The Battle of Trenton 26 December 1776

On 26 December 1776, the Battle of Trenton, New Jersey, ended in a Christmas Day victory for General George Washington. 2,400 American troops took on 1,400 of Colonel Rall’s German Hessian troops, who were fighting for the British. Washington’s enlisted army attacked the British line in lower Delaware, crossing the treacherous Delaware River with great difficulty. There was a snowstorm and the Delaware River was filled with ice floes. Despite his two other deployments failing, Washington advanced on Trenton in two columns. Although Rall had received information from loyalists about the approaching army, the Hessians were driven back and Rall mortally wounded. The bulk of Rall’s men surrended, while some 500 escaped. After several defeats, the Americans had been suffering from low morale and the American victory at Trenton re-energized the American cause.