New Jersey ? This George Washington could not make it across the Delaware River.

Ronald Rinaldi III was prepared to play the role of the military leader whose daring Christmas crossing led to a rout of British-led forces and revived the downtrodden Continental forces.

Rinaldi, 45, had taken part in every re-enactment of Washington’s crossing of the Delaware since 1976, amassed more than 500 books on the American Revolution and earned a degree in U.S. military history.

But this year, he and his fellow re-enactors were done in by the river’s strong currents.

As Rinaldi and hundreds of spectators watched, the first boat that attempted the short voyage from Pennsylvania got carried downstream. A rescue craft had to snare it. Three boats had trained to cross the river this year in the 55th-annual re-enactment, and dozens participated.