soldiers, advance!” he cried, waving his sword in the air.
History will never know if he might have triumphed because as he turned to look at a wounded fellow officer—
Blam!!
A musket ball ripped into his side.
Blam!!
And then another.
Rall tumbled from his mount. His men retrieved his body and gently carried it into a nearby church.
When pressed to choose between victory and death, the rebels had chosen the former. But while they had clearly won an important battle, they still had a very long way to go to win the war.
December 31, 1776
Trenton, New Jersey
General Washington pleaded with his troops. Today was the expiration of their enlistments and most of them had every right to leave. Not just the right, in fact, but the yearning. Worn down with fatigue, and bloodied in battle, most had their hearts fixed on the comforts of home.
Washington, mounted high on his horse, alluded to their recent victory at Trenton; he told them that their services were greatly needed, and that they could now do more for our country than they ever could at any future period. The drums beat for volunteers, but not a man turned out.
The general wheeled his horse about, rode in front of the regiment, and addressed the troops again. “My brave fellows,” he said, “you have done all I asked you to do, and more than could be reasonably expected; but your country is at stake, your wives, your houses, and all that you hold dear. You have worn yourselves out with fatigue and hardships, but we know not how to spare you. If you will consent to stay only one month longer, you will render that service to the cause of liberty, and to your country, which you probably never can do under any other circumstances. The present is emphatically the crisis, which is to decide our destiny.”
The drums beat a second time. The soldiers felt the force of the appeal. One soldier said to another, “I will remain if you will.” Another remarked, “We cannot go home under such circumstances.” A few stepped forth, and their example was immediately followed by nearly all who were fit for duty in the regiment, amounting to about two hundred volunteers.
An officer inquired of General Washington if these men should be enrolled. “No!” he replied. “Men who will volunteer in such a case as this, need no enrollment to keep them to their duty.”
The Aftermath
At Mount Holly, Colonel von Donop was so panicked by the news from Trenton that he abandoned his wounded men and fled—though he first managed to cart away a hundred and fifty wagons chocked full of booty.
In New York, General Howe, who had thought George Washington’s army beneath contempt, was stunned.
In London, the British politicians blamed the Hessians for their own downfall. Perhaps, they thought, these Germans were not worth the precious gold that Parliament and the Crown had expended to pay them.
But the inhabitants of the thirteen former colonies thought differently. Their hungry, cold, ragtag army had beaten the best soldiers that any money could buy. When all had seemed lost, their revolution had been saved.
At least, the rebel soldiers thought, he had saved it
for now
.
They did not,
could
not, know precisely what struggles might lie ahead—and that in itself was a miracle. For if they’d seen the future then they would’ve seen that the winter they were currently enduring by a river in New Jersey would be nothing compared to the one that lay ahead not far outside Philadelphia.
When None Expected Much, He Did the Unexpected
Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him.
—JAMES LANE ALLEN
L et’s talk about soldiers and shoes.
It had been only a few months since the United States declared its independence from Great Britain, but the rebels were already facing serious challenges. George Washington’s army suffered stinging defeats on Long Island, at Kips Bay in Manhattan, at Fort Lee in New Jersey, and at Fort Washington in northern Manhattan. Retreating
History will never know if he might have triumphed because as he turned to look at a wounded fellow officer—
Blam!!
A musket ball ripped into his side.
Blam!!
And then another.
Rall tumbled from his mount. His men retrieved his body and gently carried it into a nearby church.
When pressed to choose between victory and death, the rebels had chosen the former. But while they had clearly won an important battle, they still had a very long way to go to win the war.
December 31, 1776
Trenton, New Jersey
General Washington pleaded with his troops. Today was the expiration of their enlistments and most of them had every right to leave. Not just the right, in fact, but the yearning. Worn down with fatigue, and bloodied in battle, most had their hearts fixed on the comforts of home.
Washington, mounted high on his horse, alluded to their recent victory at Trenton; he told them that their services were greatly needed, and that they could now do more for our country than they ever could at any future period. The drums beat for volunteers, but not a man turned out.
The general wheeled his horse about, rode in front of the regiment, and addressed the troops again. “My brave fellows,” he said, “you have done all I asked you to do, and more than could be reasonably expected; but your country is at stake, your wives, your houses, and all that you hold dear. You have worn yourselves out with fatigue and hardships, but we know not how to spare you. If you will consent to stay only one month longer, you will render that service to the cause of liberty, and to your country, which you probably never can do under any other circumstances. The present is emphatically the crisis, which is to decide our destiny.”
The drums beat a second time. The soldiers felt the force of the appeal. One soldier said to another, “I will remain if you will.” Another remarked, “We cannot go home under such circumstances.” A few stepped forth, and their example was immediately followed by nearly all who were fit for duty in the regiment, amounting to about two hundred volunteers.
An officer inquired of General Washington if these men should be enrolled. “No!” he replied. “Men who will volunteer in such a case as this, need no enrollment to keep them to their duty.”
The Aftermath
At Mount Holly, Colonel von Donop was so panicked by the news from Trenton that he abandoned his wounded men and fled—though he first managed to cart away a hundred and fifty wagons chocked full of booty.
In New York, General Howe, who had thought George Washington’s army beneath contempt, was stunned.
In London, the British politicians blamed the Hessians for their own downfall. Perhaps, they thought, these Germans were not worth the precious gold that Parliament and the Crown had expended to pay them.
But the inhabitants of the thirteen former colonies thought differently. Their hungry, cold, ragtag army had beaten the best soldiers that any money could buy. When all had seemed lost, their revolution had been saved.
At least, the rebel soldiers thought, he had saved it
for now
.
They did not,
could
not, know precisely what struggles might lie ahead—and that in itself was a miracle. For if they’d seen the future then they would’ve seen that the winter they were currently enduring by a river in New Jersey would be nothing compared to the one that lay ahead not far outside Philadelphia.
When None Expected Much, He Did the Unexpected
Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him.
—JAMES LANE ALLEN
L et’s talk about soldiers and shoes.
It had been only a few months since the United States declared its independence from Great Britain, but the rebels were already facing serious challenges. George Washington’s army suffered stinging defeats on Long Island, at Kips Bay in Manhattan, at Fort Lee in New Jersey, and at Fort Washington in northern Manhattan. Retreating
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