Travel Time to Princeton: Albany (3), Annapolis (2.5), Harrisburg (2), Richmond (5),  Wilmington (2.25) Washington (3) Newark Airport (1)

Washington Crossing…The Battle of Trenton…Battle of Assunpink Creek…Battle of Princeton…

“These were the times that tried mens’ souls…

Join your compatriots and connect with history! Conveniently located in historic Princeton New Jersey, the Atlantic Middle States District Conference will feature excellent accommodations, a pool, meeting rooms, programming for spouses, and a tour of the landmark sites and venues of the “Ten Crucial Days”, where the tides of revolution turned. The Princeton region offers fine dining, celebrated shopping, historic homes, and activities. Enjoy the fellowship, the food, the history and the fun! 

Programming

Friday Evening, August 5th Program

Nancy K. Loane, author of FOLLOWING THE DRUM: Women at the Valley Forge Encampment 

"Thoroughly researched and a compelling read. Loane's study of the women of Valley Forge--the 'camp women' as well as Martha Washington and the officers' 'ladies'--adds vastly to our understanding of that terrible winter, the Continental Army, and the vital role women played in the founding of the Republic."—Paul Lockhart, author of The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army

Saturday Morning, August 6th Program

A History of Inventing in New Jersey: FromThomas Edison to the Ice Cream Cone with Linda Barth

Many people are familiar with Edison’s “invention factory” in Menlo Park, where he patented the phonograph, the light bulb, and many more innovations. Yet many other ideas have grown in the Garden State, too—New Jerseyans brought sound and music to movies and built the very first drive-in theater. In addition to the first cultivated blueberry, tasty treats like ice cream cones and M&M’s® are also Jersey natives. Iconic aspects of American life, like Bubble Wrap®, the boardwalk, the Band-Aid®, and even professional baseball itself started in New Jersey. Life would be a lot harder without the vacuum cleaner, plastic, and air-conditioning, and many other important advances in medicine and surgery were developed here. Linda Barth is the executive director of the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey and president of the D&R Canal Watch.

Saturday (after the business meeting)

The Traversing the Ten Crucial Days Bus Tour

We will retrace the 25 December 1776 crossing of the Delaware through to 3 January, 1777. You will learn about the military engagements between remaining rag-tag elements of George Washington’s army against Hessian and British troops at Trenton, Princeton, and areas in-between. You will hear the remarkable stories of these ten days that breathed crucial new life into the apparently expiring American Revolution. The events are discussed in the context of the local, strategically important, central New Jersey towns, villages, and farms; occupied by families with diverse backgrounds; practicing varied religions such as Quakers, Presbyterians, and Anglicans; and holding complex views on loyalty to the Revolution or to the King. You will hear how the terrain, weaponry, and weather, influenced the ways the battles were fought and how the lives of the local people were disrupted by them. See where armies marched, fought, and struggled to survive on an otherwise peaceful landscape, while the course of human history hung in the balance.