When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots

by Lynne Cheney, Peter M. Fiore (Illustrator)

Overview

"This is the story that I tell my grandchildren at Christmas. I hope that this book will bring the tradition of sharing history to families all across America."

-- Lynne Cheney

Christmas night, 1776, was a troubled time for our young country. In the six months since the Declaration of Independence had been signed, General George Washington and his troops had suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of the British. It looked as though our struggle for independence might be doomed, when Washington made a bold decision. He would lead the main body of his army across the Delaware River and launch a surprise attack on enemy forces.

Washington and his men were going against the odds. It seemed impossible that the ragtag Americans could succeed against the mightiest power in the world. But the men who started across the icy Delaware loved their country and their leader. Under his command they would turn the tide of battle and change the course of history.

Best-selling author Lynne Cheney tells the dramatic story of the military campaign that began on Christmas night in 1776. When Washington Crossed the Delaware will teach the young about the heroism, persistence, and patriotism of those who came before them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442444515
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	01/03/2012
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,285,157
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Lynne Cheney’s most recent book is the New York Times bestseller, We the People: The Story of Our Constitution, illustrated by Greg Harlin. She is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers America: A Patriotic Primer, A Is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women, When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots, A Time for Freedom: What Happened When in America, and Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America, and has written a memoir, Blue Skies, No Fences. Mrs. Cheney is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, Vice President Richard B. Cheney.
Peter M. Fiore has illustrated many books for children, including Touching the Sky by Louise Borden and Henry David's House, edited by Steven Schnur. Mr. Fiore has been interested in art since he was a young boy, and in addition to his book work, Mr. Fiore is well known as a fine artist. Mr. Fiore has received many awards and citations for his editorial illustration, including a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators.
Mr. Fiore lives along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania with his family.

Reading Group Guide

A Reading Group Guide to

When Washington Crossed the Delaware
By Lynne Cheney with Paintings by Peter M. Fiore

About the Book

“This is the story that I tell my grandchildren at Christmas. I hope that this book will bring the tradition of sharing history to families all across America.”—Lynne Cheney

A straightforward yet elegant text and rich oil paintings bring to life ten critical days in America’s fight for independence. Lynne Cheney describes George Washington’s battle strategies, his struggle to maintain the morale of his exhausted soldiers and the actions his army took to defeat the Hessians at Trenton, and the British and Hessians at Princeton. Her words are complemented by firsthand accounts of the campaign from soldiers, bystanders, and the general himself, as well as illustrator Peter M. Fiore’s powerful battle scenes. A source index and map complete this inspiring true story about the courage and commitment it took to turn the tide of the American Revolution and change the course of history.

Discussion Questions

• Why was George Washington discouraged at the beginning of the story? What was the condition of the American soldiers?

• Who were the Hessians and what did they think about the American soldiers? Why was their opinion of the Americans helpful to General Washington?

• Who was Thomas Paine and how did he help General Washington?

• In your own words, describe how Washington led his men across the Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776. Did the crossing go exactly as planned?

• Did Washington’s surprise plan work? What did the Hessians do when they saw the Americans? How long did the Battle of Trenton last?

• What did George Washington ask of his weary soldiers after the Battle of Trenton? How did he persuade his troops? What did the soldiers do? If you had been one of Washington’s soldiers at this time, would you have stepped forward? Why or why not?

• How did Washington position his troops before the Battle of Princeton? What did he order his forces on the north side of Assunpink Creek to do?

• What did British General Charles Cornwallis think had happened to Washington and his army? What is he thought to have said about the situation?

• How did the soldiers at Princeton trick the British army? Where were most of Washington’s troops marching? When did Cornwallis realize what the Americans had done?

• What happened to some of the American troops in farmlands outside Princeton? In what danger did Washington find himself during the Battle of Princeton?

• Describe the end of the Battle of Princeton. How did General Washington lead his troops? What did he say to Colonel John Fitzgerald?

• Look at the source notes that follow the story. Who are some of the different people whose thoughts and memories are quoted on the pages of the story? How do their different points of view help readers better understand this moment in history?

• Look at the map at the end of the book. Do you think you could have marched from Trenton to Princeton? How might people get from one of these cities to the other today?

• Why were the American victories at Trenton and Princeton important to the way for independence? What effect did they have on Americans across the land?

• The book begins with a quotation from President Abraham Lincoln, describing the impression the story of Washington crossing the Delaware made on him as a youth. Why do you think this story was so important to Abraham Lincoln? What is most exciting, memorable, or inspiring about this story for you?

