In December, 1776 the Continental Army was coming off a series of bad defeats. It had lost New York City and retreated across New Jersey to seek refuge in Pennsylvania. The army barely got across the Delaware River with the British in hot pursuit. Then both armies settled down for the winter with the British confident the war would end in the spring. Normally armies did not fight in the wintertime, but Washington was looking at the possibility of not having an army come springtime. Many of his soldiers enlistments were coming up and could you blame them for going home to their families? They had suffered a lot. Washington needed to do something to restore morale, so he daringly crossed the Delaware to surprise the Hessian garrison at Trenton. The key to the attack was surprise. If the Hessians were ready the attack would likely fail and the Revolution would collapse. And it should have. As Washington’s soldiers was crossing the river on Christmas night, a local Tory arrived at Hessian commander Col. Johann Rall with information of the rebel attack. Rall was playing cards with some of his officers and couldn’t be bothered. He told his aide to take a note. He put the note in his pocket. The next day Rall was mortally wounded as the city fell. The unread note was still in his pocket. In God we trust.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/19162/englands-greatest-party-foul
Rall surrenders to Washington – Library of Congress
0 Comments