One of the Guard's bigger events each year is Easton's Heritage Day festival, which commemorates the day the Declaration of Independence was read in the Town. For the NJ Frontier Guard, the town has a more direct significance - it was here in 1758 that the Treaty of Easton was signed, formally ending hostilities between the Lenape and His Majesty's subjects. Although the NJ frontier along the Delaware remained dangerous until at least 1761, the treaty did bring a large measure of security to the area. For the Lenape the treaty meant that the tribe was formally able to shrug off the dominance of the Iroquois League and the appellation of "women" that came with it. The Treaty of Easton marked a shift in the tide of the French and Indian War, as many tribes that has previously allied themselves with the French came to terms with the English and colonial governments, thanks to the diplomacy of George Crogan, Sir William Johnson, the Delaware sachem Teedyscung, and other diplomats. For anyone who wants to see the original document of the Treaty of Easton, it is nicely displayed in the Sigal Museum in downtown Easton, and I make a point of seeing it each time I participate in Heritage Day.
While I was in Europe in the first part of July with family, and thus missed this year's festival, the event was, according to Capt. Pitchell, even bigger and better than in previous years. The photos of the event certainly bear out his assessment.
As usual, the event organizers provided a nice lunch for participants.
While temperatures hovered near 90*F, the weather was sunny, and there were large crowds in attendance. Another successful event!
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