2/6/13 – Princeton Reunion (Day 3): Where Washington Crossed the Delaware

After a big night last night we were rather slow to get going this morning but eventually we checked out of our hotel (at the leisurely hour of 12 noon) and, before returning back to the City, we thought we’d take in a slice of American history by having a picnic where Washington changed the course of the Revolutionary War.

At this previously unremarkable spot he, despite having very little chance of success, bravely crossed the Delaware River on the night of December 25, 1776 and marched on the British/Hessian forces encamped at Trenton.The drive up to the Washington Crossing State Park from our hotel was very picturesque and, immediately upon us having crossed the river (thereby passing from New Jersey into Bucks County Pennsylvania) we stopped at the tourist information centre in order to take the very informative walking tour of the site.

‘Washington Crossing the Delaware’ is a very large 1851 oil-on-canvas painting by German American artist Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze. It commemorates General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, during the American Revolutionary War. The original was part of the collection at the Kunsthalle in Bremen, Germany and was destroyed in a British air raid in 1942.

Leutze then famously painted a second version, which we have seen many times on our visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The painting is so famous that it seems that there are copies of it everywhere, most of quite poor quality. There is even one hanging in the West Wing reception area of the White House as despite other renditions of this theme by local artists, this is the one that ‘stirs the emotions of the American people’.

The painting is famous for its artistic composition. Wikipedia notes that General Washington is emphasized by an unnaturally bright sky, his face highlighted by the rays of the upcoming sun. The man standing next to Washington and holding the flag is Lieutenant James Monroe, future President of the United States. Also, General Edward Hand is shown seated and holding his hat within the vessel.

The people in the boat represent a cross-section of the American colonies, including a man in a Scottish bonnet and a man of African descent facing backward next to each other in the front, western riflemen at the bow and stern, two farmers in broad-brimmed hats near the back (one with bandaged head), and an androgynous rower in a red shirt, possibly meant to be a woman in man's clothing. There is also a man at the back of the boat that looks to be Native American.

This painting, done by a German in Germany, is as famous in the US for what it depicts as it is for its historical inaccuracies and what it fails to show.

For instance the flag depicted is the current flag of the United States (the "Stars and Stripes"), the design of which did not exist at the time of Washington's crossing. The flag's design was specified in the June 14, 1777, Flag Resolution of the Second Continental Congress, and flew for the first time on September 3, 1777—well after Washington's crossing in 1776. The historically accurate flag would have been the Grand Union Flag, officially hoisted by Washington himself on January 2, 1776, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the standard of the Continental Army and the first national flag.

Artistic concerns motivated further deviations from historical (and physical) accuracy. For example, the boat, of the wrong type, looks too small to carry all the depicted occupants and still stay afloat, but this emphasizes the struggle of the rowing soldiers. There are phantom light sources besides the upcoming sun, as can be seen on the face of the front rower and shadows on the water, to add depth. The crossing took place in the dead of night, so there ought to have been little natural light, but this would have made for a very different painting. The river is modelled after the Rhine, where ice tends to form in jagged chunks as pictured, not in broad sheets as is more common on the much shallower Delaware.

Also, the Delaware at what is now called Washington Crossing is far narrower than the river depicted in the painting. And it was raining during the crossing. Next, the men did not bring horses or field guns across the river in boats. Instead they had them transported on the nearby ferry. Finally, Washington's stance, obviously intended to depict him in a heroic fashion, would have been very hard to maintain in the stormy conditions of the crossing. Considering that he is standing in a rowboat, such a stance would have risked tipping the boat.

However, historian David Hackett Fischer has argued that everyone would have been standing up to avoid the icy water in the bottom of the boat and in fact the men would have been actively pushing the sheet ice away from the side of the boat during the crossing lest they be pushed sideways and capsize. 

But despite the inaccuracies of the work, this was nonetheless an act worth immortalising as these were the ten crucial days that brought success in the face of a series of failures and looming defeat for the colonial forces in American Revolution.

Wikipedia relates that while 1776 had begun well for the American cause with the evacuation of British troops from Boston in March, the defence of New York City had gone quite poorly. British General William Howe had landed troops on Long Island in August and had pushed George Washington's Continental Army completely out of New York by mid-November, when he captured the remaining troops on Manhattan.

