“I am resolved to take Trenton.”
— Gen. George Washington
“Der Feind!” (The enemy!)
— Lt. Andreas von Wiederholdt,
First casualty of the Battle of Trenton
There is, perhaps, no more famous image of George Washington than Emanuel Leutze’s 1851 painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” The original was destroyed in a 1942 bombing raid on Bremen, Germany, but Leutze painted two versions after the original, one of which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the second of which sold at auction last year for $43 million. The image has appeared on stamps and coinage and spurred many copies, imitations and reproductions.
The first six months of the Revolutionary War had been an absolute disaster for Washington and the Continental Army. Suffering defeat after defeat, they had eventually retreated from New York, across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. Morale was awful, troops were simply walking away and going home, and Congress was getting restless in Philadelphia.
To try to end the year with a success and convince the fledgling nation and its army that they really could win, Washington contrived a daring battle plan to cross the Delaware River at night, in winter, and under the cover of cold, ice, and darkness, to surprise a Hessian mercenary force encamped there. It could have been a disaster for the army — and very nearly was. Conditions were poor, the river was icy, and the circumstances were so bad that less than half of the force that Washington had planned on using was even able to cross the river. Instead of assaulting the 1,500 Hessians with nearly 6,000 men, Washington had only 2,500 at his disposal.
Fortunately for him, and the young nation, the Hessians were firmly convinced that the Americans were no threat to them. The weather was awful, no one marched in the snow and cold (and certainly not at any speed), the Americans were brow-beaten, and it was, after all, Christmas. Surely, the Americans would be tucked in their camps, tails between their legs, observing Christmas.
Instead, in the late hours of Christmas Day 1776, and into the early morning hours of Boxing Day, Washington gave the coded signal, “Victory or Death” and began to lead his troops across the water. Using flat-bottomed Durham boats, and carrying three days worth of food, the troops arrived at the water shortly after sundown. What had been a drizzle turned first to rain, then to sleet and then to snow. The wind howled, with one soldier later writing, “It blew a hurricane.” Any less committed man would have given up, but not Washington.
In Trenton, the Hessian leader Col. Johann Rall was celebrating the holiday. According to Rick Atkinson’s book, “The British are Coming,” Rall was in his King Street headquarters — a comfortable two-story, nine-room home that was well heated by fireplaces. He was eating his Christmas feast and playing checkers when, at 8 p.m., his playing was interrupted by a small group of Continental soldiers who attacked early, and without authorization.
After they had been chased off, Rall, apparently not at all alarmed, decided to sit down and play cards. George W. Stimpson’s 1934 book “Nuggets of Knowledge” tells a most interesting tale of what could have been. According to Stimpson, a loyalist farmer saw the American troops approaching and attempted to warn the Hessian troops. A courier was sent into the Hessian headquarters, but Rall, engrossed in his card game, told the man to write down his message. Rall folded the note, placed it in his pocket, and continued to play cards.
Atkinson’s more scholarly tome says that Rall went to bed at midnight and slept through the early morning start of the battle, which started when Lt. Andreas von Widerholt was shot exiting a copper shop. The battle was on, and by the time Rall dressed in his formal uniform and joined the fight, any chance the Hessians might have had to get organized had been lost.
In the end, only two American soldiers died — both of them from exposure. Nearly 1,000 Hessian troops were captured, Trenton was back in American hands, and Col. Rall was killed in the battle. According to Maggie Koerth-Baker’s “20 Greatest Mistaikes (sic) in History,” battlefield surgeons found the crumpled warning note in Rall’s pocket when they cut away his uniform to treat him.
If your Christmas night family activities include a game of cards, or perhaps some checkers, think of how that very activity changed the course of the Revolution. And if someone brings you a warning note — maybe it would be best to read it right away.
David Hejmanowski is judge of the Probate/Juvenile Division of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, where he has served as magistrate, court administrator, and now judge, since 2003. He has written a weekly column on law and history for The Gazette since 2005.
