Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, MMA-NYC, 1851
These ten days, which unfolded in Princeton and Trenton from December 25th, 1776 to January 3rd, 1777, marked a significant turning point in the American Revolutionary War, and played a large role in securing America’s liberty.
Much of 1776 was a dismal year for those Americans wanting freedom from British rule. In August, a disastrous defeat in Brooklyn might have ended the revolution then and there but for the providence of wind and fog which allowed George Washington’s army to escape the most massive British naval force ever deployed to that time. A disheartening retreat through New Jersey, with the British Army under General Cornwallis following closely, saved the army from destruction. However, by the time the Continental Army had crossed the Delaware to safety in Pennsylvania, it had lost 90% of its men. Spirits were low as was public opinion, so necessary to support the army.
By December 2nd, the Continental Army arrived in Princeton, on its way to Trenton and then across the Delaware River to Pennsylvania. Princeton, a hotbed of patriotic fervor, became a ghost town. On November 29th, John Witherspoon, President of the College of New Jersey (as Princeton University was known until 1896), closed the school sending the students scrambling to find the means to get home. Arriving in Princeton on December 7th, the British occupied Nassau Hall, using it as a barracks. The basement, converted into a dungeon, held more than twenty patriot prisoners by year-end. Morven was later taken as the headquarters for General Cornwallis.
By Christmas the Continental Army was in dire straits: food, ammunition and winter clothing were desperately needed. Most of the citizen soldiers had resolved to go home, their enlistment terms set to expire December 31st. Finally, public support for the revolution was at a low, with the value of the Continental currency sinking fast. A victory was urgently needed.
George Washington decided to take a desperate gamble. On the night of December 25th, his army crossed the Delaware and surprise attacked the Hessian garrison at Trenton the next morning.
Crossing from McConkey’s Ferry in Pennsylvania, they arrived at Johnson’s Ferry in New Jersey, about ten miles North of Trenton, just as a nor’easter was gathering strength and despite extraordinary ice blockages on the river. Traveling south, lugging cannon across Jacob’s Creek, the Continental Army marched toward Trenton in the early morning hours of December 26th. When General Sullivan informed Washington that the gunpowder was wet and many muskets would not fire, Washington showed his determination, replying: “Then tell the General to use the bayonet and penetrate into the town; for the town must be taken and I am resolved to take it.”[1]
They attacked the Hessians from the north, emerging from the teeth of the raging nor’easter just after 8:00 am. Delayed getting to Trenton until after daybreak, Washington worried about losing the element of surprise. However, Providence was again on the Continentals’ side. The storm continued to rage, and the sky remained dark. Further, Major von Deschow, second in command of the Hessian post, canceled the usual morning patrol due to the storm. The surprise remained intact; the victory was overwhelming. According to George Washington’s later report to Congress, nine hundred and nine prisoners, the vast majority of the three Hessian regiments, were taken.
The British then amassed an army of more than 8,000 men at Princeton and drove southward to Trenton. On January 2nd, 1777, entrenched in positions just south of Trenton behind the Assunpink Creek, the Continental Army held off three British attacks in the twilight hours. These three skirmishes became known as the Second Battle of Trenton. As they attempted to cross the Assunpink at the old stone bridge, the British suffered many casualties, inflicted by American backwoods riflemen, and the intensive American use of cannon. General Cornwallis decided to make camp and attack the Continentals in the morning. His troops had been marching all day, the night was dark, and the terrain unfamiliar.
Washington and his army, however, were in an awkward position. With their backs to the Delaware River, the Continentals would face in the morning a determined British Army with superior numbers. The decision was made to evacuate. So, overnight, the Continental Army evacuated their positions, leaving four hundred soldiers to keep the bonfires burning and to make loud digging noises. The British were fooled into thinking the Continentals were digging in for a head-to-head battle in the morning, precisely what Cornwallis wanted.
Using local guides, the Continentals traveled around the British lines, via a little-known path through the woods which we know today as Hamilton Avenue. By the early morning of January 3rd, 1777, the American Army was traveling close to Princeton along Quaker Road aiming to attack the British rear guard in Princeton. At the same time a force of about 700 of those British troops, under the command of Lt. Col. Charles Mawhood, was marching south to Trenton to reinforce the British. The American and British forces met just south of Princeton near Clarke’s farm, and there took place the Battle of Princeton resulting in another decisive victory for the Americans.
In the ten days from Christmas 1776 to January 3rd, 1777, the Continental Army won three decisive victories, instantly transforming morale and public opinion, both here and in Europe. It was suddenly thought possible that British rule in America could end. The morale of British troops in America nose-dived. British regiments began retiring to bed while remaining dressed in uniform, wondering if this night an attack was coming. In Britain, it became harder to raise troops, and the whole idea of using mercenary troops came into question. These victories marked a significant turning point of the war. While the shooting war lasted more than four additional years, these Ten Crucial Days marked the moment when the tide had begun to turn.
[1] The Battles of Trenton and Princeton, William S. Stryker, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, The Riverside Press, Cambridge, 1898, p. 140
Barry Singer
West Windsor, New Jersey
The author is a volunteer with the Historical Society of Princeton, speaking about the American Revolution and leading walking tours in historic Princeton.