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The American Revolution

On December 7, the ragtag Continental Army boarded boats in Tren- ton and crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. Washington had ordered boats on the New Jersey side of the river destroyed, to prevent the British from pursuing his army further. By mid-December, General Howe had suspended British operations for the winter. Howe returned to New York City. He left troops in a series of outposts in New Jersey. Most on the British side thought the war was for all intents and pur- poses over. “The fact is, their army is broken all to pieces,” wrote Lord Rawdon, a British officer, “and the spirit of their leaders and [support- ers] is all broken.”

Morale in the Continental Army, and among Patriots overall, had indeed hit rock bottom. Washing- ton’s call for the New Jersey militia to turn out had gone unanswered. Thousands of New Jersey residents had sworn an oath of allegiance to the king in exchange for an uncon- ditional pardon. Continental troops had deserted in droves. In addition, 2,000 had gone home on December 1, when their enlistments expired. The remainder of the Continental Army enlistments were set to expire on January 1, 1777. There seemed little reason for the men to reenlist. The cause appeared hopeless. “These are the times that trymen’s souls,” wrote Thomas Paine, who’d attached himself to the camp of Nathanael Greene.

On the night of December 25, 1776, the Con- tinental Army secretly crossed the Delaware River and attacked the British garrison at Trenton. The American victory at Trenton, and another at Princeton a few days later, encour- aged the colonists to keep fighting.