A History of the United States

by Charles Kendall Adams; William P. Trent

Portion of the Declaration of Independence.

THE WAR IN NEW JERSEY.

166. Washington’s First Campaign in New Jersey.—After the fall of Fort Washington and the withdrawal from Fort Lee, Washington planned to concentrate the main portion of his army in New Jersey, to prevent the enemy from advancing upon Philadelphia. In crossing to New Jersey he had left General Charles Lee, with seven thousand men, at Northcastle on the east side of the Hudson. Washington now directed General Heath to fortify the Highlands about Peekskill and West Point in the strongest manner possible, and ordered General Lee to join the main army in New Jersey.

167. Disobedience and Capture of Lee.—For reasons which were long unexplained, Lee disobeyed the order of Washington, and chose to remain where he was. Repeated orders were disobeyed, but finally Lee made a show of obedience. He reached Morristown, however, with only three thousand of his seven thousand troops. Scarcely had he posted this fragment of his army on the Morristown Heights when, leaving the immediate command to Sullivan, he took quarters in a small public house some miles away. A Tory, learning of this fact, galloped eighteen miles with the news to the British, and the consequence was that Lee, in dressing gown and slippers, was taken prisoner by a troop of British dragoons. From Lee’s subsequent career (§§ [183], [184]) and the discovery of his correspondence, it now seems probable that he already had traitorous designs.

168. Washington’s Difficulties and his Retreat.—The capture of Lee left Sullivan in command of the Northern army, and that officer moved at once to the support of Washington; but the difficulties of the situation seemed overwhelming. Howe and Cornwallis had crossed into New Jersey with a force more than twice as great as that of the Americans. Moreover, as the terms of enlistment expired, Washington found it almost impossible to keep his ranks full. Still worse, Howe, desiring to take advantage of the apparent lack of enthusiasm on the part of the American patriots, now made a final effort to induce them to throw down their arms. This was done under a promise of full pardon and protection to all who should abandon the Continental cause. More than three thousand persons, believing there was no possibility of success for the Americans, yielded to these allurements and deserted to the British. Tories everywhere now emerged from their obscurity and boldly asserted their allegiance to the king. Washington could not venture battle with his inferior force, but, with masterly skill, he slowly withdrew his army, crossing stream after stream with the British close on his heels. Even the broad waters of the Delaware did not baffle him. Pressed hard by superior forces, he threw his army across the river and destroyed all the boats on the opposite bank for nearly one hundred miles. His opponents found it impossible to follow, and decided to wait for the river to freeze over.

Retreat across New Jersey, 1776–1777

169. Washington turns upon his Enemy.—Howe and Cornwallis thought the war practically at an end. Deciding to leave their army east of the Delaware, with its center at Trenton and its wings at Burlington and Princeton, they returned to New York for the festivities of the holidays, where Howe was to celebrate the knighthood conferred upon him for the capture of New York. But Washington had a Christmas surprise in store for them. Including the forces of Gates and Sullivan, he now commanded about six thousand men. The loose disposition of Howe’s troops gave him an opportunity which he immediately turned to account. He decided by a secret movement to strike a hard blow at the British center. His plan was to cross the Delaware in three divisions. The right wing, under Gates and Cadwalader, was to attack the Hessians under Donop at Burlington; Ewing was to cross and attack the center at Trenton; while Washington himself, with the left wing six miles up the river, was to cross at that point and march down on the other side to attack the British flank and rear. Gates had asked and been allowed to go to Philadelphia, where he was already intriguing with Congress in order to supplant Washington. The right wing and the center found the river, filled as it was with floating ice, too difficult to cross, but Washington’s determination and skill at once showed themselves.

170. Battle of Trenton.—Just as he was ready for the advance, news came that his right and center had failed, and yet, without a moment’s hesitation, he decided himself to push on with all the greater energy.[^[79]] Blocks of floating ice made the crossing next to impossible. Colonel Glover, with a force of Marblehead fishermen, was put in charge of the boats. In the course of ten hours he succeeded in taking twenty-five hundred men across with their guns and munitions. They now had six miles to march in a blinding storm. After a night so cold that two men of their number were frozen to death, they reached Trenton at daybreak. Planting their guns so as to rake the streets, they made escape impossible. Colonel Rahl, of the enemy, and seventeen of his men were killed; the others surrendered (December 26). Donop, fearing to be cut off by the advance of Washington, fell back to Princeton. Washington recrossed the river with his prisoners, but on the 29th took up his position once more at Trenton. Thus the center of the British army was destroyed.

171. Advance of Cornwallis.—Howe and Cornwallis, so rudely disturbed in the midst of their Christmas festivities, saw in a moment that a blow must be struck to recover the lost ground. With a force of about eight thousand men, Cornwallis advanced by way of New Brunswick and Princeton, where he established magazines and supplies, with a strong force to guard them. The army, harassed along every mile of the way by sharpshooters, reached Trenton on the 2d of January. Meanwhile Washington had moved in a southern direction, and taken up his position on the left bank of the Assanpink, a small stream flowing into the Delaware on the north side, not far south of Trenton. The crossings were guarded with such care that Cornwallis decided to allow his men, tired from their rapid march, to rest until the following day. His plan was to attack in front and along Washington’s right flank, and so force him back upon the Delaware, where he would be obliged to surrender. After observing the situation, Cornwallis went to bed in high spirits, saying, “At last we have run down the old fox, and will bag him in the morning.”