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Military Pron - Great Christmas Battles

Dec 25, 2022, 3:31 PM

We don’t often celebrate battles on Christmas, but this one should probably be an exception.

Christmas? Who fights a war on Christmas?

In December of 1776 things were bleak for America. After a hard fought siege in May of 1776 (with guns stolen from the British at Fort Ticonderoga) the Continental army finally cleared the British out of Boston.

British Fort Ticonderoga in upstate NY. A great source of guns for a fledgling revolutionary army.

Boston.

The rest of the world knows March 17 as St. Patrick’s Day. But in Boston, it’s also known as Evacuation Day. Bye, bye, Redcoats!

Receiving intel that the retreating Brits were headed for New York next, Washington raced his tiny army south.

In September 1776 the Brits landed on Staten Island and made one last effort to settle this whole “independence” misunderstanding peacefully. Maybe those loonies up in Boston were just drunk when they declared independence back in July. Everyone knew that Paine and Hancock were just agitators, anyhow.

Among those in attendance at the Staten Island Conference were Ben Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge, the governor of S.C. The meeting lasted about 3 hours, went nowhere, and so the shooting resumed.

Washington and the Continental Army then proceeded to get their axxes thoroughly kicked all over southern Long Island trying to defend New York.

First, at the Battle of Brooklyn.

Then, at the Battle of Harlem.

and finally, at Fort Washington and Fort Lee, where the George Washington Bridge is today.

The assault on Fort Lee

Things were bad. Real bad. Aside from the siege of Boston, Washington had yet to win a battle in the field. He was 0-for-Everything. He started with 20,000 men when the Brits landed at Staten Island, and was now down to 5,000 men. And many of their enlistments were about to expire.

He had been embarrassed and beaten like a rented mule by British General Howe and his able subordinate, some guy named Cornwallis.

Lord Cornwallis, future governor of India

His tomb, in India

Congress has already fled from Philadelphia, anticipating a British attack there next. Washington’s second in command, Charles Lee, was then captured by some young 22-year old punk named Banastre Tarleton.

The Loyalists in New York were celebrating in the streets, and then Washington got news that the attack on Quebec failed. He had high hopes for this attack, as it was led by one of his upcoming military stars, Benedict Arnold. Could things get any worse for Washington?

Benedict

So, Washington had to retreat with his rag tag remnants of an army away from New York and towards Philadelphia, behind safety of the Delaware River.

So Christmas of 1776 had to suck for George. Howe was mocking and torturing him from New York. And he was right.

As Lee described it, Howe “fought his battles, drank his bottle, had his little wh ore, advised with his counsellors, and received his orders from Prime Minister’s North and Germain.” What a cushy life.

Meanwhile, Washington froze on the banks of the Delaware as the year end neared, waiting for the last remnants of his army to go home and abandon him after their terms ended. Washington wrote to his family in Virginia "I think the game is pretty near up." He probably wondered how that rope was going feel around his neck, too.

And then a Christmas miracle came. Drunk Germans.

Washington received intelligence that German mercenaries, not British regulars, were manning the British outposts on the other side of the Delaware River.

One of his staff officers noted: "They make a great deal of Christmas in Germany, and no doubt the Hessians will drink a great deal of beer and have a dance to-night. They will be sleepy tomorrow morning." Washington saw his chance, and he took it.

Like Jackson at Chancellorsville, it was an all-or-nothing gamble. Go big or go home. All In.

He planned a night attack on the hapless huns at nearby Trenton, just over the river. The weather was terrible. And it was Christmas night. Ho ho ho.

The Delaware River. All we have to do is get across, in the middle of the night, in a storm.

Luckily, painters were on hand to record the event.

Because the conditions were so bad, Washington could only get about half of his men across. He was already delayed enough that the attack would come at dawn, not at night as he had hoped. But he pressed on. He crossed 9 miles upriver, then split his forces as they converged on Trenton. One column was lead by a 36-year old who would later go on to be the third governor of his state of New Hampshire, John Sullivan.

John Sullivan

The other column was led by a 35-year old Quaker from Rhode Island who would later lead the Battles of Guilford’s Court House in NC, and Hobkirk’s Hill and Eutaw Springs in SC. His name was Nathaniel Greene.

Nathaniel Greene

Nathaniel Greene’s Grave in Savannah

Site of Battle of Hobkirk’s Hill, Camden

As the columns closed in on the little town of Trenton, Sullivan sent word that the horrible weather was dampening his men’s ammunition. Washington replied “Tell General Sullivan to use the bayonet.”

Then fate struck again. Just as Washington approached the town, he saw the unbelievable. A small group of bedraggled patriots were marching up the road away from the town. Washington was flabbergasted. They explained that THEY, with no knowledge whatsoever of Washington’s plan, had decided to attack the outpost on their own, but had been repulsed. Washington was livid.

“Well then, you have completely ruined my surprise.” he told them.”

But in fact, just the opposite happened. The Germans, thinking they had fought off any threat for the night, snuggled in their beds for a comforting sleep till morning.

A pixxant attack by rogue patriots that might have given the whole affair up had actually put the Germans more at ease once it was easily repulsed.

At 8 AM the REAL attack commenced, and the Americans basically rolled the Hessians up like a wiener schnitzel burrito.

Attacking from all sides and catching most in their sleep, it was an overwhelming affair. Some of the Hessians tried to form a line behind the town but in the chaos it was all too late. Although it was a small battle, it was an overwhelming victory.

Of the 1500 Hessians, almost 1000 were captured, with about 20 deaths and 80 wounded. The rest fled to safety. The Americans had 2 deaths from exposure and 5 wounded. One of the men shot in the shoulder in a near fatal wound was a certain James Monroe from Virginia.

The Battle of Trenton

Taking his victory, and tons of captured supplies in hand, Washington quickly retreated back over the Delaware to the men who couldn’t make it across. He was now 2-for-Everything. Not much of a record, but good enough for now.

The battle had repercussions far beyond its size. American morale shot up. British morale wavered. Howe, who had been as certain that the Americans were finished as Washington was, reconsidered his whole war strategy. As Churchill might have said, it wasn’t quite the beginning of the end, but it may have been the end of the beginning. The Americans might not be able to win every battle, but they could win some, and the world noticed.

Mad King George III

So 1777 started out a littler brighter than 1776 ended. But there were hard times ahead. Thomas Paine noted: "These are the times that try men's souls." As bad as Washington’s winter had been on the Delaware in 1776, in 1777 he would spend winter on the banks of the Schuylkill River, at a place called Valley Forge. Brrrrr.

Washington’s Camp at Valley Forge, 1777

In time, the fight would move south, and old foes like Cornwallis, Tarleton, and Greene would meet again in the Carolinas. But don’t forget where the tide for American freedom kinda turned, even if just a little bit, on Christmas night in 1776, on the banks of the Delaware River at Trenton, NJ.

The Battle of Trenton. December 25-26, 1776.

Now, some historians will say that the Hessians weren’t really drunk and they were just caught, literally, with their pants down. But why ruin a good story? And if no one in Trenton was drunk, then how does one explain how this house in Trenton got designed?

Merry Christmas!

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Military Pron - Great Christmas Battles

Yay for America. I prefer this outcome on Christmas battlefields:

Re: Yay for America. I prefer this outcome on Christmas battlefields:

Re: Yay for America. I prefer this outcome on Christmas battlefields:

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