• Why is remembering the story of George Washington crossing the Delaware important for young Americans today?

• George Washington was a great military leader who would become a great first president. What did he do to lead his troops well in the difficult winter of 1776? What do you think makes a great leader? What qualities do you think make a great president?

Research and Activities

• Write the script for one scene in a movie based on the book, When Washington Crossed the Delaware, such as Washington meeting with his generals, soldiers boarding boats to cross the river, or Washington asking his troops to continue fighting instead of returning home. Perform your scene for friends or classmates. If possible, wear Revolutionary War costumes and videotape your scene.

• Imagine that you are one of Washington’s weary soldiers at the beginning of the story. Write a journal entry describing the state of your health, your clothing, and your feelings about the situation. Draw a picture of yourself as a soldier to accompany your journal entry.

• Two soldiers at the Battle of Trenton—Alexander Hamilton and James Monroe—would go on to become important American leaders. Research the life of one of these soldiers after the American Revolution. Create a short report that includes a drawing of your chosen person, a time line of his life, and a list of his major contributions to America and its freedom.

• Discuss the ways George Washington used the element of surprise to defeat the Hessians and the British at Trenton and Princeton. Then use details from your discussion to write a poem entitled “George Washington’s Surprise.” Or make up a song based on these details and set your lyrics (words to the song) to a familiar holiday or patriotic tune.

• Go to your library or online to learn more about the river crossed by Washington’s troops. (Hint: Try the education Web page of the Delaware River Basin Commission at www.state.nj.us/drbc/edweb/edweb.htm.) Fold a large sheet of poster paper in half to make a “Delaware River: Then and Now” display. On one half of the poster provide facts, drawings, maps, and other information on the Delaware as it was in 1776. Fill the other half of the page with current-day details about the Delaware River.

• Samplers—pieces of fabric onto which letters, numbers, or sayings were stitched—were found in many early American homes. Create your own sampler with a favorite quote from When Washington Crossed the Delaware. Use colored markers or fabric paints to copy your quote, and the name of its author or speaker, onto a square of fabric, adding small decorative drawings or patterns around the edges. Glue the finished sampler onto a piece of cardboard. Make a hanger by stapling a length of ribbon between the top two corners.

• Imagine you are General Cornwallis outside of Princeton on the afternoon of January 2nd. Write a short speech to give to your British troops, explaining how you will attack the Americans in the morning. Have a friend or classmate imagine that they are General Washington at this same moment. Write a short speech to give to the American troops describing your plan to surprise the British. Take turns presenting the speeches.

• Visit the www.mountvernon.org Web site to learn more about the life of George Washington and his busy Mount Vernon estate. Create a shadowbox of model of one of the buildings, or important rooms, on the Mount Vernon grounds such as the stable, smokehouse, spinning room, or shoemaker’s shop. Present your model to classmates or friends with a brief explanation of how the building was used.

• Using maps, travel guides, and other resources, plan a visit to a famous battlefield from the Revolutionary War. Create a brochure describing your proposed trip. How will you get there? Where will you stay? What will you see? Where might you like to eat? What do you hope to learn? Present your completed brochure to friends, classmates or family members.

• Use watercolors, chalk, or other media to create your own illustration for a favorite moment in the story. Or, draw a portrait of General George Washington inspired by paintings or drawings found in your classroom, library, or online.

• Learn more about the American Revolution and the country’s early days with one of the following research activities. Make a list of key Revolutionary War battles and plot their locations on a map. Make a tape-recorded explanation of how the war ended, complete with sound effects. Draw portraits and write brief biographies of important early Americans. Write a short report about the Declaration of Independence. Make a replica of the first American flag.

• Hold an American Revolution Day in your home or classroom. Dress in period costumes. Play patriotic music. Serve early American foods. Read aloud When Washington Crossed the Delaware and other stories about famous Americans and great moments in American history.

About the Author

Lynne Cheney has loved American history since she was a child and hopes to inspire children with stories of our past. “America’s story is a compelling one,” she says, “and it helps us understand how fortunate we are to live in freedom.” Mrs. Cheney, who has a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, is a widely published author whose best-selling works for children include America: A Patriotic Primer and A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women. She co-authored one of her books, a history of the U.S. House of Representatives, with her husband, Vice President Dick Cheney. A former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Mrs. Cheney is currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. The Vice President and Mrs. Cheney have two daughters and four grandchildren.

