Friday Night Fireworks!

The Lights On The River is a weekly fireworks display to be held each Friday night between 9 and 9:30 right on the Delaware River between Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA, which will run for 15 weeks -- between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The project is a joint partnership of the New Hope and Lambertville Chambers of Commerce.

Here was the first fireworks display in the series, recorded back on June 4th, as was captured for posting on the YouTube channel, NewHopePennsylvania.


Good work!

And below is a video of the exciting show held on Friday, June 18, 2010, from a different vantage point. It is a little bit of a distance, at a site called Goat Hill Overlook, located in West Amwell, NJ, overlooking the Delaware River between Lambertville and New Hope. The overlook is within a state park, in neighboring West Amwell Township, NJ.



Here is a scenic view of Lambertville near sundown taken from that same Goat Hill Overlook. The fireworks are launched just south of the lower bridge seen to the left in the photo, right where Coryell's ferry operated during the time of the American Revolution. The upper bridge is the Route 202 Toll Bridge of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.

Coryell's Crossing

Coryell's Crossing was a critical location during our American Revolutionary War. The fireworks you see are being launched from the exact location of that famous ferry crossing -- just south of the bridge connecting the communities of Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA on the Delaware River.

Following the retreat of the Continental Army from New York and as it was crossing New Jersey during the fall of 1776, General Washington ordered several troops to go ahead and to gather all the boats along the Delaware. His plan was for his Continental Army to cross into Pennsylvania, leaving no boats behind for the British to use in pursuit. Most critically, he sought to prevent the British from taking a force of sufficient size across the river that could attack Philadelphia, which was at the time was the Capitol of our fledgling nation. It was where the Continental Congress was meeting at the time.

An attack on Philadelphia and the possible capture of the delegates to the Continental Congress at that vulnerable point could have caused a stunning, perhaps fatal setback to the American experiment in self government,* which had only been proudly proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence just five and a half months earlier. "These are the times that try men's souls . . ." wrote Thomas Paine in The American Crisis, while accompanying Washington's army during much of that harried retreat, and who wrote those words to describe the plight of the patriot army. He eventually went ahead to Philadelphia, where his pamphlet was printed and widely distributed. It was even reportedly read to Washington's troops for inspiration, just before the Christmas Crossing.

During the 1776 retreat from New York, the advance unit gathered all those boats from up into the Lehigh River and down into Delaware Bay. From those that were garnered, a small but critical fleet of them, including many of the famed Durham boats, were hidden behind Malta Island, which hugged the Pennsylvania shore just south of Coryell's Crossing -- literally within shouting distance. A long "race," or passage, known at the time as the "horserace" ran behind that heavily wooded island, as it swiftly guided the commercial traffic on the river around the very treacherous rapids known as Wells Falls.

In very early December, when the remaining contingent of Washington's troops reached Trenton, they accomplished their objective of crossing over the Delaware to safety into Pennsylvania, taking the boats with them. The Continental Army under his command and various supporting militia units thereupon fanned out along the river banks in the countryside, mostly north of there, setting up pickets and guns to defend against any attempt by the British troops to cross. They succeeded, and the British and their Hessian mercenaries settled into a series of cantonments across New Jersey for the winter, including the cantonment in Trenton which was populated largely by Hessians.

Local legend holds that during the subsequent run-up to the famous 1776 Christmas Crossing at McKonkeys and the Battle of Trenton that General George Washington, whose Headquarters were at the Keith Farm in Brownsburg, over in Pennsylvania, traveled the short distance up to Coryell's Ferry and secretly crossed over onto the New Jersey side, where he was escorted to the top of Smith's Mountain (now known as Goat Hill) by Cornelius Coryell, a local patriot whose family members were the operators of the crossing. From there it was said that Washington was able to see to his own satisfaction that any British troops reconnoitering in the area would be unable to see the boats he had ordered hidden behind Malta Island.


