Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to Western sev Episode four hundred and
Speaker 1: eighty three The American Revolution, Part one. On the night
Speaker 1: of April eighteenth, seventeen seventy five, General Thomas Gage dispatched
Speaker 1: troops to see his colonial military stores at Concord, Massachusetts.
Speaker 1: Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott road into the
Speaker 1: countryside with the alarm the regulars are coming out. At
Speaker 1: dawn on April nineteenth, militia under the control of Captain
Speaker 1: John Parker based British troops on Lexington Green. Stand your ground,
Speaker 1: Parker told his men don't fire unless fire to pong,
Speaker 1: but if they mean to have a war, let it
Speaker 1: begin here. A single shot, its origin never certain, set
Speaker 1: off a volley and eight Americans fell dead. The British
Speaker 1: pressed on to conquered, but at north Bridge they faced
Speaker 1: a stiff resistance. Militia sniping from behind stone walls and
Speaker 1: trees turned a retreat into a running gauntlet, killing or
Speaker 1: wounding more than two hundred and fifty Red Coats. Within days,
Speaker 1: militia from New England surrounded Boston, beginning an eleven month siege,
Speaker 1: and June British troops under General William Howe assaulted America's
Speaker 1: position on Breed's Hill. By June of seventeen seventy five,
Speaker 1: the siege of Boston was in full swing. After Lexington
Speaker 1: had conquered in April, thousands of New England militia had
Speaker 1: encircled the city, hemming in the British under General Thomas Gage.
Speaker 1: The British still controlled the harbor, but their supply lines
Speaker 1: over land had been cut. Now Boston itself settled in
Speaker 1: a narrow peninsula, connected to the mainland by a single
Speaker 1: neck of land. To the north across the Charles River
Speaker 1: lay the Charlestown Peninsula, with two prominent rises, Bunker Hill,
Speaker 1: which was further inland, and Breed's Hill, which was closer
Speaker 1: to the water. Whoever controlled these heights could command the
Speaker 1: harbor and northern approach to Boston with artillery. Rumors swelled
Speaker 1: that the British intended to seize these hills. On the
Speaker 1: night of June sixteenth, seventeen seventy five, colonial commanders decided
Speaker 1: to beat them to it. Colonel William Prescott, accompanied by
Speaker 1: about one thousand men from Massachusetts and Connecticut, marched quietly
Speaker 1: across the Charlestown Neck under cover of darkness. Their orders
Speaker 1: were to fortify Bunker Hill, but for reasons still debated,
Speaker 1: they dug in at Breed's Hill instead, closer to Boston
Speaker 1: but more exposed to attack. Throughout the night, militiamen worked
Speaker 1: feverishly shovels clinking against rocky soil, shaping a square earthen
Speaker 1: redoubts about eight feet high. By dawn, British lookouts in
Speaker 1: Boston were stunned to see the new fortification, silhouetted against
Speaker 1: the morning sky. From this position, Colonial guns could threaten
Speaker 1: British ships in the harbor. General Gage ordered an immediate
Speaker 1: assault to drive the rebels off, but instead of attacking
Speaker 1: at once, the British spent the morning preparing. This delay
Speaker 1: gave the Americans more time to reinforce their position. Those
Speaker 1: supplies and ammunition were limited. Reinforcements under John Stark of
Speaker 1: New Hampshire and others took up positions along a rail
Speaker 1: fence running from the hill toward the Mystic River, improvising
Speaker 1: cover with whatever they could find bales of hay, some brush,
Speaker 1: fence rails. In the early afternoon, British troops about two
Speaker 1: two hundred strong, crossed the Charles River in longboats and
Speaker 1: formed ranks on the Charlestown shore. They were led by
Speaker 1: Major General William Howe and Brigadier Robert Piggott. Red coated
Speaker 1: infantry advanced in tight formation under a blazing June sun,
Speaker 1: burdened by heavy packs and wool uniform. Before they could
Speaker 1: even close with the Americans, British artillery began pounding the
Speaker 1: Redoubt and Friends line. At the same time, British guns
Speaker 1: in Boston set fire to Charlestown, sending up a massive
Speaker 1: pall of smoke to cover the battlefield. As the first
Speaker 1: wave of infantry approached, the Americans held their fire, waiting
Speaker 1: until the enemy was dangerously close. Accounts differ on who
Speaker 1: gave the famous command, but the intent was clear. Conserve
Speaker 1: ammunition and make every shot count. One officer we don't
Speaker 1: know who is remembered to shouting, don't fire until you
Speaker 1: see the whites of their eyes. The first British assault
Speaker 1: staggered up the slope into a withering wall of musket fire.
