Preview

Why Did General Washington Take Over Trenton

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
363 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Did General Washington Take Over Trenton
On December 31, 1776 the British took over Trenton. General Washington was leading the American army. So when the British took over Trenton he retreated across the Delaware river by force. About twenty four hours after General Washington and his army arrived across the Delaware river he received information that 8,00 troops were on there way to attack his army. When the American army heard this they wanted to bolt. However General Washington convinced his army to stay for six more weeks. General Cornwallis had split his troops into two sections. One section was led by General Cadwalader. The second section was led by General Mifflin. By January 2, 1777 General Cornwallis’ armies arrived. The two sections were in there position. One sent to attack the north army. The other to attack the south army. After they started …show more content…
The Americans were very stubborn. Even though the British tried to push them in the mud, and into Trenton. It started pouring rain so hard they both agreed to finish the fight in the morning. General Washington had a different idea. His plan was to sneak past the sleeping British and go to Princeton. So they did just that. They left a few campfires blazing and snuck past the sleeping British heading towards Princeton. When the American army arrived at Princeton the British started to panick. They thought the Hessians betrayed them and started to flee. Once they realized they were mistaken they tried to get in some order before it was too late. They tried to fight off the Americans but they were too strong. Then British reinforcement came to help the ones who fled. Washington tried to gather his men together but they were weak and couldn't bare it any longer. Then came hope a trumpet blew, and over a hill came General Sullavin with American reinforcements. Then suddenly American soldiers had the strength to strike back again. Eventually British soldiers started to run in all directions. The Americans won the battle of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Battle Of Trenton Summary

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages

    By the end of 1776, the Continental Army was in a state of despair. After the traumatic defeat in Brooklyn, General George Washington led his rapidly depleting army through northeastern New Jersey, crossed the Delaware, and settled in on the banks of the river around December 7, 1776. Washington, knowing the condition of his army, decided to launch one last-gasp effort to defeat the British and boost patriot moral. He did not receive the reinforcements he pleaded for from General Charles Lee or General Horatio Gates in the weeks before the attack, but by late December, he could no longer wait. On December 25, 1776, Washington launched the first attack on the Hessian garrison in Trenton, New Jersey and used three major principles of war to his advantage: simplicity, surprise, and mass.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Siege Of Yorktown Summary

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Size and Composition: The Franco-American army arrived at the mouth of Yorktown with a combined ground force of slightly more than 1,000 troops. French Admiral Francois Joseph Paul’s fleet of 29 ships and 3,000 troops proved vital in providing the offensive with the necessary maritime supremacy. Lord Cornwallis commanded approximately 8,000 total troops with a majority of professional…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The first line of the American troops were armed with rifles while the Britsih soilders were armed with muskets. The rifles fired with more accuracy and distance then the muskets. This allowed American soilders to pick off British officials before they were even in range to fire back. Taking out a lot of officials and even calvarymen really softened the blow of the British soilders This was a massive advantage for the American soilders.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    It was December; cold and harsh. The Continental Army outside and risking frostbite walking through snow. Their spirits low after several defeats, the soldiers needed motivation. The British soldiers have been following the Continental Army all the way to New Jersey. Commander-in-chief George Washington had a plan though. He was going to cross the Delaware River and surprise the Hessians. The problem was, the army was suffering under terrible conditions. There were many ice storms and the Delaware River was full of several mini glaciers. This was the colonists last hope of winning the war. This, was The Battle of Trenton.…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    George Washington was a land survey during the French and Indian Wars, he led the Virginia militia. Twenty years later, when the American Revolution broke out. Washington commanded the Continental armies. In 1776, after blockading Boston, the city was taken from the British. Later, however, Washington yielded New York City to the enemy, he retreated to Pennsylvania. In December, he boosted the sagging morale of his men crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night he attacks Trenton, where Hessians (British allies) were stationed, then went on to defects British army at Princeton. In 1777-1788, the army spent a miserable winter at Valley Forge Pennsylvania. Later, however, it defeated the British at Monmouth, New Jersey. This battle marked…

    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    the book 1776

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The book starts off with the battle of Bunker Hill, where the Americans are defeated by the British. The Americans recovered and attempted an attack on Boston. The British were caught by surprise, causing them to surrender and retreat back to England on their ships. The American spirit could not be any higher and Washington earned many great honors. After returning back from England, the British victory would no longer last. They had with them a substandard navy that would leave the America’s speechless. America’s then went to New York and lost Boston with no trouble. The British highly underestimated the Americans and thought they could defeat them without any problems. Americans were then forced to retreat to New Jersey, causing them to lose valuable territories. Many Americans contradicted themselves and went back to the British to show their loyalty towards the king. The British then had many more defeats and retreats by General Washington and his inexperienced army. While British had many navy based ports, Washington was suffering from his loss with other states. Washington’s army soon began to doubt him, but kept everyone all together. The turning point came when Washington demanded his army to cross the Delaware River and then began the Battle of Trenton. It was the first battle that gave the Americans hope for the cause after the British evacuation of Boston…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nathanael made a smart move by dividing his forces and coordinated their efforts into a ”flying army” doing so spreading his resources out .The race to the Dan river where Greene’s forces outran the British and beat them across the river, by the time the British got there the river was too high to cross and the boats were at the other side of the river. Battles leading to the defeat of the British included Hobkirk's Hill, siege of the Ninety-six, and Eutaw Springs. Little more than a month after the battle of Eutaw Springs, Cornwallis surrendered to Washington at…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bunker Hill Winner

