Washington meantime had crossed the Hudson to New Jersey, leaving General
Charles Lee with seven thousand men in New York state. He now ordered Lee
to join him [5]; but Lee disobeyed, and Washington, closely pursued by the
British, retreated across New Jersey.
THE VICTORY AT TRENTON, DECEMBER 26, 1776.—On the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, Washington turned at bay, and having at last received some reënforcements, he recrossed the Delaware on Christmas night in a blinding snowstorm, marched nine miles to Trenton, surprised a body of Hessians, captured a thousand prisoners, and went back to Pennsylvania.
Washington now proposed to follow up this victory with other attacks. But a new difficulty arose, for the time of service of many of the Eastern troops would expire on January 1. These men were therefore asked to serve six weeks longer, and were offered a bounty of ten dollars a man.
[Illustration: MORRIS'S STRONG BOX. Now in the possession of the
Pennsylvania Historical Society.]
ROBERT MORRIS SENDS MONEY.—Many agreed to serve, but the paymaster had no money. Washington therefore pledged his own fortune, and appealed to Robert Morris at Philadelphia. [6] "If it be possible, Sir," he wrote, "to give us assistance, do it; borrow money while it can be done, we are doing it upon our private credit." Morris responded at once, and on New Year's morning, 1777, went from house to house, roused his friends from their beds to borrow money from them, and early in the day sent fifty thousand dollars.
BATTLE OF PRINCETON, JANUARY 3, 1777.—Washington crossed again to Trenton, whereupon Lord Cornwallis hurried up with a British army, and shut in the Americans between his forces and the Delaware. But Washington slipped out, went around Cornwallis, and the next morning attacked three British regiments at Princeton and beat them. He then took possession of the hills at Morristown, where he spent the rest of the winter.
THE ATTEMPT TO CUT OFF NEW ENGLAND.—The British plan for the campaign of 1777 was to seize Lake Champlain and the Hudson River and so cut off New England from the Middle States. To carry out this plan, (1) General Burgoyne was to come down from Canada, (2) Howe was to go up the Hudson from New York and join Burgoyne at Albany, and (3) St. Leger was to go from Lake Ontario down the Mohawk to Albany. [7]
ORISKANY.—Hearing of the approach of St. Leger, General Herkimer of the New York militia gathered eight hundred men and hurried to the relief of Fort Stanwix. Near Oriskany, about six miles from the fort, he fell into an ambuscade of British and Indians, and a fierce hand-to-hand fight ensued, till the Indians fled and the British, forced to follow, left the Americans in possession of the field, too weak to pursue.
Just at this time the garrison of the fort made a sortie against part of the British army, captured their camp, and carried a quantity of supplies and their flags [8] back to the fort.
[Illustration: THE FIRST NATIONAL FLAG.]