Howe then sent troops under the command of Charles Cornwallis across the Hudson River into New Jersey and chased Washington across New Jersey. Washington's army was shrinking, due to expiring enlistments and desertions, and suffered from poor morale, due to the defeats in the New York area. Most of Washington's army crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania north of Trenton, New Jersey, and destroyed or moved to the western shore all boats for miles in both directions. Cornwallis (under Howe's command), rather than attempting to immediately chase Washington further, established a chain of outposts from New Brunswick to Burlington, including one at Bordentown and one at Trenton and fortuitously for Washington, ordered his troops into winter quarters.

Washington encamped the army near McKonkey's Ferry, not far from the crossing site. While Washington at first took quarters across the river from Trenton, he moved on December 15 to the house of William Keith to be closer to the army. When Washington's army first arrived at McKonkey's Ferry he had four to six thousand men, although 1,700 soldiers were unfit for duty and needed hospital care. In the retreat across New Jersey Washington had lost precious supplies, as well as losing contact with two important divisions of his army. General Horatio Gates was in the Hudson River Valley and General Charles Lee was in western New Jersey with 2,000 men. Washington had ordered both generals to join him, but Gates was delayed by heavy snows en route, and Lee, who did not have a high opinion of Washington, delayed following repeated orders, preferring to remain on the British flank near Morristown, New Jersey.

 Washington had additional problems, including the fact that the enlistments of many of his men were expiring. The series of lost battles and the retreat from New York had left morale very low in Philadelphia, where many residents and the Second Continental Congress fled to the south. Many soldiers were inclined to leave the army once their commission was finished, and several had taken the opportunity to desert the army before their enlistments were up. Orders were issued to bring supplies to the camp, and men were dispatched to recruit new soldiers, who did slowly begin to arrive at the camp. Militia recruiting in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania was also successful, spurred on by British and Hessian mistreatment of New Jersey's residents.

Morale was given a boost on December 19 by the publication of a new pamphlet by Thomas Paine. ‘Common Sense’ had served to increase support for the Revolution in its early days, and Paine's new pamphlet, titled ‘The American Crisis’, began with words well-known to American schoolchildren:

“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 his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. ”

Within a day of its publication in Philadelphia, General Washington ordered it be read to his troops. While Paine's writing could not feed or shelter the troops, it did serve to improve morale and help them feel a little more tolerant of their current conditions. Some provisions, including much-needed blankets, arrived in the Continental Army camp on December 24.

On December 20 an event took place that gave another boost to morale. General Lee's division of 2,000 arrived in camp under the command of General John Sullivan. General Lee had been captured by the British on December 12 when he ventured too far outside the protection of his troops in search of more comfortable lodgings. Later that same day General Gates' division arrived in camp, reduced to 600 by ending enlistments and the need to keep the northern frontier secure. Soon after, another 1,000 militia men from Philadelphia under Colonel John Cadwalader joined Washington. As a result of these reinforcements and small numbers of volunteers from the local area, Washington now had 6,000 listed as fit for duty. Of this number, a large portion were detailed to guard the ferries at Bristol and New Hope, Pennsylvania. Another group was placed to protect supplies at Newtown, Pennsylvania and to guard the sick and wounded who would remain behind when the army crossed the Delaware River. This left Washington with about 2,400 men able to take offensive action against the Hessian and British troops in Central New Jersey.

General Washington had been considering some sort of bold move since arriving in Pennsylvania. With the arrival of Sullivan's and Gates' forces and the influx of militia companies, he felt the time was finally right for some sort of action. He first considered an attack on the southernmost British positions near Mount Holly, where a militia force had gathered. He sent his adjutant, Joseph Reed, to meet with Samuel Griffin, the militia commander. Reed arrived in Mount Holly on December 22, found Griffin to be ill, and his men in relatively poor condition, but willing to make some sort of diversion. (This they did with the Battle of Iron Works Hill the next day, drawing the Hessians at Bordentown far enough south that they would be unable to come to the assistance of the Trenton garrison.) The intelligence gathered by Reed and others led Washington to abandon the idea of attacking at Mount Holly, preferring instead to target the Trenton garrison. He announced this decision to his staff on December 23, saying the attack would take place just before daybreak on December 26.

