Washington Crossing the Delaware
Album/Alamy Stock Photo
Surprise Attack!
With a daring decision 250 years ago, George Washington kept America’s fight for independence alive.
It was late at night on December 25, 1776. Though it was Christmas, General George Washington and his army weren’t feeling very merry. They nervously stood in the whipping wind and blinding snow, waiting to cross the half-frozen Delaware River.
On the other side, they would quietly slip into enemy territory and launch a surprise attack. If the plan failed, the American Revolution might be lost.
An Army on the Run
The 13 Colonies began their fight for freedom in April 1775, when the first shots of the Revolution were fired. Then on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence announced that the colonies were no longer ruled by Great Britain. They would now be known as the United States of America.
Washington led the young nation’s army. It was mostly made up of farmers and shopkeepers. To truly gain their freedom, they would have to defeat the British army, one of the strongest military forces in the world.
In August 1776, the British delivered a crushing blow at the Battle of Long Island, in New York. More than 2,000 colonial soldiers were killed, injured, or captured. More defeats soon followed. Washington’s army was forced to retreat from New York and then New Jersey (see map on page 8). In early December, they crossed into Pennsylvania.
By then, morale among the soldiers was low. They were exhausted, cold, and in need of supplies. Around the colonies, people had started to lose faith in the cause for independence.
“The American Revolution almost died just months after the Declaration of Independence,” says historian Stewart Davenport.
A Daring Plan
Washington knew he had to do something—and fast. Many of his soldiers had signed on to fight only until the end of the year. Washington needed a big victory to inspire his men to stay in the army.
So he decided to make a daring attack on Trenton, New Jersey. The town was defended by about 1,400 Hessians. These soldiers from Germany had been hired by the British to help fight the colonists.
The plan hinged on crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey under the cover of darkness. Late at night on December 25, Washington and his men climbed into their boats. They slowly made their way across the icy river. A terrible storm soaked their thin coats with sleet and snow.
By the early morning, 2,400 soldiers—along with 50 horses and 18 cannons—had arrived in New Jersey. But Trenton was still 10 miles away. Some soldiers lacked proper shoes during the freezing four-hour march.
“Their feet were bleeding because they were stepping on jagged ice,” Davenport explains.
When Washington’s forces arrived in Trenton, they took the Hessians by surprise. Colonial troops killed the Hessian commander and took nearly 900 prisoners. The battle was over in less than two hours.
The Road Ahead
Washington’s risky plan had paid off. The stunning victory at the Battle of Trenton lifted spirits among the colonists.
“Washington proved that the American cause was not dead and that the Americans were going to continue to fight,” says Davenport.
Encouraged by their win, many of the soldiers stayed in the army. And more men from throughout the colonies enlisted.
The Revolution lasted nearly seven more years. But Washington had given the colonists the confidence that freedom would one day be theirs.
1. What is morale? Based on the article, why was the morale of the colonial army low in much of December of 1776?
2. Why did George Washington decide to cross the Delaware River into New Jersey?
3. What does the author mean when she writes that “Washington’s risky plan had paid off”?
