Honoring the 225th Anniversary of the Continental Congress meeting in Nassau Hall, Princeton, New Jersey, in 1783.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank my colleagues for supporting my resolution, H. Con. Res. 351, commemorating the 225th Anniversary of the Continental Congress meeting at Nassau Hall in Princeton, New Jersey.

On June 19, 1783, 80 soldiers defected from the Third Pennsylvania Regiment stationed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in order to ``obtain justice'' from the Continental Congress. Outraged by the lack of compensation for their service during the Revolutionary War, these soldiers marched to the Nation's capital recruiting new troops to join them in their cause. By the time they reached Philadelphia two days later, the number of disaffected troops had swollen to 300. The Continental Congress held an emergency meeting at the Philadelphia Statehouse to decide how to counter this uprising only to emerge to an angry and armed mob ready to take by force the back-pay owed to them by their government.

With the Nation's finances in disarray, the Continental Congress took refuge from the riot, and Continental Congress President Elias Boudinot ordered the body to reassemble in Princeton, New Jersey, on June 26 ``in order that further and more effective methods may be taken for suppressing the current revolt, and maintaining the Dignity and Authority of the United States.''

Congress descended upon the small town of Princeton, a village with little more than 60 homes, 300 residents, and three taverns which doubled as churches. In regard to the commotion brought to town by Congress, 19-year-old Princeton University student Ashbel Green, who would go on to serve as the President of the University, remarked ``The pace of things is inconceivably altered in Princeton within a fortnight. From a little obscure village, we have become the capital of America.''

The College offered Congress the use of Nassau Hall, where it met in the second floor library to conduct the essential business of our fledgling Nation. It was in these rooms that the foreign policy of our country began to be formed. However, Congress's time in Princeton was not all hard work. At Princeton's Fourth of July Celebration, members of the Continental Congress joined students of the University and townsfolk in celebration. According to Samuel Beach, a student at the college, at the end of the evening ``some were drunken and all were tired.'' Congress did not reconvene for five days.

In August, the Continental Congress summoned General George Washington to Princeton to receive the formal thanks of the Nation for his dedicated service as commander-in-chief. Leaving Major General John Knox in charge of the encamped army at Newburgh, New York, General Washington traveled to the Rockingham estate in Rocky Hill, New Jersey with his wife Martha and a guard of dragoons. General Washington stayed at the Rockingham estate for the next three months, advising the Continental Congress on the creation of a peacetime military and pondering his military career. It is at Rockingham that General Washington completed writing his Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States dismissing the troops and announcing his retirement.

During the time that Congress met there Nassau Hall and the town of Princeton played host to three future Presidents of the United States, seven signers of the Declaration of Independence, nine signatories of the Articles of Confederation, and 11 signers of the Constitution. It is where the seat of government was located when John Adams, John Jay, and Benjamin Franklin signed the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783, marking the end of the American Revolution and establishing the boundaries of the new Nation. Although Congress's tenure at Princeton was brief, this community played a pivotal role in the formation of the United States of America.

I would like to take a moment to recognize the unique role that New Jersey played in the American Revolution. In 2006, my colleagues in the New Jersey Delegation took action to help protect the battlefields and historic sites where this conflict took place. We passed legislation that created the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area linking together 14 counties in New Jersey where the War of Independence took place. New Jersey was truly the Crossroads of the American Revolution for a number of reasons, as thousands of troops marched through the State and fought on our soil. The State's strategic location between the British stronghold of New York and the rebel capital in Philadelphia meant that New Jersey and New Jersey citizens were at the crossroads of the founding of our new Nation. In fact, New Jersey had more military engagements during the Revolutionary War than any other State. Crossroads has proved to be an exceptional way to preserve New Jersey's unique history for future generations.

I am pleased that the House of Representatives has passed H. Con. Res. 351 today commemorating the 225th Anniversary of the Continental Congress meeting in Nassau Hall in Princeton, New Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform be discharged from further consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 351) honoring the 225th Anniversary of the Continental Congress meeting in Nassau Hall, Princeton, New Jersey, in 1783, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.