The story was that Washington stood atop a promontory formation on that steep hillside where he was able to get the best possible view of the island and the Pennsylvania banks of the river. It has since been known as Washington's Rock. Here you can see it today, showing in the background what are now the remains of Malta Island. The rock is located a mere hundred yards or so from the Goat Hill Overlook where the video, above was filmed.

British troops under the command of General Charles Cornwallis did indeed reconnoiter in the area between the 9th and the 14th of that December in 1776, and they were very much looking for boats. Few doubt they must have located that exact prominent hillside location as well in their search for boats.

In fact, a newspaper story printed in the Irish Gazette in very early January of 1777 reported on the Cornwallis mission. Of course, the story was printed before the news had reached across the ocean of the stunning military turnabout at the Battle of Trenton, and then a week later at Trenton II, and the Battle of Princeton. A hand-drawn map printed with the article showed the route Cornwallis had traveled, and even declaratively stated in a note written on the Pennsylvania side of that map of the immediate area, "Where the boats were destroyed." William Howe, the Commander in Chief of the British Army in America, had written a letter to the British Secretary of State for America, George Germain, on December 20, 1776, informing him of the search for the boats, and stated in a key paragraph:**



A year and a half later, at the beginning of summer, Coryell's Crossing again figured prominently in the strategic movement of the American patriot army. General Washington, marching up from Valley Forge, crossed at Coryell's and stayed between June 20th and 22d on the New Jersey side of the river, before marching out to engage the British troops on June 28th at the Battle of Monmouth. General Washington stayed at the home of Richard Holcombe, at the north end of present day Lambertville, NJ, while the bulk of his troops camped in an orchard located in what is now the downtown business section of the City of Lambertville.

Below is what General Charles Cornwallis himself is reputed to have acknowledged to General Washington, five years hence, in the fall of 1781. He reportedly made the remark, just after the siege and complete surrender of his troops to the Continental Army after the Battle of Yorktown, on the Chesapeake.

The indented paragraph is quoted from a speech by former President Calvin Coolidge on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of General Washington taking command of the Continental Army.

It is recorded that a few evenings after the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown a banquet was given by Washington and his staff to the British commander and his staff. One likes to contemplate the sportsmanship of that function. Amiabilities and good wishes were duly exchanged, and finally Lord Cornwallis rose to present his compliments to Washington. There had been much talk of past campaigning experiences, and Cornwallis, turning to Washington, expressed the judgment that when history's verdict was made up "the brightest garlands for your excellency will be gathered not from the shores of the Chesapeake but from the banks of the Delaware." We may fairly assume that Cornwallis, in the fullness of a very personal experience, was qualified to judge. Washington had outgeneraled and defeated him both on the banks of the Delaware and the shores of the Chesapeake. In giving the laurels to the Trenton-Princeton campaign he expressed not only his own judgment but the estimate which was afterwards pronounced by Frederick the Great, who declared that the Trenton-Princeton campaign was the most brilliant military performance of the century. For myself, without pretense of military wisdom, the lightninglike stroke of Trenton and Princeton in its supreme audacity and ideal execution has always seemed the most perfectly timed combination of military genius and political wisdom that we find in the records of warfare.

An honor for the ages, to be sure!


* Though the British did eventually take Philadelphia during the following September of 1777, other British forces under General Burgoyne were simultaneously being badly beaten in upstate New York, culminating in the complete capitulation of his forces at the Battle of Saratoga, in mid-October, which defeat was followed by the entry of France on the American side.

Eventually, the circumstances caused the British to entirely give up their occupation of Philadelphia, and to retreat with their forces back into New York City by the early summer of 1778. It was then when Washington led the American forces across the Delaware at Coryell's Crossing, and out to intercept the retreating British at the Battle of Monmouth.

** This image is copied from Google's scan of the Correspondence of Charles, first Marquis Cornwallis, Volume 1, found here. William Howe's entire letter is on pages 24 & 25.

A few key views ...

