General Washington's Role In The Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary war began in 1775. The Americans were considered the underdogs to the British for many reasons. General Washington has never had more than 20,000 men fighting all at once. Many of the soldiers enlisted for six months or a year and as soon as they learned how to fight they would just pick up their muskets and leave to go home to tend to their farms and families. British forces on the other hand had 50,000 troops, 30,000 mercenaries, and many others including Loyalists, African Americans, and Native Americans. Mercenaries were known as Hessians and they were very well trained in European military tactics, they excelled in large battles fought by a mass of troops on open ground, and they also had far more experience than Americans
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If it weren’t for him all of the soldiers would have just left him because they would not have the hope that they had from Washington's pep talk. Washington knew he had to do something, and quickly. He gathered his last troops together so everyone could hear him and he read to them from Thomas Paine’s new pamphlet which was titled The Crisis. It read, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” After that Washington thought up a daring plan to attack Hessian troops who he heard were camped in Trenton, New Jersey for the winter. Confident by the word of Thomas Paine, his troops did not “shrink from the service of their country.” Late on the 25th of December in the year of 1776, Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River in small boats and it was very ice-choked. Washington gave his men the password for the long night march ahead while on the New Jersey shore. The password being: “Victory or Death.” As they made their way toward Trenton, a driving snow chilled them to the bone. Rocks and ice cut through their very worn-out shoes. One officer reported to Washington that he had noticed that the troops’ guns wouldn’t fire because they were to wet. When they had finally made it to Trenton, they had found that the Hessians were
If it weren’t for him all of the soldiers would have just left him because they would not have the hope that they had from Washington's pep talk. Washington knew he had to do something, and quickly. He gathered his last troops together so everyone could hear him and he read to them from Thomas Paine’s new pamphlet which was titled The Crisis. It read, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” After that Washington thought up a daring plan to attack Hessian troops who he heard were camped in Trenton, New Jersey for the winter. Confident by the word of Thomas Paine, his troops did not “shrink from the service of their country.” Late on the 25th of December in the year of 1776, Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River in small boats and it was very ice-choked. Washington gave his men the password for the long night march ahead while on the New Jersey shore. The password being: “Victory or Death.” As they made their way toward Trenton, a driving snow chilled them to the bone. Rocks and ice cut through their very worn-out shoes. One officer reported to Washington that he had noticed that the troops’ guns wouldn’t fire because they were to wet. When they had finally made it to Trenton, they had found that the Hessians were