About the Illustrator

Peter M. Fiore has illustrated many books for children, including Touching the Sky: The Flying Adventures of Wilbur and Orville Wright by Louise Borden and Trish Marx, and Henry David’s House, edited by Steven Schnur. Mr. Fiore has been interested in art since he was a young boy, and in addition to his book work, he is well known as a fine artist. Mr. Fiore has received many awards and citations for his editorial illustration, including a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators. He lives along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania with his family.

This guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.

Interviews

An Interview with Lynne Cheney about When Washington Crossed the Delaware

You tell the story of Washington crossing the Delaware to your grandchildren at Christmas. How did this tradition begin?

LC: A few years ago I realized that this inspiring story is not only timely for late December (since the crossing began on Christmas night), but that it carries an important message for a time of year when children are thinking about presents. It helps them understand that the best gifts don't come wrapped in paper and ribbons. but They are like the hope that Washington and his soldiers gave to their countrymen by achieving victories at Trenton and Princeton after the Americans had suffered so many defeats.

Does your family have any other favorite stories from history?

LC: I'm personally drawn to tales of people who changed the course of history. Joshua Chamberlain did that by holding the left flank at Gettysburg. If he and his men hadn't been strong and brave, the Union might have lost that critical battle. Such stories help us understand the important role that individuals play in shaping history.

You dedicate this book to your first grandson, Philip Richard Perry, who was born this summer. What do you think he and other children can learn from this country's past and from its founding fathers?

LC: All of us should learn that freedom isn't inevitable. It had to be won in the beginning and defended many times since. Particularly when our nation is at war, as it is now, this is an important realization for both children and adults.

Washington, who tried so hard to be the kind of person that his countrymen could admire, is an especially good figure for children to learn about. But then each of the founders' lives has lessons for us: Madison shows the importance of reading and studying, for example, and Franklin of thinking about life and trying to live it better. And the ideas of freedom and equality that Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, and Franklin enshrined in our founding documents should be at the center of every child's education.

How did you research this book? Did you visit the battlefields in Trenton and Princeton?

LC: I visited Washington's Crossing Historic Park, which is where Washington and his men crossed the Delaware, and gained a truly valuable understanding of the Battle of Trenton from having it described to me by Old Barracks Museum director Richard Patterson as we surveyed the scene from the top of the Battle of Trenton Monument. I also visited the Old Barracks Museum, where both American and Hessian troops lodged during the war. I owe so much to many scholars who generously answered questions and referred me to sources. David Hackett Fischer, author of the wonderful book Washington's Crossing, was especially helpful as Peter Fiore and I worked through the details of the ten days from December 25 to January 3.

How did you choose Peter Fiore to illustrate this book?

LC: I admired the work he had done on other children's books, particularly Henry David's House, a beautiful book about Thoreau. He's not only a talented painter, he has a deep interest in history, and that's a great combination.

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze is perhaps the best-known depiction of the events of December 25, 1776. How do you think Leutze's painting has influenced the way people think of that historic night? How does the painting differ from what really happened?

LC: The wonderful Leutze painting is meant to inspire as much as to inform and so Leutze took some artistic license. The Stars and Stripes fly over Washington's boat even though he wouldn't have carried that flag until later in the Revolutionary War.

Peter Fiore placed a high premium on accuracy. He shows the blue flag with white stars that Washington would actually have had with him at the time, for example. I think Peter did a terrific job of coming up with a fresh interpretation of Washington's crossing. It's a real challenge to see something anew when there is an iconic painting like Leutze's hovering in everyone's consciousness.

The George Washington portrait that most people are familiar with is the one that appears on the dollar bill. Since Washington was much younger when he crossed the Delaware, which portraits of the general did you and Peter M. Fiore use for reference?

LC: Charles Willson Peale and Thomas Sully both painted the younger Washington, but the truth of the matter is that Peale's Washington and Sully's don't look very much alike. But we know from their paintings, as we do from paintings of the older Washington, that he was a man of commanding bearing. In any group, he stood out as the leader, and that quality of command shines through in Peter's paintings.

Sailors from the 14th Continental Regiment of Marblehead, Massachusetts ferried General Washington and his men across the treacherous waters of the Delaware River the night of December 25, 1776, then fought in the Battle of Trenton, and finally crossed back over the river again with Hessian captives. Some historians consider the Marbleheaders to be the true heroes of this battle. What do you think?

