Crossing the Delaware River in Durham Boats Part 2

Adapted from Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War

Adapted from Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War.

Washington Crossing the Delaware by George Caleb Bingham.

The Decision

“But as I was certain there was no making a retreat without being discovered and harassed on repassing the river, I determined to push on at all events,” George Washington wrote of his decision to press ahead on the morning of December 26, 1776. The risk of detection was just as great in the sunlight, whether his army re-crossed the Delaware River or attacked Trenton. Following pragmatism and courage, Washington nimbly chose offense.

With his decision made, the commander-in-chief turned his attention to the battle plan. He divided his nearly three thousand men into two divisions. One approached the Hessian position from the north. The other approached from the south. “They marched in two divisions, one led by Washington (with whom were Generals Greene, Stirling, Mercer and Stephen), by a circuitous route to the north of the town, while the other, under Sullivan . . . was to advance by a direct road along the river to the west and south side. Sullivan was to halt at a certain point to allow time for the main division to make the circuit,” described historian William Jackman.

Jackman noted Washington’s division did not arrive in the “immediate neighborhood of Trenton” until eight in the morning, well past daylight. The hailstorm may have slowed their march, but it also had an unexpected benefit. “It [the storm] had also aided to conceal their movements from the enemy,” Jackman wrote.

However, a man by the roadside saw Washington’s division as they arrived. The advance party had no idea if this farmer-type was someone they could trust or if he was a loyalist like many of those who had tried to block their flight from New York through New Jersey the previous month.

“Washington, who had pushed on with the advance, asked of a man who was chopping wood by the roadside the way to the Hessian picket,”

Jackman told the story. “He answered gruffly, ‘I don’t know,’ and went on with his work. ‘You may tell,’ said Captain Forrest of the artillery, ‘for that is General Washington.’ ‘God bless and prosper you,’ exclaimed the man, raising his hands to heaven, ‘the picket is in that house, and the sentry stands near that tree,’ ” Jackman chronicled.

Within minutes, Washington’s advance party overtook the Hessian’s picket-guards.

“Late as it was, the Hessians were completely surprised. According to their custom, they had indulged freely in the festivities of Christmas, and were resting thoughtless of danger, when the drums suddenly beat to arms. All was confusion,” Jackman wrote.

And that is how the Battle of Trenton began. George Washington made his choice, and the river gates to the palace were thrown open.

PRAYER

Thank you, God, for showing your hand in the unlikeliest places, from a storm in the sky to a woodsman by the roadside.

The Enterprise

We] entered the town with them pell-mell,” Henry Knox wrote to Lucy, about the army’s headlong rush to take down the Hessians’ pickets, or advanced guards, at Trenton.

The surprise attack began about 8:00 a.m. on December 26, 1776.

The enterprise was more incredible than anything Knox had ever before seen. After a series of disasters in New York, Knox was hungry to see success. To this man of artillery, this revolutionary battle seemed stripped from the pages of Revelation.

“Here succeeded a scene of war of which I had often conceived, but never saw before. The hurry, fright and confusion of the enemy was [not] unlike that which will be when the last trump shall sound,” Knox described the chaos.

The Germans fighting for the British could not have been more surprised at the Continentals’ attack had the heavens cracked and burst forth with the army of God. “They endeavored to form in the streets,” Knox described of the Hessians’ hasty attempt to form their lines along the town’s cobblestones. He noted the Continentals had placed cannons at the heads of the streets to prevent the Hessians from such boulevard maneuvers. “These, in the twinkling of an eye cleared the streets,” he wrote of his artillery’s success in stopping the street activity.

Although the Hessians tried to take shelter behind houses, the Continentals’ “musketry soon dislodged them,” Knox wrote. He had observed that Trenton was an open town, accessible from all sides. The Hessians tried to take advantage of the terrain by moving the battle away from the settlement.

“Finally they were driven through the town into an open plain beyond. Here they formed [their lines] in an instant,” Knox wrote of their professionalism and ability to quickly get into place. “Measures were taken for putting an entire stop to their retreat by posting troops and cannon in such passes and roads as it was possible for them to get away by.

The poor fellows after they were formed on the plain saw themselves completely surrounded, the only resource left was to force their way through numbers unknown to them,” reported Knox.

And as was typical of Knox, he not only counted the Americans’ cannons, but also the enemy’s. His account of the enterprise would not have been complete without his assessment of the Hessians’ artillery power. “The Hessians lost part of their cannon in the town: they did not relish the project of forcing, and were obliged to surrender upon the spot, with all their artillery, six brass pieces, army colors &c.,” he wrote of the surrender.

The crossing of the Delaware River led to victory in the city. As a result, Henry Knox, a man of faith, would soon see Providence shine on him in a whole new light.

PRAYER

God, you are the Great Creator, the One whose rivers lead to your dwelling place in a city on high.

The Triumph

“I HAVE the pleasure of congratulating you upon the success of an enterprise, which I had formed against a detachment of the enemy lying at Trenton, and which was executed yesterday morning,” General Washington wrote jubilantly in a letter to the Continental Congress on December 27, 1776.

Washington had not felt so much joy since the British left Boston the previous March. Indeed, it was his first solid victory in nine months. A fog, a bridge, and a general’s blunder had preserved the army during their losses. And it was a river crossing that led them to an offensive enterprise, which resulted in triumph at Trenton.

“As the divisions had nearly the same distance to march, I ordered each of them, immediately upon forcing the out-guards, to push directly into the town, that they might charge the enemy before they had time to form,” Washington explained of his strategy to divide his army and attack Trenton from both the north and the south.

“Finding from our disposition, that they were surrounded, and that they must inevitably be cut to pieces if they made any further resistance, they agreed to lay down their arms. The number that submitted in this manner was twenty-three officers and eight hundred and eighty six men,”

Washington reported.

The most significant casualty of the battle was the Hessian’s commander. Colonel Rahl escaped from his headquarters and retreated into the street. When Washington’s men saw him, they opened fire.

Rahl fell wounded. Surrounded, he surrendered. He later died from his wounds.

“Colonel Rahl, the commanding officer, and seven others were found wounded in the town. I do not exactly know how many were killed; but I fancy twenty or thirty, as they never made any regular stand. Our loss is very trifling indeed, only two officers and one or two privates wounded,” Washington wrote.

This commander could not have been prouder of his men’s behavior. They had not panicked like a gaggle of geese, as they had at Long Island.

Instead they had soared. They had answered the trumpet call of duty, and they had triumphed. “In justice to the officers and men, I must add, that their behavior upon this occasion reflects the highest honor upon them,” continued Washington.

Even though his men were indescribably exhausted from their overnight crossing of the Delaware River, they gave this enterprise their all.

“The difficulty of passing the river in a very severe night, and their march through a violent storm of snow and hail, did not in the least abate their ardor; but, when they came to the charge, each seemed to vie with the other in pressing forward; and were I to give a preference to any particular corps, I should do great injustice to the others,” praised George Washington.

Justice rolled like a river. Liberty had crossed the stream.

PRAYER

Thank you for your righteousness, for your never-ending commitment to justice and your never-failing stream of blessings.