It is sometimes difficult, as we near the 225th anniversary of our countryÆs independence, to recall how very unlikely that independence seemed during the early battles of the American Revolution. This paper examines two of those battles û Trenton and Princeton û to understand how the strategy and actions of George Washington helped ensure victory in these battles and, as a result, in the war as a whole.
Before describing the battles more completely, a brief overview of the two battles is useful for placing them within the context of the war.
The forces of General George Washington defeated Hessian troops, German mercenaries allied with the British, in the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776. One week later British forces under General Charles Cornwallis advanced along the Delaware River to attack Washington's troops. To thwart British plans, Washington's army on the night of January 2, 1777, moved quickly and quietly around the enemy, leaving the American campfires burning. The next morning Washington advanced toward Princeton, where, joined by reinforcements, he defeated a British regiment that was marching to join Cornwallis. Because he was outmaneuvered by Washington, Cornwallis withdrew the British forces to New Brunswick, New Jersey, and thus was prevented from entering Philadelphia and Washington and his men spent the rest of the winter in Morristown, New Jersey. The British defeat at Trenton and Princeton helped raise American morale; without such victories it is hard to know if the American army and its leader would have been able to face the privations of that long Morristown winter.
The Battles of Trenton and Princeton were won by the Americans through a combination of good luck and good planning.
Washington selected Trenton as a target because of its isolation, but the greater weakness of the site was probably its leader, the Hessian colonel Johann Rall. Although Rall was a veteran leader with an outstandi...