Trenton
Near Christmastime, 1776, George Washington made headquarters in a large stone house on the west
side of the Delaware River. Twenty four hundred or so men were shivering and feeling that their
cause might be all but lost The closest village to Washington was Trenton, with an outpost of 1,600
Hessians strong under the command of Colonel Johann Gottlieb Rall, a heavy drinking gambler
whose troops had engendered a reputation fierce enough to inspire the local population in New Jersey
to form ragged militia bands to ambush their patrols.
This led Hessian officer to complain, "We have not slept one
night in peace since we came to this place." All the same,
misinformation and over confidence in Washington's hopeless
condition caused the Hessians no pressing worry about major
attack. Washington decided, however, that an attack on
Trenton was an absolutely necessity, and plans were laid to
surprise the Hessians when they least expected it. Washington
gave his officers their marching orders and at three o'clock on
the afternoon of Christmas Day, with every man carrying three
days' rations and forty rounds, his troops boarded the boats
guided by a rugged ship captain from Marblehead and crossed
the freezing Delaware River in what turned out to be a grueling
14 hour journey through frozen chunks of ice and blasting
winds: men, horses, heavy artillery, all in a silent, painful
movement to meet a fate unknown.
"The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton"
by John Trumbull
Over in Trenton, Colonel Rall had eaten a superb meal, played a few games of cards and was
pleasantly inebriated when a messenger knocked on the door with a warning. Rall stuck the note in
his pocket unread and, refusing to be bothered, toddled off to sleep.
In the still dark morning, Washington's troops were now on land and began their excruciating  ten
mile march to Trenton. The troops split into two divisions at Birmingham: Nathanael Greene led one
to the east while John Sullivan's men headed straight for the main Hessian barracks.
Their gunpowder was wet and useless, and the men had to rely on bayonets when, at 8:00 a.m.,
Sullivan's men rushed the Hessian barracks. Almost simultaneously Washington's men stormed the
town, rousting the Hessians out of the houses. There was pandemonium as some Hessians tried to
form ranks but were cut down by canon.
* It was about an hour after daylight, and Lieutenant Wiederhold had drawn in his outer pickets. It had been a severe
night with snow and sleet, but the enemy had not been seen. The little command huddled into a hut that served as a
guard-house. Wiederhold happened to step to the door and look out. Suddenly the Americans were before him. He
called to arms, and shots were exchanged. "The outguards made but small opposition," says Washington, "though, for
their numbers, they behaved very well, keeping up a constant retreating fire from behind houses. We presently saw their
main body formed; but, from their motions, they seemed undetermined how to act." Drums and bugles sounded in the
streets of Trenton. Rall was still in bed, and sleepy in his cups. Lieutenant Biel, acting as Brigade Adjutant, was at first
"afraid" to rouse him ("Scheut sich" (Marburg Archives), but hastened off to the main guard and despatched another
lieutenant and forty men to support the pickets. As he returned to headquarters Rall was hanging out of the window in his
night-shirt and crying, "What's the matter?" The adjutant, in reply, asked if he had not heard the firing. Rall said he would
be down at once, and presently he was dressed and at the door.
Rall emerged from his sleep, jumped on his horse and raced toward his regiment who were being
pelted with shot. As he screamed, "Lord, Lord, what is it, what is it?" in German, he was hit twice
and taken into the Methodist Church. The unread note in his pocket warned "the American army is
marching on Trenton."
*A part of Rall's regiment presently succeeded in forming, and after a while Rall himself appeared, on horseback.
Lieutenant Wiederhold reported to him, saying that the enemy was in force, and not only above the town but also upon
the right and the left. Rall asked how strong the enemy was. Wiederhold answered that he could not say, but that he had
seen four or five battalions come out of the woods and that three of them had fired at him before he fell back. Rall called
out to advance, but seemed dazed, and unable to form a plan. His forces were still in disorder. Rall struck off to the right
into an apple orchard east of the town, and tried to obtain command of the Princeton road. He was turned back by
Hand's Pennsylvania regiment. He then determined to force his way into the town again with his own and the Lossberg
regiments; at least, with as much of them as had been brought together. This he is said to have attempted in order to bring
off his baggage, and the plunder of the preceding weeks. He was received, however, by a shower of lead from windows
and doorways and from behind trees and walls. The Hessian ammunition was wet by the driving storm. The Americans
charged again, and the Hessians were driven farther than they had come. Rall was mortally wounded by a bullet, and the
two German regiments, thrown into confusion, laid down their arms.
The remaining Hessian officers surrendered and the Battle of Trenton was over. The Americans lost
four men and took 948 Hessian prisoners.* They took another twelve hours to cross the Delaware
again and most had gone two days without food and sleep and had  marched 25 miles.
*Washington, in his first report to Congress, gives the number of those who surrendered at twenty-three officers and eight
hundred and eighty-six men. A few more afterwards found in Trenton raised this number to about one thousand. "Colonel
Rahl [sic], the commanding officer, and seven others," he writes, "were found wounded in the town. I do not exactly
know how many were killed; but I fancy not above twenty or thirty; as they never made any regular stand. Our loss is
very trifling indeed, only two officers and one or two privates wounded." (Washington, vol. iv. P. 247. Bancroft gives the
numbers as seventeen Hessians killed and seventy-eight wounded.)
*Excerpts From CHAPTER VIII.  TRENTON, DECEMBER 26, 1776. THE HESSIANS and the other GERMAN
AUXILIARIES OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR by Edward J. Lowell; Harper and Brothers
Publishers New York 1884