![]() ![]() Other loyalists informed the Hessians that an attack was imminent. The day before, Rall had received two American deserters who had crossed the river and told the Hessians that the American army was ready to move. With typical Hessian bravado, Rall dismissed or even welcomed the threat stating “Let them come… Why defenses? We will go at them with the bayonet.” Rall acknowledged receipt of this important intelligence at about the same time that Washington was beginning his crossing. And while Grant stated that he did not think Washington would attack, he did command Rall to be vigilant. Von Donop who then passed it along to Col. Grant passed along this information to General Leslie and Col. This spy was privy to the early deliberations of Washington’s war council and correctly passed along to British Major General James Grant that Washington’s army was looking to attack north of the river. Lurking within Washington’s headquarters was a British spy who has never been identified. Spies and deserters had informed the British and Hessians that Trenton was likely to be attacked. And Washington’s main force managed a crossing, but was more than three hours delayed.ģ. Both Cadwalader and Ewing’s forces were unable to cross the ice-choked river. ![]() This was an ambitious plan, one that even well rested and experienced troops would have had difficulty in executing. And Washington and his 2,400 soldiers would cross at McConkey’s and Johnson’s ferries, roughly 10 miles north of Trenton and would then march down to Trenton to surprise the garrison at dawn. Ewing’s soldiers would work to prevent the Hessians from retreating from Trenton. James Ewing’s force of 800 Pennsylvania militia was to cross the river at Trenton and take up defensive positions along the Assunpink River and bridge. His role was to harass and prevent the British and Hessian units near the town from racing north to support the Hessians at Trenton. Cadwalader was to lead his force of 1,200 Philadelphia militia and 600 Continentals across the river near Burlington, New Jersey. George Washington’s plan of attack included three different crossings of the Delaware River on Christmas night. ![]() Washington’s attack plan included three separate river crossings, but only one made it across. After several councils of war, General George Washington set the date for the river crossing for Christmas night 1776. Washington hoped that a quick victory at Trenton would bolster sagging morale in his army and encourage more men to join the ranks of the Continentals come the new year. Washington’s aim was to conduct a surprise attack upon a Hessian garrison of roughly 1,400 soldiers located in and around Trenton, New Jersey. So why were Washington and his bedraggled Continental Army trying to cross an ice-choked Delaware River on a cold winter’s night? It wasn’t just to get to the other side. Washington crossed the Delaware River so that his army could attack an isolated garrison of Hessian troops located at Trenton, New Jersey. In the 800-strong infantry units, “wastage” rates were as high as 10 percent per month, or 80 soldiers killed or incapacitated.1. Outside of formal battles, snipers and shells regularly killed soldiers in the trenches, a phenomenon known as “wastage.” This regular death toll ensured the need for constant reinforcements. A Steady Trickle of DeathĮven in the so-called quiet moments, trench life witnessed a steady trickle of death and maiming. More aggressive operations involved patrolling for enemy activity or conducting raids to kill or capture enemy troops or to gather intelligence. Here, work parties repaired barbed wire or dug new trenches. Under cover of darkness, soldiers often climbed out of their trenches and moved into No Man’s Land, the blasted landscape separating the two armies. ![]() Nighttime in the trenches was both the busiest and the most dangerous. Soldiers read, kept journals, wrote letters, or gambled. In between work fatigues, there was often time for leisure activities. During daylight hours, they conducted all work below ground and away from the snipers’ searching rifles. Day-to-Day Workįollowing morning stand-to, inspection, and breakfast, soldiers undertook any number of chores, ranging from cleaning latrines to filling sandbags or repairing duckboards. Afterwards, if there had not been an assault, they gathered for inspections, breakfast, and the daily rum ration. “Stand-to” at DawnĮach dawn, the usual time for an enemy attack, soldiers woke to “stand-to,” guarding their front line trenches. Life in the trench, the infantry’s home for much of the war, involved a day-to-day routine of work and leisure. ![]()
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