Is Honeyman real? So many different sources differ on this, Dywer’s ‘The Day is Ours!’ Does not mention Honeyman at all, and this book is an amazing narrative about the Crossing of the Delaware and the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. Stryker’s ‘The Battles of Trenton and Princeton’ was written about 100 year after the battles and he does mention Honeyman, this was not long after Honeyman’s grandson publish the story. Fisher’s ‘Washington’s Crossing’ mentions Honeyman in the appendix, explaining that there is not enough source material to be able to verify the story, and Ketchum’s ‘Winter Soldiers’ however, talks a lot about Honeyman.
Two other books, Bakeless’s ‘Turncoats, Traitors and Heroes’ dedicated almost four pages to Honeyman and ‘Best Little Stories from the American Revolution’ by Kelly has almost two pages. In almost all the books that include the story of Honeyman the story does not change, which I would think would be a sign of people trying to make the story fit into the period, so to me Honeyman is real! Secondly, if Honeyman was not real, why would the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated the fountain to a myth. However, if Honeyman is not real his story is just one of the many myths of the revolution, after all, there is no proof that Nathan Hale ever muttered the words he is most famous for ‘I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country’ before he was hung as a spy, yet monuments to this man including numerous statues exist today!