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Americans only partially accomplished their strategy, but they had a moral win of the battle. The first part of their strategy was to get to Charlestown, Massachusetts. The Americans had spies in the British encampment that reported back to Cambridge, Massachusetts where the American headquarters,that the British were heading to Charleston (Ingram 14). Warned of this plan, the Americans built defenses atop Bunker Hill (Stuckey 190). The Americans dug trenches to hide from the British when they approached the top of the hill (Bunker Hill, Battle of). Americans soldiers weren’t firing at the British while the the bRitish were at the bottom of the hill, to conserve firearms. The Americans started to fire as the British were only a few yards away from the top of the hill where the (Bunker Hill, Battle of). Americans needed to conserve their fire arms. The command that the Americans were given by the troops commander was don’t shoot until you can see the whites of their eyes. He gave command this because of the lack of gunpowder. In the end the americans were slowly forced to retreat from Bunker Hill (Stuckey 191). Page 1…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Battle of Trenton

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages

    General George Washington knew that most of his men 's enlistments were up soon after the battle of Trenton. Their morale after the defeat was very low and nearly ninety-percent of the troops, who fought the battle of Long Island, left the army and went back. Soldiers felt that they were fighting for a losing cause, and General Washington faced a tough task of holding up the troops for the battles ahead. The enlistment terms of most of the soldiers were about to expire at the end of the year. So Washington planned an attack on Trenton to try and revive confidence in his men. This would prove to be a fruitful plan. After the attack…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The battle of Camden was a lopsided victory for the British in the revolutionary war. Mackenzie reports that Cornwallis arrived at Camden which over the next few months became an important base of operations for the British and in which supplies were assembled. In July an American army under Major General Horatio Gates command had marched from the North and was threatening the British in South Carolina. The British were commanded at Camden by Lord Rawdon, Cornwallis having returned to Charleston. Rawdon advanced from Camden to meet the Americans and took a position on a creek to the North-East of the town.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1777, as part of a grand strategy to end the war, the British launched two uncoordinated attacks. The army based in New York City defeated Washington and captured the rebel capital at Philadelphia. Simultaneously a second army invaded from Canada with the goal of cutting off New England. It was trapped and captured during the Battle of Saratoga, New York, in October 1777. The British army had agreed to surrender only on condition of being a Convention Army with repatriation to Britain.[62] Realizing that their cause would be adversely affected if the captured troops could be switched with other British troops who would be brought out to America, Congress repudiated these terms, and imprisoned them instead.[63] This was poorly received in Britain, as a violation of the rules of war, and contributed further to the drift…

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Battle of Trenton

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages

    General George had just retreated, and decided to cross the river. He had an army of 2400 men, and had planned a surprise attack to the Hessians. The journey to crossing the river, started at 8:00 P.M. and the weather started to get rough. It was snowing really hard, and snowed so hard, it slowed and delayed the trip, until they reached Trenton at 2:00 A.M. Finally, battle begun.…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Battle of Trenton was the most important battle to American victory during the Revolutionary War. I think this was the most important battle because nobody died except the British. I also think this was the most important battle because this was the first time the Americans jumped on the British first. For example, while the British were sleeping, the Americans attacked them first. The British would usually attack the colonists first. Another reason why this battle was most important because 900 British were caught. The Americans were proud about this accomplishment because they never had enough confidence that they would beat the British. The president should donate $1,000,000 to make the museum about the Battle of Trenton because of all…

    • 140 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The battle of Yorktown was considered by most the last battle of the revolution. Much of the British army was waiting at Yorktown, a town on the coast of Virginia, under general Cornwallis. The army was stationed there while it waited for reinforcements to arrive to finish the war for once and for all. General Washington, of the continental army, saw this amazing oportunity, and ordered much of his army in New York down to lay seige on Cornwallis. French soliders also sent down with the Americans. The French Royal Navy had also arrived, and surrounded Cornwallis from the sea after they caused immense damage to the British fleet, which left.…

    • 129 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He realized always bugging the British would help him and his men win the war. , He would always say ” we should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn.” (Washington)His men would always go back and start to lose and then out of superis in a miracle they would come back and win. On the day of September 15, the rest of the men washington had arrived to conquer Yorktown placing weapons and closing in on the British. All the forces on of the british October 9, became superside on the americans coming in on them so quick when the didn't see it coming and were not ready for the ambush so it led to Cornwallis surrendering a causing washington the victory of the Battle.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays