General Greene and the other officers entered into the plan with all their hearts, as soon as they fully comprehended it. The night of the 25th was the earliest moment the army could move. The intervening time would be required for preparation.
"A good chance to avenge the loss of Fort Washington, and the wrongs inflicted upon the people of Jersey by the Hessians," remarked General Greene to his command. The Hessians had been reckless and destructive in their march through the Jerseys.
"Miserable hirelings, these Hessians!" exclaimed Major Wilkinson, by way of stirring up the soldiers to crave an attack upon them. "Such wretches, fighting us for mere pay, without caring whether liberty or slavery reigns, deserve to be shot."
The night of the 25th was a boisterous one. A storm was coming on, and the Delaware rolled tempestuously. But, undismayed, Washington ordered the army to move at dark. He crossed the Delaware nine miles above Trenton, where there were fifteen hundred Hessians and a troop of British light-horse, to march down upon the town. General Ewing, with his force, was to have crossed a mile below the town, but was prevented by the quant.i.ty of ice. General Putnam, with the troops occupied in fortifying Philadelphia, crossed below Burlington.
When Washington was ready to march, after crossing the river, a furious storm of snow and sleet began to beat in the faces of the troops, to impede their progress. It was eight o"clock before the head of the column reached the village. Seeing a man chopping wood, Washington inquired:
"Which way is the Hessian picket?"
"I don"t know," the man replied.
"You may tell," said Captain Forest of the artillery, "for that is General Washington."
The man changed his aspect instantly. Raising both hands heavenward, he exclaimed:
"G.o.d bless and prosper you!"
Then pointing to a house, he said:
"The picket is in that house, and the sentry stands near that tree."
Rising in his stirrups, and waving his sword in the air, Washington addressed his troops: "There, boys, are the enemies of your country! All I ask of you is to remember what you are about to fight for! March!"
Soon the battle began. It was a complete surprise to the foe. They rallied at first, and undertook to make a stand, but were unable to breast the storm of shot that beat into their very faces. The British light-horse fled from the town, together with other troops, none of which could have escaped if General Ewing and General Cadwalader had been able to cross the river, and cooperate with Washington, according to his plan. They were to guard the only way of retreat open to the enemy.
The battle was short and decisive. Many Hessians were killed, and their brave commander, Colonel Rahl, fell mortally wounded. He was conveyed carefully to the house of a Quaker lady, where General Washington paid him a visit before leaving town.
"The misfortunes of war are to be deplored," remarked Washington, taking the dying man by the hand, and expressing his sympathy for him.
"Death is preferable to life with this dishonor," answered Rahl.
Washington spoke in praise of the bravery of his men, to which Rahl replied, though he was really suffering the agony of death:
"I entreat you, General Washington, not to take anything from my men but their arms."
"I will not," answered Washington; and he kept the promise.
Washington took about a thousand prisoners in this battle, including thirty-two officers. His seizure of artillery and stores, also, was quite large. With prisoners and stores he recrossed the Delaware to his camp.
The fame of this brilliant exploit spread from town to town, reviving the despondent hopes of the many in sympathy with the American cause.
Despatches from Cadwalader and Reed a.s.sured Washington that the British army, fleeing from Trenton, had spread consternation everywhere among the enemy. Trenton, Bordentown, and other places were deserted by the foe, who, panic-stricken by the victory of Washington, fled in confusion.
Washington saw that now was his time to drive the British from the Jerseys. He sent to Generals McDougall and Maxwell at Morristown, ordering them to collect as large a force of militia as possible, and hara.s.s the retreating enemy in the rear. He wrote to General Heath, also, to come down at once from the Highlands, with the eastern militia; and he despatched gentlemen of influence in different directions, to arouse the militia to revenge the wrongs inflicted upon the people by the Hessians. He said:
"If what they have suffered does not rouse their resentment, they must not possess the feelings of humanity."
On the 29th of December, Washington crossed the Delaware again with a portion of his troops, though two days were consumed in the pa.s.sage of all of them, on account of the ice and boisterous weather. A portion of his troops were expecting to go home at the end of the month, as the term of their enlistment expired; but Washington drew them up in line, and addressed them, appealing to their patriotism, inviting them to re-enlist, and offering them ten dollars bounty for six weeks" service.
