leader. He doesn’t just tell his doubtful officers what they are going to do, but explains his decisions to them step by step and gets them on board.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at December 26, 2008 04:52 PM | Send