Speaker 1: Red coated ranks crumbled. Survivors retreated down the hill to regroup.
Speaker 1: A second assault and me at the same fate. House
Speaker 1: officers struggled to keep their men advancing against the relentless
Speaker 1: volleys from the redoubt and the rail fence, but the
Speaker 1: americans ammunition was running out. By the third British advance,
Speaker 1: they were down to their last shots, resorting to firing
Speaker 1: scrap metal when musket balls were gone. This time, the
Speaker 1: British fixed bayonets and surged forward. Inside the redoubt, Prescott
Speaker 1: fought desperately, parrying his sword and urging his men to hold,
Speaker 1: but with ammunition or bayonets of their own, the defenders
Speaker 1: were forced into a brutal hand to hand combat before
Speaker 1: the Americans eventually retreated toward Bunker Hill and across the
Speaker 1: Charlestown Neck. In the end, the British had taken Breed's Hill,
Speaker 1: but at a massive cost, over one thousand killed and wounded,
Speaker 1: nearly half the attacking force, a pyrrhic victory if there
Speaker 1: ever was one. The Americans suffered similar casualties, around four
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty, but the morale effect was immense. They
Speaker 1: had stood toe to toe against the best army in
Speaker 1: the world and inflicted heavy losses, proving that the rebellion
Speaker 1: could fight as equals on the field. In the days
Speaker 1: that followed, even General Gage admitted the high price of
Speaker 1: the victory, telling London that quote the loss we have
Speaker 1: sustained is greater than we can bear end quote. For
Speaker 1: the colonists, Bred's Hill became a rallying point, as Abigail
Speaker 1: Adams wrote to her husband John, quote, our hopes are
Speaker 1: not lost. We have only begun as a people. By
Speaker 1: Nate Fall On June seventeenth, seventeen seventy five, the Charlestown
Speaker 1: Peninsula was effectively a smoking ruin, but the revolutionary cause
Speaker 1: had gained something far greater than ground. It had finally
Speaker 1: gained some confidence. The Battle of Breds Hill, forever misnamed
Speaker 1: as the Battle of Bunker Hill, had shown that Liberty's
Speaker 1: defense would be costly, but it would be possible. The
Speaker 1: Siege at Boston ended in March seventeen seventy six, when
Speaker 1: Colonel Henry Knox hauled cannon from Fort Tykwonderoga to the
Speaker 1: Dorchester Heights, forcing the British fleet to evacuate Boston. The
Speaker 1: focus of the war then shifted south, where Britain sought
Speaker 1: to crush the rebellion in New York. And we need
Speaker 1: to explain why. When the war began in April seventeen
Speaker 1: seventy five. Boston was the center of armed resistance, but
Speaker 1: it was also a limited position from which Britain could
Speaker 1: control its war effort. It had extremely limited access to
Speaker 1: the countryside once the colonial militia surrounded it after Lexington
Speaker 1: and conquered, British General Thomas Gage could only supply his
Speaker 1: army by sea, and it was worse than that because
Speaker 1: Boston's harbor was more shallow than the British needed its
Speaker 1: large as ships. The Ship of the Line was essentially
Speaker 1: the modern day equivalent of an aircraft carrier in its usefulness.
Speaker 1: But those ships had a huge draft, which means that
Speaker 1: they have a huge They need a lot of water
Speaker 1: to be able to navigate really deep ports, and Boston
Speaker 1: wasn't effective for that. The other of Boston harbor is
Speaker 1: it kind of looks like a giant half moon semi circle,
Speaker 1: and once you put cannons on the Dorchester Heights, they
Speaker 1: can hit any position within that harbor because they can
Speaker 1: surround it completely. So you'd have two choices if you
Speaker 1: were a British naval officer. You could leave your ship
Speaker 1: in the harbor and get blasted to smitherings, or you
Speaker 1: can move out to the North Atlantic, where a storm
Speaker 1: might wipe you out at any moment. As a consequence,
Speaker 1: General William Howe, who was overall commanded the British forces
Speaker 1: at this point, recognized the untenable position and so he
Speaker 1: recognized that he needed to get out of Boston, and
Speaker 1: he did. In March of seventeen seventy six. He left
Speaker 1: with his troops to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and took along
Speaker 1: any loyalist that he could. The withdrawal of the British
Speaker 1: made it clear that Boston was too small, too exposed,
Speaker 1: and too easily blockaded to serve as Britain's main base
Speaker 1: in the colonies. But the question then is, of course
Speaker 1: why New York. Well, New York had a series of
Speaker 1: advantages that I want to walk through. One is just geographic.
