This is a representation of the Chevaux de Frises which, strategically placed at the bottom of the Delaware, prevented British supply ships from arming and provisioning their army in Philadelphia. This gave the beleaguered American army time to withdraw, unmolested, to Valley Forge for an unpleasant but recuperative winter.
From the nearby sign: Constructed of large timbers lined with pine planks, a cheveaux-de-frise spanned close to thirty square feet. Upon completion, the frames were lowered into the river and filled with twenty or forty tons of stone anchoring them in place.Two or three large timbers tipped with iron spikes were placed in each frame at angles. The tips were eight to fifteen feet below the water's surface so that an unsuspecting wooden hulled ship could become impaled on the iron points and sink.
I do so apologize for the dreadful glare on the glass in this picture: It was simply unavoidable, with the only light in the room coming from the windows behind me.
From the nearby sign: Constructed of large timbers lined with pine planks, a cheveaux-de-frise spanned close to thirty square feet. Upon completion, the frames were lowered into the river and filled with twenty or forty tons of stone anchoring them in place.Two or three large timbers tipped with iron spikes were placed in each frame at angles. The tips were eight to fifteen feet below the water's surface so that an unsuspecting wooden hulled ship could become impaled on the iron points and sink.
I do so apologize for the dreadful glare on the glass in this picture: It was simply unavoidable, with the only light in the room coming from the windows behind me.
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