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--> --> The battle we have to win By Jeff Cheek Tuesday is Christmas Day, a day that should be dedicated to peace and love. Sadly, for the 32nd time since our revolution began in 1775, it will be celebrated by a nation at war. Not a conventional war with defined territory and boundaries but a war nonetheless. And it is one we must win. We can take comfort from our history and the men who made it. Let's go back to Christmas Night 1776. Washington's army crossed the Delaware, made a forced nine-mile march in a snow storm, and destroyed the Hessian forces at Trenton at dawn on December 26. The tough, disciplined Hessian troops were the best troops in the world at that time. King George paid the King of Hesse "seven pounds and sixpence" for each of the 16, 992 mercenaries he recruited to fight the Americans. A little known fact is that only 10, 492 Hessians returned home after the war. Some of the remainder, about 6, 500, were killed, but many joined the rebel army. Officers received 100 acres of land for enlisting. These Hessians cast their lot with the new nation, which espoused a radical political idea; People should have the right to govern themselves. We must honor the Americans who won this battle, which Winston Churchill later called "the most critical victory of the war." A few names from a long, long list follow: John Honeyman - a former British soldier who had joined the rebels. Washington sent him to spy on the Hessians. He worked a week as a butcher for Colonel Rahl, the German Commander, then went into the woods searching for an escaped cow. "Captured" by a rebel patrol, he was interrogated by Washington, then locked up. But Washington had slipped him a key. He escaped and returned to Trenton, telling Rahl that the Americans were too weak to launch at attack! John Glover - Colonel Glover commanded a regiment of tough, Massachusetts fishermen. He and his men waded into the frozen river, breaking the ice to prepare a harbor so that Washington's army could embark. After the war, Glover went back to Glouster and his work as a shoemaker and fisherman. General Hugh Mercer - he was a 51-year-old physician. His arthritis was so painful that he had to be lifted into the saddle. Mercer led his regiment into battle at Trenton. When he heard that the Hessian commander Rahl was wounded, he became a physician again and rushed to his aid, but Rahl died within minutes. Mercer was killed in action at the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1977. Johnny Stark - Colonel Stark had almost inexhaustible energy. He and his spirited wife Molly would sometimes dance all night and then he would go directly to work in his fields. He was also a chauvinistic Vermonter. He raised a regiment, the Bennington Rifles, and led them at Trenton with this challenge: "Yonder are the Hessians, lads. Seven pounds and sixpence per man. What is a Bennington man worth? Tonight our flag flies from that hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow." Stark survived the battle, and many more, dying in his beloved Vermont at the age of 94. James Monroe - Colonel Monroe left the comfort of his plantation to lead a regiment of Virginia militia at Trenton. He was wounded but survived to be twice elected president of the nation he had shed his flood to help create. Christmas Comment There is no Christmas recipe, just a heartfelt "Merry Christmas" from the Cheek family. And a suggestion - tell your children and grandchildren that over a million Americans have died in battle to give them the greatest gift of all: Freedom to live their lives as they choose. But freedom is not free. Some of our finest young people will perish before terrorism is defeated. But we will win! Jeff Cheek lives in Medford. By Jeff Cheek Many people know that a Catholic priest, Josehp Mohr, wrote the classic Christmas hymn "Silent Night." Few know his painful history, or the chocolate treat he invented for the children who sang in his Children's Choir. It is a story as old as time. His mother, Anna Schoiberin, was a maid and seamstress. She fell in love with a dashing musketeer named Mohr. When she got pregnant, Mohr deserted her. When the child was born on Dec. 11, 1792, she named him Joseph Mohr. Being a single mother in Austria in 1792 was difficult, but there was one ray of sunshine in her drab existence: Her son Joseph. He was handsome, intelligent, cheerful and a gifted musician. He learned to play the violin, organ and guitar. At the age of 10, we was going into the berrhalls of Salzburg, singing for the few pennies the patrons gave him. Every penny went to help his hard-working mother. She could not afford to educate her son, but Father Johann Hiernle arranged for the community to sponsor Joseph through the Seminary at Salzburg. He was ordained Aug. 21, 1815. Soon after, he was sent to the Church of St. Nicola, in Oberndorf, Austria as an assistant to Father Nostler. Joseph's duties were to work with the young people, and to oversee the musical program. Then on Dec. 24, 1818, disaster struck. Rats had eaten part of the organ's bellows. It would be weeks before it could be repaired. Father Mohr sat down to write some special program to compensate for the silent organ. He later said that some hand seemed to guide him as he wrote. When the organist, Franz Gruber, arrived, Gruber began to wtite the music for the poem, but it did not work. Then he thought: This is not a hymn, it is a lullaby, like the one the Virgin Mary probably sang to her baby, Jesus. Within minutes, the score was completed and he and Father Joseph played it through, using two guitars instead of the organ. It was ready when the Children's Choir, six little boys and six girls, arrived for choir practice. They were never late as Father Mohr always fixed them a chocolate treat. On Christmas Day, Father Nostler officiated at mass, but the Children's Choir sang "Silent Night," accompanied by two guitars. The song was almost lost to posterity, as Father Mohr was soon assigned a poor parish in Wagrain. A single copy was found, weeks later, abandoned in the closet of his room. It was not printed in a hymnal until 1840. Franz Gruber continued as organist at St. Nicola's for many years. He married and fathered 12 children, dying in Hallein, Austria in 1865 at the age of 78. By that time, the world had realized the genius of his musical score, and he received his much-deserved acclaim. Father Mohr was not so fortunate. Wagrain was a poor parish, but he brought his musical gifts to his flock and was famous for his love and charity for the poor farmers he served. His death was proof of this. He walked through a snow storm to administer Last Rites to a dying farm wife. He caught pnemonia and died in the winter of 1848. All he left was his Bible, prayer book, a patched soutane and the most beautiful Christmas carol ever written, "Silent Night." The chocolate sandwich he made for the children follows: Ingredients: 2 slices white bread 2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate Melted butter Currant jelly Preparation: Toast bread, brush with melted butter, trim crust and set aside. Melt chocoate in a small pan in boiling water. Spread chocolate on toast, let it cool and harden, then add layer of currant jelly. Slice toast in half, fold over to make a jelly centered chocolate treat. Jeff Cheek lives in Medford. Email your... 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