They Crossed on Christmas Night

[December 24, 2025] By September of 1776, the cause of independence looked bleak. Though General Washington had miraculously escaped the British after the Battle of Long Island, the defeat of the American army had been a humiliating rout.

Washington had made a number of mistakes, and some began to speak of replacing him, whether with General Charles Lee or with Horatio Gates. What followed over the next three months only confirmed this assessment. The worst of it came on November 16, when American forces were defeated at Fort Washington on the northern end of Manhattan.

Washington should have abandoned Manhattan entirely, but for some reason he took the advice of Nathaniel Green and left 5,000 men there. From across the Hudson River, through his spyglass, Washington watched their awful defeat. The Hessian mercenaries even bayoneted men to death who were trying to surrender.

Knowing that the full responsibility for it all fell on him was crushing. And a number of his officers saw Washington so overwhelmed that he turned away and wept like a child.

Four days later, Washington’s troops were driven from Fort Lee, New Jersey.  But by then, Washington knew he must fight differently, and he would.  The plan going forward was to retreat with his remaining army south through New Jersey, never allowing the British to engage them in a full, open fight in which the British would have the advantage.

It would be what Washington called a war of posts (a defensive war), in which he would retreat and retreat, trying to wear out the British as he did so.

If Washington and his men continued to retreat successfully, they would eventually reach the Delaware River, which formed the westernmost border of New Jersey.  They could then escape across the Delaware, where they would be effectively safe, with the wide river between them and the British and also preventing the British from advancing on Philadelphia.

If Washington had any hope of reversing the fortunes of his Continental army, he had to act in the next few weeks.  It didn’t seem things could get worse until Washington heard that General Charles Lee, whom he had repeatedly begged to come to his aid with his 2,000 troops, had been captured by the British.

The British were so thrilled by this tremendous coup that General Howe decided it was time to call it a year and retire to winter quarters.

The situation was that Washington and his ragged troops were huddled in Pennsylvania, and General Charles Lee, whom the British feared far more as a general than they feared the beleaguered Washington, was their captive.  So Cornwallis made plans to sail back to London to see his wife, and Howe went to New York, where he expected to spend the winter with his mistress.

A number of Hessian troops, of course, were stationed in encampments along the Delaware on the New Jersey side, just to keep an eye on Washington and his forces.  But the British thought the campaign for 1776 was over.

Washington was so defeated at this point that there was little reason to worry about him.  In the spring, the British could rouse themselves to end things, once and for all.

It was at this time of deepest desperation that Washington knew he must do something.  If he did nothing now, it would essentially be over for the cause of liberty and independence.

At the end of December 31, most of his men, having reached the end of their enlistments, would go home.  But what could Washington do?

He would first take advantage of the British overconfidence, which didn’t dream he and his exhausted forces would do anything dramatic at this point.  He’d also take advantage of the fact that, in their overconfidence, they had scattered their forces in a line along the river that was perhaps a little too thin.  For example, there were only 1,500 at Trenton.

Over the past weeks, Thomas Payne, who was with Washington’s army, began writing another essay. This new one, titled The American Crisis, began with the famous lines, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

The essay was so inspiring that Washington had it read aloud to all his troops two days before the planned crossing of the Delaware.

The exact plan was for three forces to cross the Delaware. One force would cross many miles downstream to attack the Hessians stationed in Mount Holly to prevent them from coming to the aid of those he would be attacking in Trenton.

A second force would cross the river right at Trenton to hold the Assunpink Creek bridge and prevent the Hessians from retreating.

The third, and largest, force, under Washington and his generals Green and Sullivan, would cross the river north of Trenton at the ferry. The plan was to be across by midnight, then march the nine miles to Trenton, where they would attack the Hessians at daybreak.

When they arrived at the river, wet and cold, they saw that it was higher than usual and choked with huge, jagged flows of ice. Washington’s full force was not assembled on the other side until 4:00 AM, four hours past schedule, meaning that with nine miles to march, they would not reach Trenton until well after daylight, destroying the vital element of surprise.

The snowstorm continued as they marched. It was nearly 8:00 AM by the time they finally arrived at Trenton. The storm was still raging, so the Hessians were not expecting anyone to attack.

When Washington gave Nathaniel Green the order, the Hessian guards were overwhelmed and quickly retreated into the town. A few moments later, General Sullivan’s troops attacked.

The Hessians could not have been more surprised. The idea that Washington, with all these men, would have crossed the Delaware on Christmas night in a snowstorm and marched nine miles through the snowstorm to Trenton was simply inconceivable.

The Hessians came out of their barracks and desperately tried to marshal a defense. But Henry Knox’s artillery was stationed at the head of the two main streets and blasted cannon fire, clearing them immediately. The fighting moved into the side streets. Eventually, the Hessians retreated to an apple orchard, but were finally surrounded.

Only an hour had passed, and it was over. It was an astonishing victory. This battle changed the war’s momentum. When the war finally ended seven years later, the British would lose it and their colonies.

NOTE: Thanks to Hillsdale College, which, with Eric Metaxas, narrates an exceptional piece on the Battle of Trenton.

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1. “55 Rules for a Good Life,” on Amazon (link here).
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