Col. Hand Marches through Lawrenceville for the 58th Time

On January 2 and 3, 1777 Col. Edward Hand led a skirmish on the future property of The Bridge Academy.

On January 4, 2020, Bill Agress portraying Col. Edward Hand, led us to Route 206 to retrace his steps in reverse.

As Col. Hand died at the age of 58, and this is the 58th annual march, the march has lived longer than the man. Col. Hand was 32 when he led the skirmish. Bill quips he has been Col. Hand longer than Col. Hand  was Col. Hand (he was only a colonel for a year, he became a general). 

Every year Bill and the local historians try to put a fresh spin on the march. This year about 70 people turned out for the pre-march speeches, with about 50 of them doing the two-mile march. Thanks to The Bridge Academy's new plaques, this year the march crossed The King's Highway (Route 206) to study our plaques.

When I heard a stop was being made at school, I decided this was the year I would do the march. That and it wasn't raining or cold.

The march began with speeches by historians and politicians. All five council members attended, as did Fred, a relative of one of the men who served under Col. Hand.


For me the highlight was the stop at The Bridge Academy. The mist gave it a haunting feel.

For others the highlight was probably seeing the cannons fired. I kept thinking if we kept our weapons at that level of destruction mass shootings would likely disappear.

After a snack at the Lawrence Nature Center on Drexel Avenue, a shuttle bus was offered to get us back to the municipal building. I opted to walk the two miles back with Paul, one of the historians from our committee. It was an amiable chat. We made it back before the rain.