Christmas 1776

“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered:” General Washington ordered his officers to read these words of Thomas Paine from “The American Crisis,” in the early hours of Christmas Day 1776, before crossing the Delaware River. The inspirational words and subsequent overwhelming victory over British forces in Trenton and further up the line marked a turning point in military dominance, morale and the Colonists’ demand for freedom. America too was born on Christmas Day by the hand of God and the words of Thomas Paine, words as prophetic today as in 1776.