Battle of Trenton (3/20)

The turning point of the American Revolutionary War was the remarkable Battle of Trenton. Similar to the Navy Battle of Midway (between 4 and 7 June, 1942), Americans were able to deceive and defeat superior forces and turn the tide of war in their favor.  General Washington wove together a strategy that incorporated human intelligence and deception that enabled victory over a fine fighting force, the German Hessians (hired soldiers), who were caught sleeping and on their heels.

General George Washington and his men crossed the Delaware: the same river that gave them natural protection earlier that year as the General shaped the battlefield in his favor thus putting off a major conflict with the advancing British Army. They crossed on a snowy Christmas night in 1776, just five months after our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. They caught the 1,200 sleepy and intoxicated Hessians by surprise. Washington’s spies had infiltrated Trenton and had reported back that there were some holes in the security plan (The enemy leadership believed Washigton would not attack on Christmas nor would he be able to cross the river due to foul weather and ice floes).  They were wrong. The Continental Army marched 9 miles east to Trenton, NJ where they executed a surprise attack on the Hessians. The Hessians fired back on the Americans but ended up surrendering within the hour. The young American army captured 900 German Hessians along with captured cannons, muskets and powder. General Washington dealt a strategic blow to the Britiish by improving American morale, enlistments and faith of the Contienenal Congress in his abilities on the battlefield.