History
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Thomas Paine, author of “Common Sense” and “The American Crisis,” volunteered for the Continental Army on January 10, 1776. He marched to Amboy, New Jersey, off the tip of Staten Island, where the British began the invasion of New York, arriving before the first 9,3000 Redcoats landed and remaining until the fighting moved north. Paine then went to Fort Lee, where General Nathaniel Greene appointed him one of his aides. While stationed at Fort Lee, he wrote “The American Crisis” pamphlet, which included the famous line, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” The Fort Lee Monument Park area was the place where this influential writing was conceived. Paine’s passion and writings about freedom greatly influenced many of the delegates who created the Declaration of Independence.
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Fort Lee, New Jersey · United States
