Where did we leave off?

June 1776- General Howe returned to New York with over 100 ships and 20
thousand British Troops and Hessian (German) Mercenaries

November 1776- Long Island, Brooklyn, and Manhattan fall; Fearing an attack on
the capital, Philadelphia, Washingtons weary Colonial Army retreats to New
Jersey with 10 thousand Redcoats close behind

December 8, 1776-The remaining Continental Army, exhausted, starving freezing
reach the Delaware River. Washington orders boats to be seized for crossing the
river and any other boats found to be destroyed; Washington halts the retreat to
rest his Soldiers after they cross the river into Pennsylvania and camp at
McKonkeys Ferry. A snowstorm set in and large pieces of ice began to float in the
river. General Howe decided to wait in Trenton, NJ due to the weather and the
sad shape of the Colonial Army.



I think the game is pretty
near up You can form no
idea of the perplexity of my
situation. No man, I believe,
ever had a greater choice of
difficulties and less means
to extricate himself from
them.
-letter from George
Washington to his brother
while camped on the
Delaware River
The Battle of Trenton:
December 26, 1776
Times a tickin Georgie!
Its late December and he terms of militia contract were set to expire on New Years Day
Across the Delaware River, In Trenton there were 1400 battle hardened Hessian
Mercenaries led by Colonel Johann Rall



TEAM HUDDLE! What will Washington do?
Discuss with a partner for 1 minute. Choose the best answer.

A. Punt the ball- RETREAT!
B. Kick a field goal- Wait and try to convince the Soldiers to stay and fight
C. Hail Mary- Attack the Hessian Army with a rag tag group of Soldiers
Washington Calls the Hail Mary
Washington, realizing he needed to act fast, called his staff to a
meeting to discuss their next move. He made plans to take his little
Army across the Delaware River and attack the Hessians in Trenton.

The Officers were undaunted, even enthusiastic, about the plan.
They decided to adopt a password to spread to the men That
password was Victory or Death!

Why was this password so fitting for the upcoming attack in Trenton?
Take 2 minutes and discuss in your group of 4.


Christmas Day, 1776
Another key aspect to this battle was the date that Washington and his
staff chose to attack
The men started loading the Durham boats late in the afternoon on
Christmas Day. They loaded 50 frightened horses and 8 cannons onto the
oversized canoes. The vessels were so overpacked with troops and so hard
to navigate they could easily capsize if a horse made a violent movement or
a cannon came untied and slide to one side
They finally finished loading the boats at 3am. By the time they set out
across the Delaware it was pitch black. No man spoke a word in the bone
chilling cold. The only sounds that could be heard were the oars pushing
the water and the ice chunks bumping the sides of the boats
The Americans crash the Christmas Party
Colonel Johann Rall, the Hessian Commander, upon viewing the rushing torrent
of ice and freezing water in the Delaware could not have possibly thought anyone
could even cross the river. He allowed his men to retire to their quarters to
celebrate Christmas.
While the Americans were silently loading their boats. The Hessians ate, drank
rum, and dropped their inhibitions. They partied into the wee morning hours.
At 4am the American troops reached the New Jersey side of the Delaware River.
From there it was still a 9 mile trek to Trenton. A Colonial Officer wrote, It will
be a terrible night for the men who have no shoes but I have not heard a man
complain. It was said that you could follow the Colonials march to Trenton by
the bloody footprints in the snow.
Halfway to Trenton, Washington split his forces in two. General John Sullivan
took half the troops to attack from the south and General Nathaniel Greene took
the other half to the south of Trenton
December 26, 1776
At 7:30am the American troops quickly approached Trenton. A Hessian guard
spotted the advancing Colonials and ran into town shouting, The enemy. Get up!
Get up! It was too late. Musket fire rang out and cries of Victory or Death!
were heard as the Americans stormed through town from the North and South.
The Hessians staggered out of bed and tried to form ranks on the ice and mud
but were unsuccessful in their drunken state. Colonel Rall finally got them to
form ranks and move them forward. They ran towards the American forces, but
Colonel Henry Knox fired his well positioned cannons on the approaching
Hessians, mowing the formation down.
Colonel Rall was fatally wounded during the lone advancement and upon seeing
their Commander fall the Hessians threw down their weapons in surrender
After the smoke cleared, Washington asked for a list of American casualties; 4
injured, 0 dead.
The Americans took 886 Hessians Soldiers captive and killed 106.
Summary
The victory at Trenton was the most important of the Revolutionary War.
Many Soldiers who were on the verge of going home on New Years
decided to reenlist. When word spread about the daring victory at Trenton
many other young men gained a newfound Patriotism decided to join and
fight for their freedom. If the Americans had not won this battle the
landscape in American would have been forever changed.

Assignment
Choose a person, place, thing, idea, phrase, etc. from the Battle of Trenton.
You have 10 minutes to research your topic and write a paragraph about the
topic and why you think it is important.
The CATCH You MAY NOT CHOOSE George Washington. I will collect the
assignment in 10 minutes and we will discuss.