George Washington's Gift for All Americans

Imagery through both art and literature has significant influence on the collective imaginations of Americans. This seems especially true when approaching the subject of heritage and history. It is difficult for example, to conjure a picture of life in the dust bowl of the twenties and thirties without recalling the work of Steinbeck. Yet often art as well as the written word can even change our perception of what truly occurred.

One such misconception involves the father of our country, George Washington. In 1851 Emanuel Leutze painted : The Christmas Crossing, which is often referred to as Washington crosses the Delaware. Depicted in this painting is the continental Army desperately struggling to both break and move large chunks of floating ice as a defiant General George Washington looks on. Perhaps what best completes the image is the presence of the thirteen star flag looking as weary as the patriots. Although the painting does convey a sense of the magnitude of the crossing, it is not exactly accurate.

On Christmas night General Washington brought the tattered remnants of his Army to the banks of the Delaware River. The troops were in wretched shape, decimated by previous battles, worn out, and ill fed. With winter upon them, rebel morale was at a decline. General Washington knew that he must strike back soon, for many of the troops enlistments would expire on January 1st, and with the Delaware River approaching a complete freeze, general Washington knew that he might again be on the run.

1,200 Hessian mercenaries under the employ of Great Britain were encamped in Trenton, New Jersey for the Christmas holiday. General Washington conceived a bold plan: Strike using the element of surprise under the cover of darkness.

Nine miles above Trenton, 2,400 men along with a cannon attempted the crossing. Preparing to cross Washington stepped into a boat that contained the rather obese Colonel Henry Knox. Giving the three hundred pound officer a nudge with his toes General Washington uttered these immortal words, which gave a much needed lift to his cold and miserable troops: "Shift that fat ass, Harry, but slowly, or you'll swamp the damn boat!"

Unfortunately, the weather delayed the crossing, it wasn't until nearly four AM that the men had assembled on the New Jersey side and began marching, with the hopes of striking before dawn lost. However, the rebels still held the strongest card: the element of surprise. Most of the Hessian troops as well as their commander Colonel Johann Rall were hung over from the previous nights celebrations. Though, the in climate weather rendered the patriots musket powder useless, the battle in the streets of Trenton was won as the Americans overwhelmed the Hessian's with bayonets and cannon fire. By nine thirty AM, on the morning of December 26, 1776, 106 Germans were dead, and another 918 were captured. The groggy General Washington and his army would of course go on to an even greater victory at Princeton on January 3, 1777. It was these two brisk victories that purchased something money could not buy: A rally of sorts that regarded the trust of congress and it's generals, and ensured the colonials were in the war to stay.