Why You Should Be Thankful for
John Honeyman

t has been passed down by oral history that a butcher and cattle dealer—widely known as a Tory loyalist near Trenton, New Jersey—gathered a crucial bit of news whilst selling meat to the Crown’s Hessian mercenaries. They told him, thinking nothing of entrusting a supposed Loyalist with such developments, that their garrison had grown weary with defending against constant skirmishes, and that no rebel attack was expected over the Christmas holiday.

The butcher’s name was John Honeyman, and despite his wife and children depending on his livelihood, he is said to have dared to arrange his own capture by Continental troops so he could safely pass the intelligence directly to General Washington. In fact, Honeyman was one of dozens of local civilians who risked their lives to aid the decimated and nearly disbanded Continental Army in their darkest hour.

General Washington, confirming these reports as reliable, then determined to pursue his daring and famous Crossing of the Delaware. In the middle of the frigid night. On Christmas Day. A surprise attack was sprung on the cruel Hessian mercenaries that had ravaged New Jersey the previous autumn. History was thus made at Trenton, and the role of ordinary men in an extraordinary miracle was cemented for their posterity.

And this is only the beginning of the story. Landmark Events and our favorite historian of all time, Dr. William Potter, will be on the very banks of the Delaware River this summer, where Providence galvanized the grit of the Continental Army and the intrepid skill of American sailors to pull off another feat of the century. So don’t miss this—our 250th celebratory tour of America’s birthday!