Successful Diversion, by Putnam, in favor of Washington.

The American Army cross the Delaware on Christmas Night,

tillery, was to cross the Delaware at M Conkey's Ferry, and march down upon the enemy at Trenton. The river yet remained quite free from ice, and every thing seemed auspicious. Unknown to General Washington, Putnam, who had been made acquainted with the design of attacking Trenton, sent Colonel Griffin, with a body of four hundred and fifty militia, across from Philadelphia into New Jersey, to make a diversion in favor of the Trenton expedition. Griffin was instructed to proceed to Mount Holly, for the purpose of attracting the attention of Colonel Donop at Bordentown. He was ordered not to fight, but to retreat down the river when the enemy should appear. This movement had the desired effect. Donop, who should have been near enough to support Colonel Rall,' moved against Griffin with his whole force of two thousand men; and so dilatory was he in his marches after the retreat of the Americans, that it was two days before he returned to his post. Christmas night was selected by Washington for the execution of the enterprise. well knew the German habit of celebrating that day with feasting and drinking, and reasoned wisely on the probability of a large portion of the Hessians being half disabled by intemperate indulgence.

2

He

The division with which Washington was to cross the Delaware consisted of two thousand four hundred men, with twenty pieces of artillery. At dusk they paraded December 25, at M-Conkey's Ferry (now Taylorsville), expecting to reach Trenton by mid

1776.

night. The cold weather of the twenty-four hours preceding put serious obstacles in the way. The river was so full of floating ice that at first it was doubtful whether a crossing could be effected at all. A storm of sleet and snow had just commenced, and the night be came excessively dark and dreary. The perilous voyage began early in the evening, in boats and bateaux, but it was nearly four o'clock in the morning before the little army was mustered on the Jersey shore. Washington there separated his troops into two divisions, one to march by the lower, or river road, the other by the upper, or Pennington road. The distance to Trenton by each highway was about equal. The commander-in-chief ordered both divisions, immediately on forcing the out-guards, to push directly into the town, that they might charge the enemy before they had time to form. To surprise them before daylight was out of the question; sudden movements and physical force must supply the place of strategy. Washington, accompanied by Generals Lord Stirling, Greene, Mercer, and Stevens, commanded the division on the upper road; Sullivan led that upon the river road. Both divisions marched so silently that they were not discovered by the enemy until within a short distance of the picket-guards on the outskirts of the village. Each encountered the out-guards at the same time, and a brisk skirmish ensued; the pickets of the enemy firing from behind houses while retreating to the main body into the town, closely pursued by the Americans. The Hessian drums beat to arms, and in a few moments the disordered ranks were marshaled into battle order by the brave Colonel Rall. Part of Washington's division pushed down King (now Warren) Street, and a part down Queen (now Greene) Street. Sullivan's division entered by the mansions of Colonels Dickinson and Rutherford, through Second and Front Streets. By this disposition of the patriot forces at the time of the attack, the enemy were hemmed in by the Assanpink, or Assumpink (a considerable stream running through the town), on the south, and the invading troops. At the head of King Street, Captain Forest opened a six-gun battery, which commanded the avenue. Captain William A. Washington, and Lieutenant James Monroe, perceiving that the enemy were

1 The name of this officer is spelled, by different writers, Rohl,* Ralle,† Roll,‡ Rhalle, § Rhal,|| Rahl,¶ Rawle,** Rall.ft

* Gordon, ii., 152.

Stedman, i., 231.

Among the most prominent and active men engaged in ferrying the army, tradition has preserved the names of Uriah Slack, William Green, and David Laning.

* Captain Washington was afterward greatly distinguished as colonel of a corps of cavalry in the campaigns of the South. James Monroe was afterward President of the United States. Both officers were slightly wounded while performing this exploit.

* Washington.

Mrs. Warren.

† Botta.
¶ Sparks.

+ Gordon. ** Marshall.

§ Stedman.
Manuscript parole.

The Battle in Trenton.

Colonel Rall mortally Wounded.

Capture of the Hessians. endeavoring to form a battery in the same street, near where the canal feeder now crosses the way, rushed forward with a small party, drove the artillery-men from their guns, and

captured two of the pieces just as the gunners were about to fire. These were the first decided movements of the belligerents at the moment of surprise.

When Colonel Rall had formed his men for action, he attempted to advance and repel his assailants; but, being completely hemmed in, and his troops panic-stricken, all was confusion. The Americans were pressing closer and closer, and with deadly aim were thinning the Hessian ranks. At length a bullet mortally wounded Colonel Rall, and he fell from his horse, pale and bleeding. His aids and servant bore him to his quarters at the house of a

Quaker named Stacey Potts, while Lieutenant-colonel Scheffer, his next in command, took his place at the head of the troops. But all order was at an end. Seeing their commander fall, the Hessians fled in dismay, the main body attempting to escape by the road to Princeton. Their retreat was cut off by Cololonel Hand, with a body of Pennsylvania riflemen. The fugitives, ignorant of the smallness of the force that stood in their way, and having the enthusiasm of only the mercenary soldier, threw down their arms and implored mercy. The light horse and some infantry, in all about six hundred, fled, at the first alarm, to Bordentown. These would have fallen into Washington's hands, had not the

1

RALL'S HEAD-QUARTERS.2

EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN.-This map shows the country around Trenton, and the military operations there at the close of 1776 and commencement of 1777. h shows the position of Hand's rifle corps on the 26th of December, where they stopped the retreat of the Hessians; i, the Virginia troops; k, the Hessians; m, m, m, skirmishes, January 2d; n, n, Cornwallis, January 3d.