LC: The Marbleheaders were crucial to the crossing, but so were many others. Colonel Henry Knox, for example, who directed the movements of soldiers and boats as they left the Pennsylvania shore, was an indispensable man-but no one was more indispensable that night than Washington, who inspired men to deeds they could not have imagined they could accomplish.

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Lynne Cheney makes a departure in her picture book presentation of American history, this time teaming up with illustrator Peter M. Fiore for a dramatic, engrossing recount of George Washington's crossing of the Delaware. Coupling lengthy descriptions of events and notable quotes from Washington and other personalities of the time, Cheney relays the crucial point during the American Revolution when the war began turning in Washington's favor. Beginning in November 1776 and quickly following with the general's Christmas journey across the river, Cheney and Fiore wonderfully take readers through legendary waters as we learn about the condition of Washington's army and how they stealthily made their way from Pennsylvania into New Jersey. From there, the author tells of the Battle of Trenton and the daring retaking of Princeton, rounding out the book with a lesson for audiences and a list of sources. An excellent message about courage, smart thinking, overcoming odds, and, of course, an important piece of American history, Cheney and Fiore's book makes an inspiring read that should make children appreciate freedom itself and the struggle to win it. Fiore's large, dark-hued illustrations show striking images of troops and the wintry northeastern landscape, packing a punch that's additionally strengthened by map endpapers and a short introduction by the author. A look at America's past that reminds us of freedom's ring. Shana Taylor

bn.com

Cheney (A Is for Abigail) serves up an inspiring slice of U.S. history in this account of a pivotal event in the American Revolution. With a generous smattering of quotes from primary sources, the author describes Washington's crossing of the ice-encrusted Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776, as he led 2,400 men from Pennsylvania into New Jersey and defeated British-hired Hessian soldiers at the Battle of Trenton. At times, the narrative awkwardly jumps ahead (in the midst of the surprise attack on Trenton, the author intersperses biographies of 19-year-old Capt. Hamilton and then 18-year-old Lieut. James Monroe). But if the leaps slow the momentum somewhat, these facts will nonetheless fascinate readers, as will some of the more familiar-undeniably powerful-details (e.g., many of the American troops taking their prisoners back over the river to Pennsylvania "marched without shoes and left bloody footprints in the snow"). The author underscores Washington's charisma, bravery and brilliance as a military tactician with examples of how he rallied his exhausted troops for a subsequent, successful surprise attack on British General Cornwallis's army in Princeton on January 3. Fiore's (Touching the Sky) midnight landscape of the lone British soldier keeping watch on the fires of the surreptitiously vacated American campground underscores the dramatic strategy. The multi-textured, effectively shadowed oil paintings simultaneously capture both the dire circumstances and elegance of the soldiers, and deftly do justice to this history-altering event. A source note cites the references to the elucidating quotes from Washington and others. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Washington's famed crossing of the Delaware is a treasured part of American history that gets a beautifully packaged presentation here. It's undeniably cheering in a dark and discouraging world to read of Washington's bold and daring maneuver to surprise the enemy and save the hopes of his struggling young country. Cheney's account, meticulously documented, is a bit flat in its narration. While each page includes a stirring quotation from a historical source, it would have been stronger to have integrated these directly into the text. Better to hear Martha Washington's grandson recounting that a watching officer, "horror-struck at the danger of his beloved commander, . . . drew his hat over his face that he might not see [Washington] die," than to hear Cheney's pedestrian report: "Once the two sides started firing, it seemed impossible that [Washington] would survive." The book in the end belongs to Fiore, whose large, dramatically composed paintings dominate each double-page spread with their own vivid retelling of this crucial turning point in American history. 2004, Simon & Schuster, Ages all.
—Claudia Mills

Children's Literature

Gr 2-4-Cheney chronicles the general's courageous leadership in the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, including his famed crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas 1776. The story is clearly told, although the organization falls apart slightly in the second half. Primary quotes decorate each page, adding visual interest but occasionally disrupting the flow of the narrative. Done in oil paints on canvas, the large, dramatic illustrations create a sweeping feel that captures the mood of the text. While the picture-book format necessitates some simplification of the events, the account is accurate and interesting. A source page cites only the quotes used, and not the information presented, and the book's preface includes the recommendation that grandparents share this book with their grandchildren at Christmastime, which needlessly excludes those "young patriots" who do not celebrate Christmas. This title is more straightforward, but less comprehensive, than Louise Peacock's Crossing the Delaware: A History in Many Voices (Atheneum, 1998). Cheney's offering makes an adequate supplement to history collections, and will appeal to families wishing to read inspirational picture books about America's past.-Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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