Speaker 1: New York was ideally positioned at the mouth of the
Speaker 1: Hudson River, Controlling it offered a potential link between British
Speaker 1: forces in Canada and those operating in the South. If
Speaker 1: the British could seize the Hudson Corridor, they could split
Speaker 1: New England, the hotbed of rebellion, from the rest of
Speaker 1: the colonies, isolating it politically and militarily. Unlike Boston, New
Speaker 1: York had one of the best deep water harbors in
Speaker 1: North America. This allowed the Royal Navy and its massive
Speaker 1: ship of the Line to anchor large fleets and maintain
Speaker 1: secure supply lines across the Atlantic. Its islands and waterways
Speaker 1: Staten Island, Long Island, Sound, the East and Hudson Rivers
Speaker 1: gave the British flexibility and maneuvering troops by ship. New York,
Speaker 1: unlike Boston, also had a very large loyalist population, particularly
Speaker 1: among the merchants and wealthy landowners. British commanders hoped that
Speaker 1: taking the city would rally loyalist sentiment and encourage more
Speaker 1: colonists to declare for the Crown. As the second largest
Speaker 1: city in the colonies in a major commercial hub, New
Speaker 1: York was also symbolically and materially valuable. Occupying it could
Speaker 1: strike a blow to rebel morale while giving Britain a
Speaker 1: secure administrative center for future operations. So the British plan
Speaker 1: was pretty straightforward, was to launch a massive assault on
Speaker 1: New York City in the summer of seventeen seventy six.
Speaker 1: He would bring overwhelming force, eventually over thirty thousand troops
Speaker 1: and hundreds of ships to crush the Continental army in
Speaker 1: one quick, decisive campaign. The British believed that capturing New
Speaker 1: York could both sever the rebellion's lifeline and compel the
Speaker 1: Continental Congress to the negotiation table. But meanwhile, as we
Speaker 1: turned to that Continental Congress, we have to consider they's
Speaker 1: perspective and all this up until the summer of seventeen
Speaker 1: seventy six, this was not really for most American colonists
Speaker 1: about independence. This was about settling grievances with Great Britain.
Speaker 1: Most historians seemed to take the position that had George
Speaker 1: the Third been willing to negotiate with the colonists up
Speaker 1: to the summer of seventeen seventy six, this whole thing
Speaker 1: could have been averted. And now there's a lot of
Speaker 1: factors that start to change American attitudes. And then the
Speaker 1: least of which is of course George's and transigents. But
Speaker 1: there are others, and so I want to talk about
Speaker 1: one really quickly, So enter stage left. Thomas Payne. Thomas
Speaker 1: Payne was born on January twenty ninth, seventeen thirty seven,
Speaker 1: in the small market town of Thetford in Norfolk, England.
Speaker 1: His father, Joseph Payne, was a Quaker and a corset
Speaker 1: maker by trade. His mother, Francis Cook, was an. This
Speaker 1: mixed religious household gave young Thomas a perspective unusual for
Speaker 1: the time. He saw early tensions between faiths, but he
Speaker 1: also began to understand the ways in which different creeds
Speaker 1: can share the same home bed and obviously therefore country.
Speaker 1: Payne attended that Third Grammar school until he was thirteen,
Speaker 1: learning and excelling in Latin arithmetic and scripture, but his
Speaker 1: formal education ended abruptly. Like many young men at his time,
Speaker 1: his family couldn't afford to keep him in school, and
Speaker 1: so he entered his father's trade, cutting whalebone and stitching
Speaker 1: stays for women's bodices, hardly a calling for an ambitious mind.
Speaker 1: Payne's twenties were a series of attempts to find steady footing,
Speaker 1: each ending in frustration. He tried the sea, serving briefly
Speaker 1: on a privateer during the Seven Years War. He became
Speaker 1: an excise officer, inspecting goods to enforce custom laws, but
Speaker 1: he was twice dismissed for neglect of duty. His sympathies
Speaker 1: for struggling merchants and smugglers did not endear him to
Speaker 1: the Crown's revenue service. During this period, Hayne married twice.
