The 58th annual reenactment of Col. Edward Hand’s delayed tactics, which held off British and Hessian troops on their way to what would become known as the Second Battle of Trenton, will kick off at 10 a.m. on Jan. 4 at the Lawrence Township Municipal Building on Route 206.
For the 39th time, Lawrence Township resident William Agress will portray Hand – right down to the blue-and-buff uniform worn by the Revolutionary War soldier – during the annual Hand march event.
The reenactment is of the American patriots’ delaying tactics before the Second Battle of Trenton on Jan. 2, 1777, said Agress. The event was created in 1961 by the late Robert Immordino, who was the official Lawrence Township historian.
The real Hand and his band of Pennsylvania riflemen delayed the advancement of enemy troops on their way to retake Trenton from the Americans.
The marchers, led by Hand (portrayed by Agress), will step off and begin the trek toward Trenton. The marchers will include members of the township council, former mayors, historic reenactors, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other history buffs.
The band of marchers will stop at the sites of two skirmishes between the 1st Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment commanded by Hand, as well as the British and Hessian troops. The first skirmish occurred on the banks of Five Mile Run, also known as the Little Shabakunk Creek, on Route 206 near Darrah Lane.
Continuing south on Route 206, the marchers will stop at the banks of the Shabakunk Creek, near Notre Dame High School. This was the site of the second skirmish.
There will be a brief memorial program honoring Immordino, the former Lawrence Township historian who initiated the march.
A group of reenactors will fire off a replica Revolutionary War cannon, which will be set up in a field near the Shabakunk Creek at Notre Dame High School.
There are no cannon balls, but the cannon still makes quite a “boom,” Agress said.
The march ends on the banks of the Shabakunk Creek. Marchers will walk to the nearby Lawrence Nature Center at 481 Drexel Ave. for refreshments. The Lawrence Township van will take them back to the municipal building.
