ASIDE: Washington in New Jersey: The War

My odyssey through the presidents begins with Ron Chernow’s Washington: A Life.

Having grown up in Northern New Jersey, George Washington was somewhat of a presence. Legend has it that George had picnicked under a local oak tree, visited his soon to be trusted general Lord Stirling at Stirling’s local estate, and spent two winters in Morristown with his army (albeit less famously than their Valley Forge winter).

Mrs. Theodosia Ford’s Mansion in Morristown, Washington’s HQ during the winter of 1779/80

It turns out that Washington’s troops spent a great deal of the Revolution moving throughout New Jersey. It was from General Charles Lee’s ill-fated eponymous fort on the banks of the Hudson that Washington narrowly escaped death, a feat he repeated many times, and watched General William Howe’s Red Coats kill or capture nearly 3,000 American soldiers across the river at Fort Washington.

Washington’s Christmas crossing of the Delaware is likely his most famous act in New Jersey, but its significance in the war was unknown to me. Washington was coming off of a disastrous loss of New York City to the British highlighted by the loss at Fort Washington, troops were deserting in droves, and New Jersey residents were declaring their loyalty to the British much as those of New York City had done. It seemed unlikely that Washington’s army or the revolution itself was going to survive the winter of 1776/77 if Washington couldn't change the tide. Such was the context of Washington’s decision to gamble the future of the revolution on a Christmas-night raid of Johann Rall’s Hessian troops at Trenton. The importance of success at Trenton was underscored by Washington’s decision to keep the raid a secret from his troops, even as they marched toward the river. As an aside, it is shocking to read about the deplorable state of the American army, Chernow describes Washington’s men’s “bare feet tracing bloody streaks in the snow” as they marched toward the river. The crossing was a day-long affair. The march toward the river began mid-day on Christmas and the 2,400 men hadn't finished crossing until 3:00am. At that point, it was a nine mile march, through a nor’easter, to Trenton. The fighting began at 8:00am and contrary to legend, the Hessians were not hung-over from Christmas revelry, however they were likely caught off guard given the storm. The final tally counted nearly 1,000 Hessians killed or captured and less than 10 American deaths, mostly from succumbing to the weather. From Trenton, Washington’s army went on to defeat Cornwallis’s troops at Princeton giving him two improbable victories going into the winter encampment at Morristown and changing the tone of the Glorious Cause.

A depiction of the crossing by artist Peter Fiore

With half of Chernow’s book left to go, I look forward to learning more about Washington’s years after the war, especially as the first American president.