The Battle of Trenton

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Define the Subject
The Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, General George Washington developed and led a three front strategic attack on Trenton, New Jersey in late December, 1776 in order to regain regional dominance. Operational failure would be catastrophic to America’s fight for independence while previously suffering from substantial defeat in New York and New Jersey being forced to retreat into Pennsylvania.
Review the Setting
On 25 December, 1776 the order was given to cross the Delaware River into New Jersey by ferry from Pennsylvania roughly nine miles north of Trenton beginning at nightfall under concealment. This crucial moment during the Revolutionary War included a movement of 2,400 American troops, artillery of 18 guns, horses, and wagons; forces stretching over a mile during line of march. The opposition commanded by Colonel Johann Rall was made up of British (16th Light Dragoons) and German (Hessians) garrisons comprised of roughly 1,400 troops with an artillery of 6 light guns.
Intelligence suggested the Hessians would be enjoying a night of celebratory events (Christmas) being vulnerable to an attack; having minimal manning on the advance posts surrounding the town. Under General Washington’s command, Major Generals Greene and Sullivan moving both divisions on two separate avenue of approach towards Trenton from the North, meanwhile just South of Trenton, Generals Cadwalader and Ewing planned to cross the Delaware in order to control the southern avenues and capture any retreating forces. Due to the quantity of ice on the river their elements were unable to execute the crossing leaving only the two divisions from the north to assault the Hessians garrison.
General Washington was under the impression the...

... middle of paper ...

...ear; request was denied due to disbelief the American’s had any forces able to fight being on the verge of collapse. Nevertheless, the British couldn’t break the American spirit and drive for independence.

Works Cited

Lass, C. (n.d.). Battle of Trenton (December 26, 1776). George Washington's Mount Vernon. Retrieved March 17, 2014, from http://www.mountvernon.org/educational-resources/encyclopedia/battle-trenton
Battle of Trenton. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=230033
Search John C. Fitzpatrick's The Writings of George Washington. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-washington?specfile=/texts/english/washington/fitzpatric
American Revolution War. (n.d.). The Battle of Trenton. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-trenton.htm

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