Battle Of Trenton Analysis

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One of the few bright spots for Washington’s army was its ability to use cross the Delaware. The wide river served as a buffer between them and their foes in New Jersey. General Washington had also had the foresight to take every boat from the eastern shore and move it to the western one for 75 miles up and down the bank (Wood, 1990, p. 58). In addition to the supplies and morale, the commanders of the two foes at the Battle of Trenton were quite different. Washington did not display the same arrogance as his Hessian counterpart. Washington was in real fear of losing his army and the war. General Washington wrote his brothers on December 18th, 1776 saying that “our Affairs are in a very bad situation” and “the game is pretty near up” (Kilmeade & Yaeger, 2013, p. 28). Washington was well aware that attacking the Hessians and losing could very well bring …show more content…

The outer pickets had retreated towards the town where a small building was used as a guard shack. With the weather in their faces, the men sought shelter (Lowell, 1970, p. 90). The lack of outer perimeter pickets allowed the American army to get very close to the town completely undetected. The Phases of the Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton officially began when the officer in charge of the Hessians guards saw the first American column approaching. He fired and alerted his men. The guards quickly realized they would be little match for the size of the force approaching. They gave the Americans “several smart fires” (Contemporaneous Account of the Battle of Trenton, 1886) before retreating. As the Hessians retreated the Americans pressed forward. The Hessians attempted to form up into proper columns. The Americans however, had their artillery in place very quickly and aimed down King and Queen Streets (Wood, 1990, p. 69); the two main streets of Trenton. With their artillery in place, the Hessians were never able to form up

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