The image of ragged farm-boy Patriots defeating drunken foreign mercenaries has become ingrained in the American imagination. The victories at Trenton and a few days later at Princeton proved to the American public that their army was indeed capable of victory and worthy of support. Washington needed a success before his solders’ enlistments expired on December 31 without a dramatic upswing in morale, he was likely to lose the soldiers under his command and be unable to recruit new men to replace them. However, because most of Washington’s army had failed to cross the Delaware the previous day, he was without adequate artillery or men and was forced to withdraw from the town.Īlthough the victory was minor from a strategic perspective, it bore tremendous significance for the future of the Continental Army. Trenton was completely surrounded.Īlthough several hundred Hessians escaped, nearly 1,000 were captured at the cost of only four American lives. The troops of the Continental Army quickly overwhelmed the German defenses, and by 9:30 a.m. ![]() ![]() Trenton’s 1,400 Hessian defenders were still groggy from the previous evening’s Christmas festivities and had underestimated the Patriot threat after months of decisive British victories throughout New York. on the morning of December 26, 1776, General George Washington’s Continental Army reaches the outskirts of Trenton, New Jersey, and descends upon the unsuspecting Hessian force guarding the city.
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