Thread by @iEvangelize

NOW & THEN
A #CHRISTMAS LIKE NONE
George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River the night of December 25–26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, was the first move in a surprise attack organized by George Washington against Hessian forces in Trenton, NJ on Dec. 26.

George Washington's crossing of the Delaware Planned in partial secrecy, Washington led a column of Continental Army troops across the icy Delaware River in a logistically challenging and dangerous operation.

Other planned crossings in support of the operation were either called off or ineffective, but this did not prevent Washington from surprising and defeating the troops of Johann Rall quartered in Trenton.

Army crossed the river back to PA, this time laden with prisoners & military stores taken from the battle. Washington's army then crossed the river a third time at the end of the year, under conditions made more difficult by the uncertain thickness of the ice on the river.

They defeated British reinforcements under Lord Cornwallis at Trenton on January 2, 1777, and defeated his rear guard at Princeton on January 3, before retreating to winter quarters in Morristown, New Jersey.

The unincorporated communities of Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, and Washington Crossing, New Jersey, are named in honor of this event.

While 1776 had started well for the American cause with the evacuation of British troops from Boston in March, the defense of New York City had gone quite poorly. British General William Howe had landed troops on Long Island in August and had pushed...

... George Washington's Continental Army completely out of New York by mid-November, when he captured the remaining troops on Manhattan.

(...) Washington's army was shrinking because of expiring enlistments and desertions, and suffered from poor morale because of the defeats in the New York area.

(...) The pending loss of forces, the series of lost battles, the loss of New York, the flight of the Army along with many New Yorkers and the Second Continental Congress to Philadelphia, left many in doubt about the prospects of winning the war. But Washington persisted.

He successfully procured supplies and dispatched men to recruit new members of the militia, which was successful partially because of British and Hessian soldiers’ drunken behavior while in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Losses at Fort Lee & Washington placed a heavy toll on Patriots... evacuated their forts... forced to leave behind critical supplies & munitions. Many troops had been killed or taken prisoner, morale...was low. Few believed that they could win the war & gain independence.

But the morale of the Patriot forces was boosted on December 19 when a new pamphlet titled The American Crisis written by Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense, was published.

“These are the times that try men's souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman...”

“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

Within a day of its publication in Philadelphia, Washington ordered it to be read to all of his troops. It encouraged soldiers, improved tolerance of their difficult conditions, improvement in morale aided by arrival of provisions, including much-needed blankets, on December 24.

(...) General Washington had been considering some sort of bold move since arriving in Pennsylvania. With the arrival of Sullivan's and Gates' forces and the influx of militia companies, he felt the time was finally right for some sort of action.

The intelligence gathered by Reed & others led Washington to abandon the idea of attacking at Mount Holly, preferring instead to target the Trenton garrison. He announced this decision to his staff on December 23, saying the attack would take place just before daybreak on Dec 26.

Preparations for the attack began on December 23. On December 24, the boats used to bring the army across the Delaware from New Jersey were brought down from Malta Island near New Hope. They were hidden behind Taylor Island at McConkey's Ferry, Washington's planned crossing site;

...security was tightened at the crossing. A final planning meeting took place that day, with all of the general officers present. General orders were issued by Washington on December 25 outlining plans for the operation.

On the morning of December 26, as soon as the army was ready, Washington ordered it split into two columns, one under the command of himself and General Greene, the second under General Sullivan.

(...) The victory had a marked effect on the troops' morale. Soldiers celebrated the victory, Washington's role as a leader was secured, and Congress gained renewed enthusiasm for the war.

(...) At the time of the crossing, Washington's army included a significant number of people who played important roles in the formation and early days of the United States of America.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wa…