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A Turn in the Tide

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 18, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 7.

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A Turn in the Tide

By Chas. Morris

CHAPTERS IN THE UNITED STATES HISTORY. NO. 12.

BY PROF. CHAS. MORRIS.

A Turn in the Tide.

(Concluded.)
Change of Feeling between July and December, 1776—Depression in America, Elation in England—Positions and Strength of the Armies—Washington’s Plan—Failure to Combine—The Delaware Crossed—March on Trenton—Surprise and Defeat of the Hessians—March of Cornwallis—Washington’s Counter-march—Victory at Princeton—The Result of the Campaign—Its Influence in America and Europe.
Tidings of the event at Trenton were not long in reaching New York, traveling fast on the principle that “ill news flies apace.” They sadly disturbed the British complacency. It was the reverse of kind for this unquiet rebel, in the midst of winter, to destroy the profound peace into which the army had settled. With all haste preparations were made to punish him for his rudeness, and Lord Cornwallis, giving up a contemplated voyage to Europe, and at the head of 7,000 of the best troops in the army, started at once from New York for the scene of trouble.
Washington had not been idle, meanwhile. He had gathered in additional troops until his army now numbered about 5,000 men. With these he had, after crossing the Delaware with his prisoners, returned to Trenton. As Cornwallis advanced, Washington retired, and quickly put the Assempink Creek between him and his foe. Cornwallis reached the stream with his wearied troops, to find the Americans drawn up in a strong position on the other side. His men had had a long march, night was at hand, his prey lay within striking distance; he decided to wait until next morning, and strike those pestilent rebels when fresh from sleep.
The easy-going Cornwallis did not know the man he had to deal with. Washington was prepared for an attack. When it did not come, and he had a long winter’s night before him in which to act, he decided not to wait on the tardy motions of his powerful foe, but to teach the British commander a new lesson in the art of war. Leaving his fires burning, and men to keep them alive during the night, Washington quietly withdrew his forces, and, taking a roundabout road, marched to Princeton, where lay another detachment of the British army. His purpose was to surprise the rear guard of the British forces, and if possible to capture their stores before Cornwallis could come up.
The march began at midnight, undreamed of by the foe. In addition to the bivouac fires, that brightly burned throughout the night, men were heard digging an entrenchment near the British sentries, and, as day began to dawn, soldiers were seen on guard at the fords and bridges. They were under orders to join their comrades as soon as the foe showed signs of moving. As it was, the plan worked to perfection, only the sound of cannon miles away roused Lord Cornwallis to an appreciation of the fact that Washington had given him the slip, and was now far away and at his old work again.
The road was frozen and the march easy. Just after sunrise, on the morning of January 3, Washington reached Princeton with his army. He found there three British regiments, two of them on the march to Trenton, and at once made a sharp attack. The British, tho taken by surprise, resisted vigorously, and threw the Americans into some confusion; but Washington had come to win, and, by a reckless exposure of his own life, he rallied his men, led them on the foe, and drew victory out of defeat. One British regiment broke through the American ranks, and gained the road to Princeton. The others were driven back toward New Brunswick, losing heavily in prisoners.
Cornwallis meanwhile was hotly in pursuit, fearing to lose the stores he had left at New Brunswick. But when he reached Princeton, the Americans were gone. They were, in fact, pursuing the two retreating British regiments. But the soldiers had been without rest, and almost without food, for thirty-six hours; many of them were barefooted and thinly clothed; they were, in fact, so utterly worn out that the design could not be carried out. After a pause for rest and refreshment, Washington led his army to Morristown, where he established his winter headquarters.
The pursuit of Cornwallis had ceased. Morristown was a strong point for defense, and had a fertile country at its back, whence supplies could be procured. The Americans were not only safe, but in a position of advantage. Cornwallis was obliged to abandon his posts on the Delaware, as the foe was in his rear. Not only this, but he was exposed to every post in New Jersey, and was given no rest by his alert foe, who struck blow after blow, until in the end every post was abandoned except those at New Brunswick and Amboy, and the British were withdrawn to New York. Such was the outcome of that famous Christmas march of 1776.
It is said that Frederick the Great remarked of this campaign that it was the most brilliant that had been seen in the century. With a force much smaller than that of his enemy, Washington had managed to meet him at two points with superior strength, beat him in detail, and in the end to drive him from the State. It was not the act of a soldier alone, but of a statesman as well. It saved the Revolution, which without some such encouragement as this, must soon have come to an end.
If Washington had this end in view, and it is reasonable to conclude that he had, the result fully justified the risk. The Trenton and Princeton campaign radically changed the situation, and put the fainting republic on its feet again. Men everywhere regained their lost courage. Recruits began again to come into the army. Many of the soldiers whose time was up, consented to serve on. Hope succeeded despondency. In a week’s time the whole face of the situation had been changed, and thousands who had fallen into despair, hailed Washington as the saviour of the country, and were once more inspired to do their utmost in the cause of liberty.
Not only in America but in Europe was the effect great. There was no longer talk of the colonists being crushed. The gallant defense they had made won them friends abroad, and the victory at Trenton was almost as important in gaining the favor of Europe for the colonies as it had been in putting new spirit in the colonists themselves. At later periods the tide of affairs ebbed low for America, but never again was the danger of failure and defeat so imminent as it had been in the days before that glorious Christmas morn, and never again did hope of final success die out in the American soul.