Posted by
LowDownCentral on Monday, December 11, 2006 1:15:00 PM
By Lance Thompson
Most Americans associate Christmas with the miracle of the birth of Christ. But a more recent Christmas reminds us of the miracle of the birth of this nation. Many writers have given accounts of this story in the past 230 years, few better than David Hackett Fischer in Washington’s Crossing.*
In 1776, the Continental army was a loose confederation of militia, volunteers, and adventurers under the command of 42 year-old General George Washington–a Virginia landowner and veteran of the French and Indian War who accepted his commanding role with some trepidation. The drill and discipline of Baron von Steuben that would turn American fighters into soldiers was still more than a year away. Washington’s troops had been outflanked and outmaneuvered in New York, lost the Hudson River stronghold of Fort Washington to a British siege, and withdrawn across the whole of New Jersey, pressed relentlessly by the army of British General Sir William Howe. With each setback, more Americans left the army for home, seeing no point in suffering and sacrificing to retreat endlessly.
By December of 1776, the Continental army was on the west bank of the Delaware River, safe for the moment behind the frigid waterway whose current hurled ice floes down river and defied any crossing. In days, winter temperatures would freeze the surface of the river, and the British would cross as easily as they would dry land. The pursuit of the Continental army would continue until Washington was forced into battle to defend Philadelphia or lost all his troops to discouragement and attrition.
Christmas 1776 was a moment of decision for George Washington. His army was low on supplies, winter clothing and food, and dwindling in strength. Support from civilians, the Continental Congress, and even some of his own subordinates, was waning. The British, with their Hessian allies, would only grow stronger with time. Washington desperately needed a victory to restore his army’s morale, and prevent the Revolution from dying. He might have one last chance to strike a surprise blow while he still had the troops and equipment to make it effective. But he would have to risk all to carry it off.
Washington decided to recross the Delaware River on Christmas night, to surprise the Hessian-occupied town of Trenton. The quiet village on the riverbank was occupied by three regiments (approximately 1300 men) of Hessians–highly trained professional soldiers, victors of White Plains and Fort Washington, under Colonel Johann Rall.
Washington couldn’t hope to win a major battle against the much stronger British army. But there was a slight chance he could win a quick, sharp limited engagement against an isolated enemy garrison to restore the morale of his army and show Americans that their men could fight and defeat the enemy. Washington insisted on the utmost secrecy, and chose the password for the night himself: "Victory or Death."
Washington’s plan included three separate, simultaneous night crossings of the ice-choked river, to surround Trenton and cut off the garrison from escape. Washington himself would lead the largest, northernmost force of 2400 men, including 18 horse-drawn artillery pieces. Two separate blocking forces, of 1800 and 800 men respectively, would cross south of Trenton to prevent the Hessians’ escape and prevent enemy reinforcements from reaching Trenton.
The crossing began late on Christmas night, in the teeth of a fierce storm, driving sleet and hail. Traversing the river was laborious and time-consuming, made more so by the necessity of manhandling artillery and horses into the boats. The wind was biting, the men were soaked; the landing force didn’t assemble on the enemy shore until 3:00 a. m., and were not ready to march until four. Plans for a pre-dawn attack were dashed, as Trenton was still several hours’ march to the south. Moreover, the storm, the crashing ice floes and current had proved so daunting, neither of the other American groups had accomplished their crossings. Washington pressed on, unaware that more than half his force would not join him in the assault on the enemy stronghold.
Washington encouraged, ordered, inspired and exhorted as his men marched into the raging storm over ice-coated roads. The troops trudged eight miles, in predawn darkness, most of it uphill, fording two more swollen streams, to reach their objective. The weather was brutal. Two soldiers who dropped out of line froze to death.
As dawn broke, the American column, which stretched over a mile, was exposed to broad daylight. The Hessians in Trenton were on alert, warned by spies and by premature and independent cross-river raids by Pennsylvania militia the week before. Washington split his force into two attacking columns–a river road force under Major General John Sullivan, and an inland force under Major General Nathaniel Greene. Washington, possibly the first commander to do so, ordered his commanders to synchronize their watches so that the two forces could attack simultaneously.
As the Americans prepared to assault the Hessian-occupied town, the troops realized that the powder in the firing pans of their rifles was rain-soaked and useless. When Sullivan told Washington that many of his men wouldn’t be able to fire their weapons, Washington said, "Use the bayonet. The town must be taken."
At eight a. m., the two American columns charged out of the storm, supported by artillery, to completely surprise the Hessians. Colonel Rall’s men recovered quickly, putting up a vigorous defense. Rall might have retreated, but he was erroneously informed that Americans held the bridge to the south, so he determined to stand his ground. With Washington watching from high ground nearby, and shifting his forces to meet each new development via messengers, the battle was squeezed into the ever more confining spaces of the town. A fierce struggle erupted in the streets of Trenton with charges, countercharges and savage combat that went from house-to-house to hand-to-hand. Artillery of both sides fired down the narrow streets. The American assault was overwhelming and irresistible. The Hessians suffered 106 killed and wounded, lost 868 prisoners, and escaped with fewer than 400 soldiers. Colonel Rall himself died of wounds. The American casualties were four men wounded, none killed.
Washington’s victory was decisive. He had taken an army demoralized by retreat, mounted a surprise attack against a weak point in the lines of a vastly superior enemy, and prevailed in a battle that would rekindle the spirit of the Revolution. There would be defeats and disappointments aplenty in the years ahead, but the enemy would never again discount the courage and skill of the new American army, nor the determination of its leader.
We all have Christmas traditions–religious, traditional, familial, commercial. But in between shopping, writing cards, decorating the tree, going to mass, gathering around a table with family and friends, find a moment to give thanks for those first Americans who fought and sacrificed on that Christmas long ago, and for their successors who will be defending our country this Christmas and throughout the year. Their gifts to all of us are beyond value.
*Washington’s Crossing, David Hackett Fischer, Oxford University Press, New York, 2004