Speaker 1: His first wife, Mary Lambert, died of illness within a
Speaker 1: year of their wedding. His second marriage, to Elizabeth Olive,
Speaker 1: ended in separation. The losses, combined with his career setbacks,
Speaker 1: left Pain in financial distress. In seventeen seventy two, he
Speaker 1: published The Case of the Officers of Excise, the pamphlet
Speaker 1: petitioning Parliament for better wages for custom inspectors. It was
Speaker 1: a small work, but it revealed two key traits that
Speaker 1: would define his later career, a sympathy for the working
Speaker 1: poor and a knack for clear, forceful prose. In seventeen
Speaker 1: seventy four, Paine was in London, nearly destitute and seeking
Speaker 1: new opportunities. Fate intervened when he met no less than
Speaker 1: Benjamin Franklin, then serving as an American colonial agent in Britain.
Speaker 1: Franklin recognized in Pain both intelligence and discontent with Britain's
Speaker 1: political order. He advised Paine to emigrate to the American colonies,
Speaker 1: writing him letters of introduction and arranging for his passage.
Speaker 1: Paine arrived in Philadelphia in November of seventeen seventy four,
Speaker 1: weakened by a bout of shipboard Typhus, but invigorated by
Speaker 1: the energy of the city, a bustling port alive with
Speaker 1: political debate, he quickly found work as the editor of
Speaker 1: the Pennsylvania Magazine, where his essays championed abolition, women's rights,
Speaker 1: and the dignity of labor. He signed many articles simply
Speaker 1: common sense, foreshadowing what was to come. The outbreak of
Speaker 1: fighting at Lexington and Concord in April seventeen seventy five
Speaker 1: transformed colonial unrest into open war. Pain new to America,
Speaker 1: but quick to grasp the stakes. Frustrated with those still
Speaker 1: hoping for reconciliation with Britain, he began drafting a pamphlet
Speaker 1: to cut through the legal arguments and emotional ties binding
Speaker 1: the colonists to the Crown. In a rented room, Pain
Speaker 1: wrote with unrelenting directness, quote, the sun never shined on
Speaker 1: a cause of greater worth tis not the affair of
Speaker 1: a city, a country, a province, or a kingdom, but
Speaker 1: of a continent of at least one eighth part of
Speaker 1: the habitable globe. End quote. Rejecting monarchy, outright. Pain argued
Speaker 1: that hereditary rule was quote an insult and imposition on
Speaker 1: posterity end quote, and that America's destiny was independence. The manuscript,
Speaker 1: sharpened by the advice of Philadelphia printer Robert Bell, appeared
Speaker 1: in January seventeen seventy six as Common Sense, selling an
Speaker 1: estimated one hundred and twenty thousand copies in its first
Speaker 1: three months, a staggering number for the era. Common Sense
Speaker 1: was read aloud in taverns, reprinted in newspapers, and carried
Speaker 1: eventually by soldiers in the field. Its plain, impassioned style
Speaker 1: reached farmers and tradesmen who might never read a long
Speaker 1: political tract. Pain had given the revolution a language ordinary
Speaker 1: people could claim as their own. Before seventeen seventy six,
Speaker 1: Pain was a failed corset maker, a dismissed exciseman, a
Speaker 1: twice bereaved husband, and a newcomer to the American shore.
Speaker 1: By the time the ink dried on Common Sense, he
Speaker 1: had become the pen of the revolution, his words a
Speaker 1: drum beat for independence. By the time Congress met in
Speaker 1: June seventeen seventy six, the war for Independence had already begun.
Speaker 1: In the battlefield. Blood had been shed at Lexington and
Speaker 1: Concord on Breed's Hill, and in Canada, George Washington's army
Speaker 1: stood between the British and New York City. Yet politically
Speaker 1: the colonies remained bound to the British crown. Many delegates
Speaker 1: still hoped for reconciliation. Others feared that declaring independence would
Speaker 1: alienate wavering colonists and invite devastating retaliation. But of course,
Speaker 1: as I mentioned, there were several developments that pushed the
Speaker 1: issue forward. In January, Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense had
Speaker 1: sold tens of thousands, making the case for independence painfully obvious.
Speaker 1: Quote the sun never shined on a cause of greater worth,
Speaker 1: tis time to part end quote. In May of seventeen
Speaker 1: seventy six, the Continental Congress had advised each colony to
Speaker 1: form its own government, an unmistakable sign that the old
Speaker 1: imperial relationship was ending. On June the seventh, seventeen seventy six,
Speaker 1: Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Lee rose on the floor of
Speaker 1: Congress with instructions from the Virginia Convention. His resolution was
Speaker 1: bold and unambiguous that these United Colonies are and of
Speaker 1: right ought to be free and independent states that are
Speaker 1: absolved from all allegiance of the British Crown. The Chamber
Speaker 1: was now charged retention. Some delegations, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina,
Speaker 1: were already Others Pennsylvania, Delaware, South Carolina were hesitant or divided.
