The Crossing
- TV Movie
- 2000
- 1h 29m
A dramatization of George Washington's perilous gamble of crossing the Delaware River and attacking the Hessian forces at Trenton.A dramatization of George Washington's perilous gamble of crossing the Delaware River and attacking the Hessian forces at Trenton.A dramatization of George Washington's perilous gamble of crossing the Delaware River and attacking the Hessian forces at Trenton.
- Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
- 2 wins & 1 nomination total
Photos
- Capt. Heineman
- (as Kristen Holden-Ried)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe friction between General Washington and General Gates portrayed in the film was very real. In fact, Gates was allegedly involved in a conspiracy known as The Conway Cabal, a plot to oust George Washington as Commander-in-Chief in 1778 and replace him with himself. Gates' name surfaced again in the Newburgh Conspiracy, another plot to oust Washington in 1783.
- GoofsThe weather, as portrayed, does not match the severe conditions during the actual battle. When the attack on Trenton began, it was a near whiteout blizzard - a factor which allowed the Revolutionaries to approach the town unobserved.
- Quotes
Gen. Horatio Gates: Surrender. This revolution is over.
Gen. George Washington: So we surrender. We weigh the pros and cons and reason prevails. But you see, sir, I am an unreasonable man as well as a poor soldier. But you are right. My men are not soldiers. They are lads. Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. They run away. They fear the Hessians as they fear death. All this is true. Yet they have put their trust in me. They could have deserted. Thousands have. But these lads have not. They remain with me. And I, not you, General Gates, *I* command this army, and if I, a bumbling Virginia farmer, should decide to lead them into Hell, they will follow me into Hell.
Why I rated it a '7': As I mentioned, it was entertaining enough. Jeff Daniels does a fairly convincing GW. It was filmed in Canada as modern-day Trenton no longer resembles the 18th century town. You get a sense of the perilous nature of the mission and the desperate situation faced by the Continental Army. I think the filmmakers could have expanded a little more on the string of defeats Washington suffered from July-December, amping up the desperation, but that's OK. You definitely get the understanding that they were a ragged, demoralized group by the end of the year.
The history here, though, is a little off. Several scenarios were portrayed that just never happened, and others omitted that did happen. The film was based on a novel by Howard Fast and maybe that's why? Idk I never read it. But the concern here is that people will watch the film and, because it involved a historical event, will think everything they see is accurate. Another reviewer here commented that this film is "excellent history." Well, not so fast.
Maybe the strangest part of the film was the fact that it did not mention Washington's entire plan. There were supposed to be three separate crossings, not one. There were two other groups of soldiers, one crossing north of Washington's contingent, another south, and all three were to converge on Trenton. As it turns out, the other two groups never made it across, but this film doesn't even mention them. Weird.
The film does show a confrontation between Washington and General Horatio Gates, which never happened. And it has Alexander Hamilton as Washington's aide-de-camp, also wrong. Hamilton was an artillery officer at the time. I don't know why he's shown here as an aide. James Monroe was there, but the film never shows him. OK. Washington had Thomas Paine's "American Crisis" read to the troops before the battle - again, not shown. And the battle began during a blizzard, also not shown.
But overall, I still enjoyed it. "The Crossing" does a good enough job of telling the story of the events leading up to the first Battle of Trenton in general, even if it veers off onto some weird inaccurate paths along the way.
7/10. Would I watch again (Y/N)?: Yes. For the entertainment value, not the history.
- Better_Sith_Than_Sorry
- Dec 25, 2021