Imagine being soaking wet, numb from the cold, hungry, and dead tired -- not for just a few hours, but days. On top of that, imagine being asked to cross an icy river, march nine miles through a blizzard, and then fight the best troops in the world. This is exactly what happened Christmas Day, 1776 at Trenton, New Jersey.
Earlier in July, after months of wrangling, the Continental Congress had declared the American Colonies independent of Great Britain. George Washington’s troops had the British bottled up in Boston; but the British boarded ships and sailed south to invade New York.
Washington’s army had raced the fleet to Long Island where the British nearly destroyed it. The British and their hired Hessian mercenaries chased the Americans across New Jersey. By late Fall, Washington’s army was on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River with the British and Hessians on the east side in New Jersey.
The American situation was grim. The men were in poor shape. They had little food to eat, no place to sleep, and their clothes were quickly becoming rags. Many men did not have shoes and had to go barefoot.
Large groups of soldiers were deserting every day. Why not head home and spend Christmas in comfort with the family?
Independence from Mother England was looking like a lost cause. By January 31, most enlistments would be up and hardly anyone was reenlisting.
Washington’s force would dwindle from 10,000 to 2,000 men -- and the British knew it. Washington’s spies told him that as soon as the Delaware froze over, the British and Hessians would cross over the ice to finish off what was left of the American army.
Instead of rolling over and quitting, Washington decided to hit the enemy in a last desperate battle to win a victory, restore morale, and hold the army together.
He wrote to one of his generals a few days before the attack, “For Heaven’s sake keep this to yourself, as the discovery of it may prove fatal to us, our numbers, sorry am I to say, being less than I had any conception of; but necessity, dire necessity, will, nay must, justify the attack.”
Only 4,700 of Washington’s 10,000 men were fit for duty. His plan was to divide his force into three groups, cross the Delaware at three points during the night of Christmas Day, and attack the Hessian held towns at daybreak on the 26th.
The men were to carry rations for three days, their blankets, accouterments, and muskets. They would also take along 187 cannons. Washington issued the password for December 25, “Victory or Death!” No one was to cross the river without permission.
What was going on in Hessian held Trenton? One-thousand-two-hundred Hessians were billeted in nice warm houses.
They had plenty of the best foods to eat. The Hessians were considered the best fighting troops in the world.
Their commander, Colonel Rall was so confident in his men he did not fortify Trenton. When he heard rumors that the rebels might attack, he said “These country clowns cannot whip us!”
After Washington had issued the order not to cross the Delaware, a company of Virginians disobeyed, crossed the river, and attacked Trenton early on Christmas Day. They wounded six Hessians and quickly withdrew back across the river. Washington was furious; but he was committed and proceeded with the plan.
The Americans started crossing the Delaware about 4 p.m. on Christmas Day. Snow and sleet fell from the dark clouds. The swift current swept large ice floes down the river as the men rowed and poled the boats across three hundred yards of open water.
The wind whipped spray onto the men and boats which quickly froze into ice that covered everyone and everything. The snow and sleet brought visibility down to only a few feet.
Washington was able to get his 2,400 men and 187 cannons across the river; but the other two forces turned back after halfhearted attempts. The cannons were now essential pieces of equipment, since most of the men had not been able to keep the powder for their muskets dry.
By 4 a.m. on the 26th they were ready to march to Trenton. Washington would not be able to get them there in time for a dawn surprise attack; but he had come this far and was determined to push on.
The march to Trenton was nine miles over frozen, rutted roads. The wet and cold men trudged through the swirling, blinding sleet and snow for four hours to reach their destination.
Those men without shoes hobbled forward on frozen bleeding feet. Some who were exhausted fell out to find shelter from the blizzard. Joshua Orne collapsed into a ditch and was almost covered with snow. Fortunately, someone found him and got him moving again. Two privates fell, were covered with snow, and froze to death.
Meanwhile in Trenton the 1,200 Hessians were enjoying their Christmas. They stayed up all night – singing songs, playing cards, eating, and drinking wine, beer, whiskey, and rum.
When the Americans showed up at the edge of town, most of the Hessians were either asleep or rudely finding out they had bad hangovers. The Hessian pickets quickly retreated back into town as the Americans set up their cannons at strategic positions and then advanced into town from all points of the compass.
Colonel Rall had been up all night long drinking and playing cards. Although he had been handed a message written by a loyal Tory that warned the rebels were approaching the town in force, he was dealing cards and slipped the message into his pocket without ever reading it.
Rall did not know Trenton was under attack until he heard volleys of musketry and the roar of cannons. But by then it was too late for his men and him.
The Americans quickly routed the Hessians, capturing over 900 of them. Three-hundred managed to escape. Thirty-eight Hessians were killed including Colonel Rall who was mortally wounded while leading a counter-charge. American losses were the two men who froze to death on the march.
When James Wilkinson rode up to Washington to tell him the last Hessian regiment had surrendered, Washington broke into a big smile and shook his hand saying, “Major Wilkinson, this is a glorious day for our country.”
The elated Americans stopped to eat and drink. Some found warm beds to crawl into. David Avery, a chaplain, wrote in his journal “I was extremely chilled, I came near to perishing before I could get to a fire.”
Washington wanted to pursue the escaped Hessians but realized his men could not do it, so they rounded up the prisoners and re-crossed the Delaware back into Pennsylvania. Washington ensured all his men had left the Jersey-side of the river and then he was the last man to step into the last boat.
Washington’s desperate gamble at Trenton saved the army. A good portion of the men believed they had finally done something worthwhile and reenlisted.
State governments decided that maybe the war was not lost and sent needed supplies and equipment to the army. The “Country Clowns” had beaten the best equipped and trained soldiers in the world.
If the Americans had not crossed the Delaware and if Trenton had not fallen to those rebels, the United States may not have come into existence. The man who saved the day was George Washington – truly the Father of Our Country.
And Trenton surely was our first Christmas present. Thanks, George, and thank you to all those unnamed men who marched off into the swirling snows that Christmas Day.
Oh yes, you might be wondering what happened to those 900 Hessian prisoners. They found out that they liked America and the country clowns so much that many of them decided to stay and become country clowns too.
Bill Markley can be reached at markley@pie.midco.net