1 The warmest of the conflict took place near the junction of Warren and Perry Streets, and the Presbyterian church in Second Street. The enemy laid down their arms on the field between the Presbyterian church and Park Place, then called the Old Iron-works.

2 This is a frame building standing upon Warren Street, opposite Perry, near the corner of Bank Alley.

Complete Victory of the Americans. Washington's Visit to the dying Rall. Parole of Honor signed by the Hessian Officers. ice and high wind prevented General James Ewing' from crossing the Delaware at Trenton as previously arranged. The troops at Bordentown, under Donop, might also have been captured if Cadwallader could have crossed, with his force, at Bristol. He succeeded in landing a battalion of infantry, but the ice on the margin of the river was in such a condition that it was impossible to get the artillery across. The infantry were ordered back, and the design was abandoned.

The victory of the Americans at Trenton was complete. They lost in the engagement only two privates killed, and two others who were frozen to death. The enemy lost six officers and between twenty and thirty men killed, and twenty-three officers and eight hundred and eighty-six non-commissioned officers and privates made prisoners. In addition to these, many others were found concealed in houses and secured, making the whole number of prisoners about one thousand. The trophies were six brass field-pieces, a thousand stand of arms, twelve drums, and four colors. Among the latter was the splendid flag of the Anspachers."

As the enemy were in the vicinity in greatly superior numbers and appointments, Washington thought it prudent to recross the Delaware, with his prisoners and spoils, into Pennsylvania. At evening they all marched to M Conkey's Ferry, and reached the place of the American encampment on the other side before midnight of the day of victory. Just before leaving Trenton, Washington and Greene visited the dying Hessian commander at his quarters, and, with a heart overflowing with generous emotions in that hour of splendid triumph, the American chief offered the brave Rall those consolations which a soldier and a Christian can bestow. This kindness and attention from his conqueror soothed the agonies of the expiring hero. The remembrance of the deed seems to play like an electric spark around the pen of the historian while recording it.

Well-attested tradition says that Colonel Rall and his troops were, as Washington supposed they would be, yet under the influence of a night's carousal after the Christmas holiday. On the morning of the battle, Rall was at the house of Abraham Hunt, who traded with friend and foe. Hunt was sometimes suspected of being a Tory, but never of being a The buildings on the left are also of ante-Revolutionary origin. This house was a tavern at the time, kept by Stacey Potts, the grandfather of Stacey G. and Joseph C. Potts, Esqrs., of Trenton. In a pane of glass, in the front window on the left of the front door, lower story, may be seen a hole made by a bullet, shot during the battle. Colonel Rall died in the front room in the second story, immediately over this window. It is related that a daughter of Mr. Potts, who was at a neighbor's when the firing commenced, was running toward her father's house, when a musket-ball struck her comb from her head and slightly injured her scalp.

The name of this officer is variously given. Washington, in his dispatch to the President of Congress, wrote it Ewing; Marshall, in his Life of Washington, spells it Irvine; Wilkinson, in his Memoirs, has it Irvin; Botta, Irwin; and Gordon, Erwing.

Ewing is the correct name. He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1736. He commenced his military career under Braddock in 1755, and was with that general when he was slain. He was a brigadier general of the Pennsylvania militia at the commencement of the Revolution, but did not enter the regular army. He was vice-president of the commonwealth, under President Dickinson, in 1782, and was several times member of the State Legislature. He died at his country-seat, in Hellam township in March, 1806, aged seventy years.

2 The regiments which surrendered were those of Anspach, Knyphausen, and Rall. The flag here alluded to is in the possession of George Washington Parke Custis, Esq., of Arlington House, Virginia, who has deposited it, with the flag surrendered at Yorktown, and other relics, in the museum at Alexandria, Virginia. Drawings, with descriptions of these flags, will be found in another part of this work.

At the head-quarters of Washington, at Newtown, the captive Hessian officers signed the following parole of honor. I copied it, with the accompanying signatures, from the original among Gates's papers, in the collections of the New York Historical Society.

"We, the Subscribers, Hessian Officers, made Prisoners of War by the American Army, under Command of his Excellency, General Washington, at Trenton, on the 26th inst., being allowed Our Liberty, under such Restrictions as to place as may be from time to time appointed, do give Our parole of Honour, that we will remain at the place, and within the limits appointed for us by his Excellency the General, the Honorable Congress, Council of Safety, or Commissary of Prisoners of War, Peaceably behaving ourselves, and by no way Send or give Intelligence to the British or Hessian Army, or speak or do any thing disrespectful or Injurious to the American States while we remain Prisoners of War.

