Robert Torricelli: “Today with Senator Lautenberg I introduce legislation to preserve land on which our nation was forged. During the harsh…”

“Today with Senator Lautenberg I introduce legislation to preserve land on which our nation was forged. During the harsh winter of 1779-1780 the Continental Army, and its leader, General George Washington camped at Morristown, New Jersey. Washington chose Morristown for its logistical, geographical, and topographical advantages and also because of its close proximity to British-occupied New York City. Washington and his men encountered great hardships here, as the winter of 1779 was the worst winter here in over 100 years. When soldiers first arrived at Morristown, they had no choice but to sleep out in the open snow as it took most about two to three weeks to build wooden huts to hold groups of a dozen men. The last of the Continental Army, however, did not move into the huts until the middle of February, and conditions were so bad that many soldiers stole regularly to eat, deserted, or mutinied. Only the leadership of General Washington held the Continental Army intact, enabling him to plot the strategy for the coming spring that would turn the tide of the war. Through the preservation of this site, we honor the men who served at Morristown and fought for our independence. And more than that, we preserve the best classroom imaginable to understand how our nation was born. Recognizing the importance of this site, Congress created the Morristown National Historical Park in 1933, the first historical national park in the National Park System.”