American Minute with Bill Federer
Battle of Princeton "a military exploit of unparalleled brilliancy"
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Frederick the Great of Prussia called these ten days
"the most brilliant in the world's history."
After winning the
Battle of Trenton,
Christmas Day evening, 1776,
George Washington's 1,200 man force
faced
General Cornwallis' 4,500 man British army.
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On the night of January 2, 1777,
Washington
left his campfires burning and marched his army around the back of a portion of
Cornwallis' army
- the 1,400 British troops camped at
Princeton, New Jersey.
He ordered his soldiers to march in absolute silence, even wrapping their guns with heavy cloth to lessen the noise of troop movement.
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British commander
Lord Cornwallis
ordered Colonel Mawhood to join his regiments to the rest of the British army.
This providentially, resulted in the
British
ceasing to patrol the very roads Washington was marching on.
At daybreak, JANUARY 3, 1777,
Washington attacked the British
from behind,
similar to what the British did to the Americans at the Battle of Brooklyn Heights.
The
British
fought back, sending forth a
bayonet charge
which killed dozens of
American soldiers.
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One of those killed was
General Hugh Mercer,
who had fought with Washington in the French and Indian War, and in the Battle of Trenton.
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Hugh Mercer's
descendants included WWII
General George S. Patton.
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After
Mercer
was killed, the
British
pressed their counter-attack.
The American militia under
General John Cadwalader
fell into a panic and began to flee.
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To stop the retreat,
General George Washington
immediately rode to the front of the line and
ordered the soldiers to stop fleeing.
He commanded them to turn around and
follow him back to the front lines.
Washington
rode extremely close to the
British,
within just 30 yards.
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Turning and facing his men,
Washington
yelled "Halt!"
"Aim,"
then "Fire!"
The
British
immediately fired a volley in return.
The
field of battle
was filled with
a cloud of smoke.
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Many thought
Washington
was surely shot, as he was exposed to fire from both sides.
Irishman John Fitzgerald,
who was an American
aide-de-camp,
pulled his hat down to cover his eyes so as to not see
Washington
killed.
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But when the smoke cleared, to their dismay,
Washington
was seen on his horse, waving to his men to charge ahead.
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The
Americans
charged and won a great victory at the
Battle of Trenton.
Over 300
British
were captured and an estimated 100 killed or wounded, as compared to only 23
Americans
killed and 20 wounded.
Enthusiasm swept America.
British historian Sir George Otto Trevelyan wrote of the
American victories
at
Trenton and Princeton:
"It may be doubted whether
so small a number of men
ever employed so short a space of time with greater and
more lasting effects upon the history of the world."
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President Calvin Coolidge
stated October 28, 1925:
"Distinguished military critics have described
Washington's campaign
of
Trenton
and
Princeton
as
a military exploit of unparalleled brilliancy."
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The equestrian statue at
Washington Circle
in
Washington, D.C.,
depicts
General Washington
at the
Battle of Princeton.
At the statue's dedication in 1860, sculptor Clark Mills stated:
"... at the
Battle of Princeton
where
Washington,
after several ineffectual attempts to rally his troops,
advanced so near the enemy's lines that his horse refused to go further,
but stood and trembled while the brave rider sat undaunted with reins in hand.
But while his noble horse is represented thus terror stricken,
the dauntless hero is calm
and dignified, ever
believing himself the instrument in the hand of Providence
to work out the great problem of
liberty."
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Yale President Ezra Stiles
described
General George Washington
as the American version of
the Israelite commander Joshua,
in an Election Address before the Governor and General Assembly of Connecticut, May 8, 1783:
"Congress put
at the head
of this spirited army, the only man, on whom
the eyes of all Israel
were placed ...
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... This
American Joshua
was
raised up by God,
and divinely formed by a peculiar influence of
the Sovereign of the Universe,
for the great work of leading the armies of this American Joseph ...
and conducting this people through the severe, the arduous conflict,
to liberty and independence ..."
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Ezra Stiles
continued:
"In our lowest and most dangerous estate in 1776 and 1777,
we sustained ourselves against the British army of sixty thousand troops
commanded by Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton, and other the ablest generals Britain could procure throughout Europe, with a naval force of 22,000 seamen in above eighty British men of war ...
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... This was sealed and confirmed by
God Almighty
in the
victory of General Washington at Trenton,
and in
the surprising movement and battle of Princeton;
by which astonishing effort of generalship, General Howe and
the whole British army,
in elated confidence and in open-mouthed march for Philadelphia,
was instantly stopped,
remanded back, and cooped up for a shivering winter in the little borough of Brunswick.
Thus
God
turned the battle to the gate; and this gave a finishing to the foundation of
the American Republic ..."
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Stiles
ended:
"Who but a
Washington, inspired by Heaven,
could have struck out
the great movement and maneuver of Princeton? ...
The United States are
under peculiar obligations to become
a holy people unto the Lord our God."
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American Minute is a registered trademark of William J. Federer. Permission is granted to forward, reprint, or duplicate, with acknowledgment.
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Schedule Bill Federer for informative interviews & captivating PowerPoint presentations: 314-502-8924
wjfederer@gmail.com
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