After the British left Boston, they sailed about for a time, and then they came with a large army to New York. Washington was there with his soldiers to meet them, and did his best, but everything seemed to go wrong. First, the Americans were beaten in battle and had to march out of New York and let the British march in. Then Washington and his ragged men were obliged to hasten across the State of New Jersey with a strong British force after them. They were too weak to face the British.
When they got to the Delaware River the Americans crossed it and took all the boats, so that the British could not follow them. It was now near winter time, and both armies went into winter quarters. They faced each other, but the wide river ran between.
You may well think that by this time the American people were getting very down-hearted. Many of them thought that all was lost, and that they would have to submit to King George. The army dwindled away and no new soldiers came in, so that it looked as if it would go to pieces. It was growing very dark for American liberty.
Washington Crossing the Delaware.
But there was one man who did not despair, and that man was George Washington. He saw that something must be done to stir up the spirits of the people, and he was just the man to do it. It was a wonderful Christmas he kept that year. All Christmas day his ragged and hungry soldiers were marching up their side of the Delaware, and crossing the river in boats, though the wind was biting cold, and the air was full of falling snow, and the broken ice was floating in great blocks down the river; but nothing stopped the gallant soldiers. All Christmas night they marched down the other side of the river, though their shoes were so bad that the ground became reddened by blood from their feet. Two of the poor fellows were frozen to death.
At Trenton, a number of miles below, there was a body of German soldiers. These had been hired by King George to help him fight his battles. That day they had been eating a good Christmas dinner while the hungry Americans were marching through the snow. At night they went to bed, not dreaming of danger.
They were wakened in the morning by shots and shouts. Washington and his men were in the streets of the town. They had hardly time to seize their guns before the ragged Yankees were all around them and nearly all of them were made prisoners of war.
Was not that a great and glorious deed? It filled the Americans with new hope. In a few days afterwards, Washington defeated the British in another battle, and then settled down with his ragged but brave men in the hills of New Jersey. He did not go behind a river this time. The British knew where he was and could come to see him if they wanted to. But they did not come. Very likely they had seen enough of him for that winter.
The next year things went wrong again for Washington. A large British army sailed from New York and landed at the head of Chesapeake Bay. Then they marched overland to Philadelphia. Washington fought a battle with them on Brandywine Creek, but his men were defeated and the British marched on and entered Philadelphia. They now held the largest cities of the country, Philadelphia and New York.