Washington's final plan was for three crossings, with his troops, the largest contingent, to lead the attack on Trenton. A second column under Lieutenant Colonel John Cadwalader was to cross at Dunk's Ferry, near Bristol, Pennsylvania, and create a diversion to the south. A third column under Brigadier General James Ewing was to cross at Trenton Ferry and hold the bridge across the Assunpink Creek, just south of Trenton, in order to prevent the enemy's escape by that route. Once Trenton was secure, the combined army would move against the British posts in Princeton and New Brunswick. A fourth crossing, by men provided by General Israel Putnam to assist Cadwalader, was dropped after Putnam indicated he did not have enough men fit for the operation.

Preparations for the attack began on December 23. On December 24 the boats used to bring the army across the Delaware from New Jersey were brought down from Malta Island near New Hope and hidden behind Taylor Island at McKonkey's Ferry, Washington's planned crossing site, and security was tightened there. A final planning meeting took place that day, with all of the general officers present. General orders were issued by Washington on December 25 outlining plans for the operation.

A wide variety of watercraft were assembled for the crossing, primarily through the work of militia men from the surrounding counties in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the assistance of the Pennsylvania Navy. In addition to the large ferry vessels (which were big enough to carry large coaches, and likely served for carrying horses and artillery during the crossing), a large number of Durham boats were used to transport soldiers across the river. These boats were designed to carry heavy loads from the Durham Iron Works, featured high sides and a shallow draft, and could be poled across the river.

The boats were operated by experienced watermen. Most prominent among them were the men of John Glover's Marblehead Regiment, a company of experienced seamen from Marblehead, Massachusetts. These men were joined by seamen, dockworkers, and shipbuilders from Philadelphia, as well as local ferry operators and boatsmen who knew the river well.

On the morning of December 25, Washington ordered his army to prepare three days' food, and issued orders that every soldier be outfitted with fresh flints for their muskets. He was also somewhat worried by intelligence reports that the British were planning their own crossing once the Delaware was frozen over. At 4pm Washington's army turned out for its evening parade, where the troops were issued ammunition, and even the officers and musicians were ordered to carry muskets. They were told that they were departing on a secret mission. Marching eight abreast in close formations, and ordered to be as quiet as possible, they left the camp for McKonkey's Ferry. Washington's plan required the crossing to begin as soon as it was dark enough to conceal their movements on the river, but most of the troops did not reach the crossing point until about 6 pm, about ninety minutes after sunset. The weather got progressively worse, turning from drizzle to rain to sleet and snow. "It blew a hurricane," recalled one soldier. Washington had given charge of the crossing logistics to his chief of artillery, the portly Henry Knox. In addition to the crossing of large numbers of troops (most of whom could not swim), he had to safely transport eighteen pieces of artillery and the horses to move them over the river. Knox wrote that the crossing was accomplished "with almost infinite difficulty", and that its most significant danger was "floating ice in the river". One observer noted that the whole operation might well have failed "but for the stentorian lungs of Colonel Knox".

Washington was among the first of the troops to cross, going with Virginia troops led by General Adam Stephen. These troops formed a sentry line around the landing area in New Jersey, with strict instructions that no one was to pass through without the password (it was "Victory or Death"). The rest of the army crossed without significant incident, although a few men, including Delaware's Colonel John Haslet fell into the water. The amount of ice on the river prevented the artillery from finishing the crossing until 3 am on December 26. The troops were not ready to march until 4 am.

The two other crossings fared less well. The treacherous weather and ice jams on the river stopped General Ewing from even attempting a crossing below Trenton. Colonel Cadwalader crossed a significant portion of his men to New Jersey, but when he found that he could not get his artillery across the river he recalled his men from New Jersey. When he received word about Washington's victory, he crossed his men over again but retreated when he found out that Washington had not stayed in New Jersey.