Colonel Rall's fatal Carousal.

Names and Signatures of the Hessian Officers attached to the Parole.

true Whig. He had invited Colonel Rall and others to a Christmas supper at his house. Cards were introduced, and play continued throughout the night, accompanied with winedrinking. A negro servant was kept as a sort of porter and warden at the door. Just at dawn, a messenger came in haste with a note to Colonel Rall, sent by a Tory on the Pennington road, who had discovered the approach of the Americans. The negro refused admittance to the messenger, saying, "The gemmen can't be disturbed." The bearer knew the importance of the note, and, handing it to the negro, ordered him to carry it immediately to Colonel Rall. Excited by wine, and about to "deal," the colonel thrust the note into his pocket. Like the Theban polemarch, who, in the midst of a convivial party, on receiving dispatches relative to a conspiracy, refused to open them, saying, "Business to-morrow," Rall did not look at the message, but continued his amusement. Soon afterward, the roll of the American drums fell upon his drowsy ear. The rattle of musketry, the rumble of heavy guncarriages, and the tramp of horses aroused his apprehensions, and by the time he could fly to his quarters and mount his horse, the Americans were driving his soldiers before them like chaff.1 "Business to-day-pleasure to-morrow," is the motto of all vigilance and thrift.

"We will also restrain our Servants and Attendants who are allowed to remain with us, as far as in our power, to the same Conditions.

The following are the names, in English, in the order in which they were signed: F. Scheffer, lieutenant colonel; J. A. Von Hanstein, major; A. C. Steding, captain; Keller, lieutenant; Piel, lieutenant; Graebe, ensign; Von Zengen, ensign; Von Hobe, ensign; J. J. Malthaus, major; Von Biesenrodt, captain; Von Loewenstein, captain; Brubach, captain; Fobbe, lieutenant; Kinen, lieutenant; F. Fisher, lieutenant of artillery; Fleck, ensign; Von Drack, ensign; Kleinsmith, ensign; Schroeder, ensign; Carl. Fried. Füerer, ensign, regiment Knyphausen; Brethaur, lieutenant colonel Rall grenadiers. The last two officers signed each a separate parole, dated at Trenton Falls, one on the 27th, and the other on the 30th of December, 1776. Kleinsmith and Füerer afterward joined the Americans, and were hung in effigy by the British in New York.

1 Stedman (a British officer) says that the Hessians felt themselves so secure at Trenton that they neglected almost every service necessary for security. "When Rhalle," he says, "endeavored to collect his troops, many of his men were absent on pillaging parties; and those who were on the spot were more busily employed in securing their plunder in wagons than in putting the town in a proper state of defense.”History of the American War, i., 332.

Retreat of the Enemy from Bordentown.

Their Line of Posts broken up.

Good Effect, of the Victory at Trenton.

When the British and Hessians at Bordentown heard of the disaster at Trenton, most of them retreated to Princeton, while a few fled toward South Amboy and Brunswick.

Gen

erals Cadwallader and Mifflin crossed over into New Jersey, with a considerable force, and the whole line of the enemy's cantonments along the Delaware was broken up and driven into the interior. This bold stroke, resulting in brilliant success, was the hinge upon which the cause of the Americans seemed to turn. The English, who had regarded the patriots with contempt, and believed their power to be utterly broken, were overwhelmed with astonishment. The Tories and pliant Whigs, lately so exultant and loyal, were greatly alarmed and silent; while the friends of liberty, rising from the depths of despondency, stood erect in the pride and strength of their principles, and confident of ultimate complete success. The prestige of the Hessian name was broken, and the terror which they inspired, as foes invincible, passed away. The faltering militia flocked with eagerness to the standard of Washington; and many of the soldiers of the campaign, who were about to leave the army with disgust, joyfully enlisted. Cornwallis, who was on the eve of departure for England, believing the rebellion virtually at an end, was ordered back to New Jersey. General Grant, who was with the main army at New Brunswick, advanced to Princeton, and the British forces in the Jerseys were as much concentrated in the direction of Trenton as circumstances would allow. While Washington was achieving the victory at Trenton, the Continental Congress, sitting in Baltimore, were taking measures to strengthen his hands. The extreme jealousy of a military ascendency, which had hitherto restrained the majority in Congress from giving the commander-in-chief such ample powers as necessity manifestly demanded, now yielded

This is a copy, by permission, of a picture by Flagg, in the possession of Joseph C. Potts. Esq., of Trenton. On the left is seen Generals Washington and Greene; in the center is Mrs. Potts, and near her stands her husband. On the left Colonel Rall reclines upon a couch, and behind him, supporting his pillow, is his servant. I was informed that the portrait of Rall was painted from a description given by a person who knew him, and who pronounced the likeness good, as he remembered him.