June 7, 2010 -- Key landmarks in and around our City of Lambertville include several primary locales, all within walking distance and right in the center of town. (Click on any of the photos to expand them.)

Pictured below is the historic Lambertville House, at the corner of Bridge Street and North Union Street.

Initially built as a tavern called the Stage House, the original structure was commenced by Captain John Lambert around 1814 to coincide with the building of the original Delaware Bridge across the river. It also housed the City's first post office, which had been obtained through the influence of his uncle, then-U.S. Senator, John Lambert. Captain John became the first postmaster of "Lambert's Ville."

Coryell's Ferry was located at the foot of Ferry Street, one block below that newly created Bridge Street. Prior to the bridges being built, it was the means for crossing the river. The old Ferry House Tavern was located there, and the building now found on that site is currently the home of the Ota-Ya Japanese Restaurant.

Coryell's Ferry -- so named at one point on both sides of the river -- was a key commercial crossing point during the 18th and into the 19th century, where the river intersected the York Road between Philadelphia and New York . It was historically of immense significance because of the key role the crossing played during the Revolutionary War period.

During the harried retreat of the Continental Army across New Jersey in the fall of 1776, General Washington ordered several troops ahead to collect all the boats, including those used for commercial purposes on the river, and to secure them on the Pennsylvania side. The fleet of vessels used to ferry the 2,400 American troops and supplies across for the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, were hidden behind Malta Island that December, which was located just south of present day New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Commercial passage on the river ran through the long race running behind the wooded island, thereby avoiding the danger of running through the treacherous Well's Falls. The small section of the map shown, drawn just 9 years later in 1785 by Redding Howell,* depicts how Malta Island was at the time. The later construction of the Delaware Canal in Pennsylvania, industrialization along the waterfront south of New Hope, and the installation of the wing dam intersecting it, all contributed to substantially changing the configuration of Malta Island over the years. Today, only bare tailings of the island remain.

Coryell's was crossed by American revolutionary forces numerous times during that period, including in the summer of 1778 on their way to the Battle of Monmouth.

Just prior to marching out to Monmouth, General Washington stayed at the home of Richard Holcombe, just north of town along Route 29. It is currently a private residence. The Continental Army Washington led to Monmouth that summer camped in an orchard for those few days, right in the center of what is now Lambertville.

The roadway Washington led the troops out of town would have crossed what is now Rt. 165 and up Quarry Street, to the old Toll House, which is also currently a private residence. There they would have gone right, marching up and across the old Farmer's Highway, to where it would have intersected near the current Rt. 518, in the vicinity of Rock Road West and Hunter Road in West Amwell.

During the early industrialization of the 19th Century, and primarily as a means for moving coal, both a railroad (the Belvidere Delaware , part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system) and a feeder for the Delaware & Raritan Canal were built along the Delaware, both passing side by side through Lambertville, and both located just yards in from the banks of the Delaware. The D&R Canal itself was commissioned by the state legislature in early 1830, and the railroad a few years later in 1836. The railroad line did not open, however, until 1851.

One fascinating and novel engineering feature employed at the time featured an "aqueduct" bridge and canal spillway, which is located just south of the Lambertville Station, and over which both the railroad line ran and the canal flowed, both spanning Swan Creek, as it flowed through town down to the river. In the photo (which was taken from the river side if the aqueduct) water can be seen dropping from the overflow spillway on the edge of the canal feeder.

Eventually, the portion of the railroad line south of Milford, NJ became defunct, and in the late 1970s most of the tracks south of Lambertville were pulled up, and along with the D&R Canal feeder, created the basis for a scenic walkway and bike path that threads all the way to Trenton, 18 miles south of Lambertville, and north to Bulls Island.

The D&R Canal itself had finally closed to all commercial traffic back in 1933. The canal and the feeder, which are today overseen by the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission, serve today not only as a enormously popular parklands, but also as a water supply source for the City of Trenton and other communities. Above is just one of many beautiful views that can be seen on a leisurely walk along the canal feeder tow path, this scene right here in town, from York looking south toward Coryell Street.

