WTG GW!
It is worth mentioning that the Hessians did not celebrate Christmas by decorating trees and opening presents; they celebrated by getting mind-splittingly drunk. General Washington kept his troops in line and took full advantage of the enemy's dissolution.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
One of the defining moments in American military history - a bold, unconventional attack which achieved success.
pingy
I will make my yearly post of the story of Washington Crossing the Delaware a little later. Thanks for your post.
I do have to disagree with the History Channel on one thing and that is their assertion that the Battle of Trenton didn't have much strategic significance. The crossing and battle, set off a chain of events (the 10 Crucial Days) that changed the course of the Revolution forever. Never again did the forces of the Crown have as good an oppurtunity to achieve victory as they did before December 25, 1776.
The Crossing, the 1st Battle of Trenton (December 26) and the subsequent 2nd Battle of Trenton (January 2, 1777) along with the Battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777) ended any British hopes of holding New Jersey and defeating the Rebellion.
P.S. - the Hessian soldiers were not hung over, that is legend not fact. Some of their officers (e.g. Colonel Rall) did attend drinking parties the evening before but the enlistedmen were allowed no such pleasures.
Read 1776 by David McCullough.
Sounds like those Hessians partied like it was 1799 !!!
Washing tonStarted that whole Row vs Wade thing
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Merrie Christmas All!
Your Obdt. Svt.
P______y
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The Hessians were strictly observant German Reformed (i.e., Calvinists), who would customarily sing psalms and chorales on the march and in battle. Each battalion has its own chaplain, and prayer services were held on Wednesdays and Sundays. They were not a band of drunken pirates.
As Calvinists, they did not celebrate Christmas in the same way that American propagandists have described. Some of the more extreme Calvinists (e.g. Oliver Cromwell) even considered such celebrations blasphemous, and a residue of Popish paganism.
Trenton was an exposed salient, lacking any close support from other posts, with the men of the garrison exhausted and on constant alert. While Colonel Rall may have been drunk or hung over, the men and other officers assuredly were not.
The major reason for Rall's defeat was that he did not make any provision for using the houses of Trenton as defensive positions, but rather established a routine whereby the three battalions were to form up at pre-arranged places des armes. This routine was based on the flawed assumption that the brigade would then move OUT of Trenton to encounter the enemy. Rall, relying exclusively on the competence of his outposts, made no provision for defending the town itself.
So when the alarm was sounded, the battalions attempted to assemble according to plan. But this was hampered by cannister from well-sited American battalion pieces.
And as if this were not bad enough, after the battalions were formed, Rall decided to try and RETAKE the town, rather than cut his losses, break out of the encirclement, and fall back on von Donop who had the rest of the grenadier brigade at Bordentown.
About one third of the total command DID break out of the encirclement, and another third might have been able to had they not received the pre-emptive command to surrender after Rall was mortally wounded.
Grogginess had nothing whatsoever to do with it. And it astounds me that "historians" continue to belittle Washington's military prowess by ignoring what he actually DID do (a successful atttack by converging columns under extremely adverse conditions) and replacing it with the myth of Hessian drunkenness.
