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The American Revolution
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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.
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