Twenty-five years ago, the former railroad station building, located a block away from the Lambertville House, and likewise bordering on Bridge Street, was completely restored and significantly improved, opening as a restaurant and inn. The main building, the Lambertville Station, is pictured here. Their facilities have been enhanced over the ensuing years, including the building of an inn on the waterfront.
From the just a few steps out on walkway of the bridge to New Hope, one can look north along the shoreline and see Lewis Island, which historically was known as Holcombe Island, named after one of the prominent founding families of this river town. That island became the home of a bustling shad fishing enterprise, avidly pursued over the years by the Lewis clan, and one that is still celebrated today during Lambertville's annual spring Shad Festival. The island can also be accessed from a walk-over bridge you can see in the photo, by walking up Lambert Lane to the foot of Coryell Street.

Heading back east on Bridge Street just half a block away from the Lambertville House, and on the other side of St. John the Evangelist Parish, is the current home of the Lambertville Historical Society, The Marshall House. It is also directly across the street from the First Baptist Church of Lambertville.

Originally built in 1816, therein resided young James Wilson Marshall, who was later credited as the discoverer of gold in the American River at Sutter's Mill out in California in 1848, thereby prompting the famous gold rush. The house is on both the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places.

Around the corner on North Union, is the First Presbyterian Church. It has a graveyard on the side of the building bearing numerous historical figures, including, among others, several individuals from the founding Coryell, Holcombe and Lambert families. One of these individuals was George Coryell, a son of Cornelius Coryell, who was a young man of 16 or so at the time of the Christmas Crossing. According to one account,** he played an essential role in scouting and reconnoitering on horseback all along the New Jersey side of the river between Coryells and Trenton on a secret spy mission for George Washington, just before that 1776 Christmas crossing at McKonkey's. The story was that he reported back to the General on Christmas Day that there were no unusual guards or patrols along the route.


Following the Revolution, he moved to Alexandria, VA at the behest of George Washington himself, and he married into society. He was ultimately given the honor of being a pall bearer at George Washington's funeral. Years later in 1845, following his wife's death, George Coryell returned to this area, where he lived out his days. He died in 1850 and was buried in the Presbyterian Church lot, where a sign is posted commemorating his historic role as a spy for Washington.

Two short blocks north on Union Street, on the northeast corner of York Street, is Lambertville's City Hall, at 18 York Street. Originally built in 1871, the "Second Empire" style stone building was the A. H. Holcombe residence, home to descendants of one of Lambertville's original settlers, John Holcombe. The building has been the location of City Hall since 1950, and has recently had restoration and upgrading improvements paid for through a grant by the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund.

Just a few doors down the street from City Hall, also on York Street, is the Massey Mansion, a striking Williamsburg colonial revival home with a carriage house, that was built a century ago (in 1909). It was a twenty fifth anniversary gift by prominent businessman (coal supplier) George W. Massey for his wife, Hannah. Today, the mansion is a bed-and-breakfast, one of several in town, and in our area.

Finally, even an abbreviated compilation of downtown Lambertville scenes as this is would not be complete without at least one view along George Street, this one looking back down toward the center of town from the York Street area, next to the memorial park.


* The Reading Howell map of the Delaware River from Trenton north, was drawn under a contract between Mr. Howell and both states -- New Jersey and Pennsylvania -- and was undertaken for the purpose of determining the "boundary" with respect to the ownership of the islands in the river. The original map from which the section was photographed, is in the New Jersey State Archives. I found reference to the map via Mr. Edward Cohen, author of, Lambertville's Legacy: The Coryells, Ashbel Welsh and Fred Lewis (1999), at 17-18.

** New Doane Book: Bucks County's Bandittories of the Revolution, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA (1952) at 44-45. See Lambertville's Legacy, ibid at 41-42.