Speaker 1: New York's delegation was bound by instructions not to vote
Speaker 1: for independence at all. Because such momentous steps require unanimity,
Speaker 1: Congress decided to postpone a final vote. Instead, they appointed
Speaker 1: a committee to draft a formal declaration should the resolution
Speaker 1: eventually pass. This committee of five consisted of Thomas Jefferson,
Speaker 1: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. Jefferson,
Speaker 1: at thirty three years old, was chosen to write the
Speaker 1: first draft. Working in his lodgings on Market Street, he
Speaker 1: composed a sweeping statement of principles and grievances, drawing on Enlightenment, philosophy,
Speaker 1: and colonial experience. His opening, we hold these truths to
Speaker 1: be self evident, that all men are created equal, echoed
Speaker 1: John Locke's Natural Rights, but gave them a truly American voice.
Speaker 1: Jefferson's draft listed King George the Third's offenses dissolving colonial legislators,
Speaker 1: imposing taxes without consent, keeping standing armies in peacetime, cutting
Speaker 1: off trade, and waging war against his own subjects. Franklin
Speaker 1: and Adams made stylistic etics, softening some language and sharpening
Speaker 1: other points. By the twenty eighth of June, the draft
Speaker 1: was presented to Congress for consideration, And so we come
Speaker 1: to July first and second, seventeen seventy six, the days
Speaker 1: of the decisive debate. When Congress reconvened on July the first,
Speaker 1: the debate was fierce. John Dickinson of Pennsylvania urged caution,
Speaker 1: arguing that independence would close the door on any chance
Speaker 1: of a negotiated peace. John Adams responded in what contemporaries
Speaker 1: called one of the most powerful speeches of his life,
Speaker 1: insisting that the colonies had already been driven to endepen
Speaker 1: pendants by Britain's actions. Quote we are in the very
Speaker 1: midst of revolution, the most complete, unexpected, and remarkable of
Speaker 1: any in the history of nations. End quote. By the
Speaker 1: end of the day, the delegations of Pennsylvania and South
Speaker 1: Carolina opposed the Lee resolution, Delaware was split, and New
Speaker 1: York still abstained. Then On the second of July, the
Speaker 1: tide shifted overnight. Caesar Rodney had ridden eighty miles through
Speaker 1: a thunderstorm to reach Philadelphia and join Delaware's delegation to
Speaker 1: cast his vote, and casting what had been a two
Speaker 1: to two deadlock in favor of independence. South Carolina, persuaded
Speaker 1: by Edward Rutledge, switched sides, and Pennsylvania's majority changed when
Speaker 1: two delegates opposed in abendance liberately stayed away. The vote
Speaker 1: was taken twelve colonies in favor, none opposed. New York abstained.
Speaker 1: John Adams wrote to his wife and Abigail that July
Speaker 1: second quote will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the
Speaker 1: Great Anniversary Festival end quote. He was close with the
Speaker 1: question decided, Congress turned to Jefferson's draft. They made over
Speaker 1: eighty changes, removing some passages. They made over eighty changes,
Speaker 1: removing some passages, including a denunciation of the slave trade
Speaker 1: that angered delegates from South Carolina and Georgia. On the
Speaker 1: fourth of July, Congress approved the final text. The vote
Speaker 1: for independence had actually been taken two days earlier, but
Speaker 1: now the declaration would be the public justification to be
Speaker 1: in town squares and printed in newspapers across States. John Hancock,
Speaker 1: President of Congress, affixed his bold signature, and copies were
Speaker 1: sent to the States and to the army. But while
Speaker 1: conger Is debated and ratifying the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: Britain continued to shift its gaze to New York. The
Speaker 1: British returned in overwhelming force, some thirty two thousand troops
Speaker 1: and four hundred ships to seize New York City on
Speaker 1: August twenty seventh. At the Battle of Long Island, Washington's
Speaker 1: army was flanked and nearly trapped. Only a nighttime evacuation
Speaker 1: across the East River saved the Continental Army from destruction.
