Profile: Revolution

Marquis de Lafayette

             The Marquis de Lafayette was a young French volunteer, who aided in many battles during the American Revolution. On July 31, 1777 he was appointed as Major General in the Continental Army. He was only 20 years old. Late in the summer of 1777, Lafayette met General Washington and was part of his staff during the Battle of the Brandywine. In which, he was wounded. Lafayette, as he is best known, reentered the war in autumn of 1777. In December, he help Washington train his army at Valley Forge.
             Valley Forge and later in the American Revolution is when Lafayette truly became famous. This is when he began train members of the Continental Army and started controlling forces. In May of 1778, he outwitted the British at Bunker Hill, later renamed to Lafayette Hill in his honor. He also, helped trap the British at York and win the American Revolution.

Battle Brief: Trenton & Princeton

Monday, January 12, 2015

BATTLE BRIEF: Trenton & Princeton

Contributors: Trevor Pollack, Alexandra Stich, and Travis Eck

Battle Background

British forces under General William Howe had driven the Continental Army south out New York. Then, on Nov. 16,1776 the British overran Fort Washington in Manhattan, taking 2,000 Americans prisoners. This led to the Battles of Trenton & Princeton.

Military Leadership

Generals of the Americans during the battle of Trenton were Washington, John Cadwalader, and James Ewings. Under Washington’s command was Nathaniel Greene, John Sullivan, and Henry Knox. The Colonel of the British was Johann Rall. Rall was killed during Trenton. General of the Americans during the Battle of Princeton was Washington, with Hugh Mercer under his command. The British had General Charles Cornwallis and General James Grant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plans and Objectives

The plan was for American forces to cross the river simultaneously and conduct raids on the outposts at Trenton and Bordentown, each held by a reinforced brigade of Hessian soldiers. A Continental force of around 2,400 men under Washington’s personal command was to cross the Delaware at McConkey’s Ferry above Trenton and then proceed in two columns by

different routes, converging on the opposite ends of the main street of Trenton in the early morning of December 26. A second force, mainly militia under Col. John Cadwalader, was to cross below near Bordentown to attack the Hessian garrison there. A third force,

also militia, under Brig. Gen. James Ewing, was to cross directly opposite Trenton to block the Hessian route of escape across Assunpink Creek. As a result of the win at Trenton, the British will try to trap the American.

  
Execution

Christmas night was cold, windy, and snowy; and the Delaware River was filled with blocks of ice. These adverse conditions prevented Cadwalader and Ewing from fulfilling their parts of the plan. Driven on by Washington’s indomitable will, the main force did cross as planned; the two columns, commanded respectively by Greene and Sullivan, converged on Trenton at eight o’clock in the morning of December 26, taking the Hessians completely by surprise. The Hessians surrendered after a fight lasting only an hour and a half. Convinced that he had the Americans in a trap, Cornwallis put off battle until the next day because of the exhausted state of his troops, near Princeton. Washington slipped away, leaving campfires burning brightly to deceive the British. The next morning he struck another surprise blow at Princeton, inflicting heavy losses on three British regiments just leaving the town to join Cornwallis.

 Results

The Continental force won these battles and took 918 captive, with only two men were lost and two men were injured. Only 400 British escaped to Bordentown, only because Ewing was not in place to block their escape. After Princeton, Washington then went into winter quarters in
the hills around Morristown, New Jersey. Cornwallis did not pursue.

 Bibiliography

• American Military History Vol. 1

• http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-trenton-and-princeton