George Washington re-enactors cross Delaware River

Monday, December 26, 2016
George Washington re-enactors cross Delaware River
George Washington and his troops have made their annual Christmas Day trip across the Delaware River.

WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. -- George Washington and his troops have made their annual Christmas Day trip across the Delaware River.

The 64th annual re-enactment of Washington's daring Christmas 1776 crossing of the river took the group from Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, to Titusville, New Jersey, on Sunday afternoon.

The annual Christmas tradition drew large crowds of families and fans of history to both sides of the Delaware River in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

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Revolutionary War re-enactors walk along a path before the re-enactment of Gen. George Washington's Christmas Day crossing to New Jersey on Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016.
AP Photo/Mel Evans

Boats ferried 2,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 18 cannons across the river during the original crossing. Washington's troops marched 8 miles downriver before battling Hessian mercenaries in the streets of Trenton.

Thirty Hessians were killed, and two Continental soldiers froze to death on the march.

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