Speaker 1: Through September and October, Washington fought delaying actions at Harlem
Speaker 1: Heights and White Plains before retreating across New Jersey. By December,
Speaker 1: the situation was desperate. Enlistments were expiring, morale was collapsing,
Speaker 1: and Philadelphia braced for the British advance. By late December
Speaker 1: seventeen seventy six, the American Revolution was truly on the
Speaker 1: brink of collapse. Washington's army, now battered from defeat in
Speaker 1: New York and driven across New Jersey had dwindled to
Speaker 1: a few thousand, ragged, frostbitten men. Enlistments would expire on
Speaker 1: the thirty first at the end of the year. Morale
Speaker 1: was so low that Thomas Paine, who was marching with
Speaker 1: the army, took up his pen to remind the soldiers
Speaker 1: in the public what they were fighting for, writing quote,
Speaker 1: these are the times that try men's souls. The summer
Speaker 1: soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis shrink.
Speaker 1: But he that stands now deserves the love and the
Speaker 1: thanks of man and woman. End quote. And it was
Speaker 1: in this desperate moment that George Washington decided to throw
Speaker 1: the dice. He put everything on a pretty bold gamble,
Speaker 1: if I must say. The British, under General William Howe,
Speaker 1: had settled into their winter quarters. By this time their
Speaker 1: German allies, the Hessian troops, commanded by Colonel Johann Rahul,
Speaker 1: were stationed in a string of outposts along the Delaware River.
Speaker 1: Washington set his sights on Trenton, New Jersey, a Hessian
Speaker 1: held town of about fifteen hundred soldiers. The plan was risky.
Speaker 1: Crossed the ice choke Delaware River on Christmas night, marched
Speaker 1: nine miles to Trenton and strike at dawn. The choice
Speaker 1: of timing was deliberate. The Hessians, Washington believed, would be
Speaker 1: caught off guard after Christmas festivals, perhaps dulled by drink,
Speaker 1: and confident that no attack would come in the dead
Speaker 1: of winter. On the evening of December the twenty fifth,
Speaker 1: under a freezing sleet rain, Washington led about two four
Speaker 1: hundred men from mcconnie's ferry north of Trenton. The operation
Speaker 1: was made harder by the river itself, swollen by the
Speaker 1: winter melt, packed with chunks of ice, and whipped with
Speaker 1: strong winds. Colonel Henry Knox oversaw the ferrying of men, horses,
Speaker 1: and eighteen pieces of artillery across the treacherous waters in
Speaker 1: Durham boats. The crossing took far longer than expected. Instead
Speaker 1: of reaching the New Jersey shore by midnight, the last
Speaker 1: units landed around four in the morning. Washington pressed on
Speaker 1: despite the delay, knowing that the surprise was the key.
Speaker 1: The men marched south through blinding sleet, most without proper shoes.
Speaker 1: Some left bloody footprints in the snow. Washington divided the
Speaker 1: force into two columns, one under his direct command and
Speaker 1: under Major General Nathaniel Greene. The plan was to converge
Speaker 1: on Trenton from different roads and envelop the Hessians. The
Speaker 1: storm that made the march miserable for the Americans had
Speaker 1: also massed their approach. Hessian patrols saw nothing unusual at
Speaker 1: all in the near white out conditions. At around eight
Speaker 1: am on December the twenty sixth, Washington's column burst into
Speaker 1: Trenton from the north, Greens from the west. Knox's artillery
Speaker 1: was quickly unlimbered and began pounding the streets, cutting off
Speaker 1: escape routes. The Hessians, surprised and disorganized, scrambled to form ranks.
Speaker 1: Colonel Rawl tried to rally his men, but he was
Speaker 1: mortally wounded in the fighting. In less than an hour,
Speaker 1: the American forces had surrounded the town. By the time
Speaker 1: that the shooting had stopped, over nine hundred Hessians had surrendered,
Speaker 1: with minimal American casualties. The victory at Trenton electrified the colonies.
Speaker 1: It proved that Washington's army, even after months of defeat,
Speaker 1: could still strike a decisive blow. It also reinvigorated morale,
Speaker 1: inspiring many soldiers to re enlist and fresh recruits to
Speaker 1: join Washington followed that with another triumph at Princeton on
Speaker 1: January the third, seventeen seventy seven, keeping the momentum alive
Speaker 1: in a war where perception and spirit were as important
Speaker 1: as territory. The Delaware crossing and the capture of Trenton
Speaker 1: transformed the narrative from one of inevitable collapse and defeat
Speaker 1: to one of determined resistance. As one Continental soldier wrote
Speaker 1: in his journal, this day will be remembered when our
Speaker 1: cause seem lost, Providence smiled upon our arms.