On the morning of December 26, as soon as the army was ready, Washington ordered it split into two columns, one under the command of himself and General Greene, the second under General Sullivan. The Sullivan column would take River Road from Bear Tavern to Trenton while Washington's column would follow Pennington Road, a parallel route that lay a few miles inland from the river. Only three Americans were killed and six wounded, while 22 Hessians were killed with 98 wounded. The Americans captured 1,000 prisoners and seized muskets, powder, and artillery.

In a war council on December 27, Washington learned that all of the British and Hessian forces had withdrawn as far north as Princeton, something Cadwalader had learned when his militia company crossed the river that morning. In his letter Cadwalader proposed that the British could be driven entirely from the area, magnifying the victory. After much debate, the council decided on action, and planned a third crossing for December 29. On December 28 it snowed, but the weather cleared that night and it became bitter cold. As this effort involved most of the army, eight crossing points were used. At some of them the ice had frozen two to three inches (4 to 7 cm) thick, and was capable of supporting soldiers, who crossed the ice on foot. At other crossings the conditions were so bad that the attempts were abandoned for the day. It was New Year’s Eve before the army and all of its baggage was back in New Jersey. This was somewhat fortunate, as the enlistment period of John Glover's regiment (along with a significant number of others) was expiring at the end of the year, and many of these men, including most of Glover's, wanted to go home, where a lucrative privateering trade awaited them. Only by offering a bounty to be paid immediately from Congressional coffers in Philadelphia did a significant number of men agree to stay with the army another six weeks.

Washington then adopted a fortified position just south of the Assunpink Creek, across the creek from Trenton. In this position he beat back one assault on January 2, 1777, and followed up with a decisive victory at Princeton the next day. This forced the British to leave New Jersey entirely, with the result that the Continental Army was able to enter its winter quarters in Morristown, New Jersey completely free of any British harassment and consequently in a much better provision to reprovision and resupply before the commencement of hostilities in the Spring. 

So as you can tell from this rousing tale, Washington’s bold plan and outstanding leadership produced a series of significant victories over these crucial ten days, but it took a lot longer than ten days to win the revolution. In fact it took until 1783 for that victory to be claimed, but the victories in New Jersey meant that the Continental Army was not crushed when it was at its most vulnerable. And therein lies a huge lesson in persistence and keeping focussed on your ultimate goal despite short term setbacks. And also that it sometimes pays to do the unexpected – no English soldier at the time and in fact until WW1 would have even considered going out to fight on Christmas Day.

 

  

We visited the ferry room where Washington stayed and observed the grille (a bar with a covered gate so that the men couldn’t get to the food and drink during the night - hence the term bar and grille). Travellers lodging here on their trip between New York and Philadelphia would have put their swag on the floor to sleep. We saw the graves of the soldiers lost in the battle. The officer had his name inscribed on the headstone but the enlisted men were marked ‘unknown’). We also saw Washington’s letter to General Cadwallader informing him of their success. This was an inspirational visit and like many things on this trip, a good idea at the time turns out to be a great moment to remember. I’m glad we came here and enjoyed the follow up reading about this remarkable piece of history.

No so enjoyable was the return trip home on the New Jersey turnpike. Did you know that the term turnpike was used between the mid-16th and late 19th centuries to denote  gates or some other barrier set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid, or a road on which such a toll barrier was operated. The meaning has changed however and today, in the US at least, it just means a motorway for use of which a toll is charged. We had time to look this up as we sat in the long line or traffic returning to Manhattan. But my heart did skip a beat when, at last after hours in the traffic snarl, I finally saw the spire of One World Trade Centre standing tall across the river in lower Manhattan. We were nearly home … well that was what I thought until I discovered that the Holland Tunnel, in a stunning exercise of great urban planning, requires eight lanes of traffic to merge into two. This bottleneck held us back for some time.   

But eventually we managed to get back onto the island, and when we did we saw blue bikes everywhere and realised that today was the first day of the NYC Citibikes - Bikes Share Scheme. Like in many big cities around the world these bikes give the people 24/7 access to bikes that are located around the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. We finished the day with dinner with Dirk and Hua (the owners of the apartment we are renting and who had just returned from Morocco and China respectively) at Café D’Alsace. Needless to say it was a quick handover meal as they, like us, were very tired.