Show cause of freedom saved at trenton I 1 washington s brilliant act masterpiece of warfare the american cause was very near extinction on several occasions between concord and yorktown but at no other time was it so near collapse as on the morning after christmas IWO 1770 not quite six months from the adoption of the declaration of independence pen dence retreat across new jersey excited the admiration of frederick the great for a defeated army but the americans had been defeated on long island and at kips bay othere washington in hla his despair is reputed to have tried to get himself killed and a traitor had betrayed fort washington militia would not go out for a failing cause and the men of the continental line were deserting until washington had to appeal to the governor of new jersey to station militia at road intersections to step p the tie deserters ser when washington reached the delaware aler he retarded pursuit by collecting all the boats tor for 70 miles from philadelphia on the west side aide of the river but he had bad little hope of hold ing philadelphia and he directed gen eral putnam in command there to gel gei a floating bridge thrown across the so that he be could retreat be yond putnam appealed appen led to the still carpenters and they moored their floating platforms to together gother into the first bridge at market street conditions at their worst the situation was made more desperate by the tact fact that the term of enlistment of most of washington men had only another week to run in 11 answer to his appeals men accepted itlo 10 and served beyond their enlistment conditions could not possibly be worse ills letters indicate that he i believed the game wits was up unless happened and be made it happen planned to have three divisions of troops across the delaware above trenton opposite trenton awl bristol he was with the first of ahe se e and they got across the other two divisions did not nol in a storm of sleet with the river running full or of ife fee washington got men and 18 puns guns across the ilaw delaware fire ni marched arched them nine mile and surprised the hessians who had been left there by cornwallis Cornwall ls these had bad plenty of lumber in trenton but not enough enterprise to make boats or rafts and they had given up tin the I 1 pursuit of washington the hessian commander was mortally wounded early in the fight and tits his men 0 offeree but a feeble resistance A few n mounted men got away but about ab 0 ut 1000 1 surrendered after several casualties and the americans hardly suffered at all saved american cause causa ai A i soon as cornwallis Cornwall ls heard beard of ahli disaster he hurried to trenton we washington h knew that he be had no force thill meet the british army and he had the wheels of hla his gun carriages wrapped with blankets and noiselessly stole away striking for princeton behind and defeated a british force before Corn cornwallis Cornwall wants ls could get back washington believed that if he had had fresh men lie he could have pushed on to new brunswick Brunsw lck and captured the british base including the military chest but his men had bad been marching and fighting almost without sleep for more than 40 hours and lie could not ask anything more of them tie ile turned north into the i mountains of new jersey while cornwallis got hit his men back to new P aruns runs alck and was content to keep still till for months the next year came washington anxiety to know whether howe had bad gone cone to lo charleston or saratoga the defeats at brandywine and germantown and the dreadful sufferings at valley forge but howe was not energetic and nd washington and the cause of a american independence survived these grave dangers cheered to endurance by the surrender of toe the american cause was never a again aln in such imminent peril as it was when hen washington crossed the delaware and captured the hessian garrison |