Most of them remained.
Taking advantage of the power vested in him, the commander-in-chief wrote to Robert Morris, "the patriot financier at Philadelphia,"
pleading for hard money to meet the emergency.
"If you could possibly collect a sum, if it were but one hundred or one hundred and fifty pounds, it would be of service."
Scarce as hard money was, Morris obtained the amount of a wealthy Quaker, and forwarded it to Washington by express the next morning.
After the victory at Trenton, Congress, in session at Baltimore, took additional action to invest Washington with all necessary powers; and that body said, in their communication to him:
"Happy is it for this country that the general of their forces can safely be entrusted with the most unlimited power, and neither personal security, liberty, or property, be in the least degree endangered thereby."
As soon as the news of the capture of the Hessians at Trenton reached New York, General Howe hurried Cornwallis off to Princeton, where about eight thousand of his army were wintering, with instructions to attack Washington. On the second day of January, 1777, the latter posted his troops on the east side of a small stream, the a.s.sumpink, learning that Cornwallis was marching upon him. About mid-day Cornwallis approached with five or six thousand troops, and attempted to cross the river; but the Americans repulsed him. The engagement continued until dark, when Cornwallis proposed to cease hostilities and rest until morning.
"Nay," said Sir William Erskine; "now is your time to make sure of Washington."
"Oh, no!" replied Cornwallis; "our troops are fatigued and need rest.
The old fox can"t make his escape now; for, with the Delaware behind him, so filled with floating ice that he cannot cross, we have him completely surrounded. To-morrow morning, fresh and strong, we will fall upon him, and take him and his rag-a-m.u.f.fins all at once!"
"Ah, my lord!" rejoined Sir William, "if Washington be the soldier that I think he is, you will not see him there to-morrow morning."
The escape of the American army seemed impossible. With a superior force of the British in front, well armed and fresh, and the impossibility of recrossing the Delaware, together with deep mud in the roads, the capture of Washington, to human view, seemed inevitable.
Early in the evening Washington conceived the idea of making a forced march to Princeton during the night, to capture the enemy"s stores there, and then push on to Brunswick for additional booty. But then the mud was so deep that such a march would not be possible. While he was thus revolving the matter, the wind suddenly shifted, the clouds broke, and freezing cold weather set in, so that within two hours the ground became solid, and the army could move. Again G.o.d proved to the astonished commander-in-chief that He was not always "on the side of the heaviest battalions."
Stirring up his camp-fire anew, and setting a score of shovellers to work within hearing distance of the foe, to deceive him, Washington moved off as quietly as possible to Princeton with his army. There he met a force Cornwallis had left behind, and a desperate battle followed, in which the Americans were victorious.
At first Colonel Mawhood"s celebrated regiment charged upon the advance of the American army, driving them back in confusion. But Washington, ever ready for such an emergency, rode to the front, brandishing his sword, and calling upon his men to follow. Placing himself in front, directly facing the foe, he stopped for a moment, as if to say to his army, "Will you suffer the enemy to shoot your general?" They could not resist the appeal, and with a yell they turned and dashed forward, with irresistible might, driving all before them, and the victory was theirs.
Colonel Fitzgerald, one of Washington"s aides, was so affected by his commander"s daring, that he dropped the reins on his horse"s neck and drew his cap over his eyes, that he might not see him shot from his horse. While waiting in this agony of suspense, a shout of triumph rent the air.
"The British are running!"
"The victory is ours!"
The air was rent with the shouts of the victors.
Lifting his cap, and looking for his loved commander, he beheld him, as the smoke of the battle cleared, safe and unharmed, waving his hat and cheering his soldiers on to pursue the foe. Bursting into tears for very joy, he spurred his horse to Washington"s side, and exclaimed:
"Thank G.o.d, your excellency is safe!"
Grasping the colonel"s hand in gladness, Washington answered:
"Away, my dear colonel, and bring up the troops. THE DAY IS OUR OWN!"
When Cornwallis awoke in the early dawn, he found that his "fox" had escaped.