For Love of Country: A Story of Land and Sea in the Days of the Revolution

by Cyrus Townsend Brady

  CHAPTER XXV

  _Trenton--The Lion Strikes_

  The route, for the first mile and a half, lay up a steep hill, wherethe men were much exposed and suffered terribly; after that, for threemiles or so, it wound in and out between the hills, and through forestsof ash and black oak, which afforded some little shelter. The stormraged with unabated fury, and the progress of the little army was veryslow. The men were in good spirits, however, and they cheerfullytoiled on over the roads covered with deep drifts, bearing as best theymight the driving tempest. It was six in the morning when they reachedthe little village of Birmingham, where the two columns divided:General Greene's column, accompanied by Washington, taking the longeror inland road, called the Pennington road, which entered the town fromthe northeast; while Sullivan's column followed the lower road, whichentered the town from the west, by way of a bridge over the AssunpinkCreek. As Greene had a long detour to make, Sullivan had orders towait where the cross-road from Rowland's Ferry intersected his line ofmarch, until the first column had time to effect the longer circuit, sothat the two attacks might be delivered together. General Washingtonhimself rode in front of the first column. It was still frightfullycold.

  About daybreak the general spied an officer on horseback toilingthrough the snowdrifts toward him. As the horseman drew nearer, herecognized young Martin.

  "What is it now, sir?"

  "General Sullivan says that the storm has rendered many of his musketsuseless, by wetting the priming and powder. He wishes to know what isto be done, sir?"

  "Return instantly, and tell him he must use the bayonet! When he hearsthe firing, he is to advance and charge immediately. The town must betaken, and I intend to take it."

  "Very good, sir," said the young man, saluting.

  "Can you get through the snow in time?"

  "Yes, sir," he replied promptly. "I can get through anything, if yourexcellency will give the order."

  The general smiled approvingly. It was evident that young man's firstlesson had been a good one; his emphasis, he was glad to see, had notbeen misapplied.

  When Martin rejoined Sullivan's column, which had been halted at thecross-roads, the men who had witnessed his departure were eagerlywaiting his return. As he repeated the general's reply, they beganslipping the bayonets over the muzzles of their guns without orders.So eager were they to advance, that Sullivan had difficulty inrestraining them until the signal was given. Such was their temper andspirit that, in the excitement of the moment, they recked little of thefreezing cold and the hardships of their terrible march. Theretreating army was at last on the offensive, they were about to attacknow, and no attack is so dangerous as that delivered by men from whomthe compelling necessity of retreat has been suddenly removed.

  It was about eight o'clock in the morning when they came in sight ofthe town. The village of Trenton then contained about one hundredhouses, mostly frame, scattered along both sides of two long streets,and chiefly located on the west bank of the Assunpink, which here bentsharply to the north before it flowed into the Delaware. The Assunpinkwas fordable in places at low water, but it was spanned by asubstantial stone bridge, which gave on the road followed by Sullivan,at the west end of the village. Washington came down from the north,and entered the village from the other side. About half a mile fromthe edge of the town, the column led by him came abreast of an old man,chopping wood in a farm-yard by the roadside.

  "Which is the way to the Hessian picket?" said the general.

  "I don't know," replied the man, sullenly.

  "You may tell," said Captain Forest, riding near the general, at thehead of his battery, "for this is General Washington."

  The man's expression altered at once.

  "God bless and prosper you!" he cried eagerly, raising his hands toheaven. "There! The picket is in that house yonder, and the sentrystands near that tree."

  The intense cold and heavy snow had driven the twenty-five men, whocomposed the advance picket, to shelter, and they were huddled togetherin one of the rude huts which served as a guard-house. The snowdeadened the sound of the American advance, and the careless sentry didnot perceive them. No warning was given until the lieutenant incommand of the guard stepped out of the house by chance, and gave thealarm in great surprise. The picket rushed out, and the men lined upin the road in front of the column, the thick snow preventing them fromforming a correct idea of the approaching force. The advance guard ofthe Continentals, led by Captain William A. Washington and LieutenantJames Monroe, instantly swept down upon them. After a scattered volleywhich hurt no one, they fled precipitately back toward the village,giving the alarm and rallying on the main guard, posted nearer thecentre of the town, which had been speedily drawn up, to the number ofseventy-five men. Meanwhile Sullivan's men, with Stark at the head,had routed the pickets on the other road in the same gallant style.This picket was composed of about fifty Hessian chasseurs, and twentyEnglish light dragoons, under command of Lieutenant Grothausen of thechasseurs. They all fled so precipitately that they did not stop toalarm the brigade which they had been stationed to protect, but rapidlygalloped down the road, and, crossing the bridge over the Assunpink,made good their escape toward Bordentown. Grave suspicions ofcowardice attached thereafter to their commanding officer. Had Ewingperformed his part in the plan, the bridge would have been held, andthey would have been captured with the rest. Stark's men, followed bythe rest of Sullivan's division, were now pushed on rapidly for thetown, and the cheers of the New England men were distinctly heard byWashington and his men on the main road. The main guard on the upperroad, almost as completely surprised as the other by the dashingonslaught of the Americans, made another futile attempt at resistanceto Greene's column, but they soon fell back in great disorder upon themain body.

  It was broad daylight now, and the violence of the storm had somewhatabated. In the town, where the firing had been heard, the drums of thethree regiments were rapidly beating the assembly. Colonel Rahl was inbed, sleeping off the effects of his previous night's indulgences, whenhe heard the commotion. Jumping from the bed and running rapidly tothe window, still undressed, he thrust out his head and asked theacting brigade adjutant, Biel,--who was hurriedly galloping past,--whatit was all about. There was a total misapprehension on all sides, evenat this hour, as to the serious nature of the attack; so the confusedcolonel, satisfied with Biel's surmise that it was a raid, ordered himto take a company and go to the assistance of the main guard, in thesupposition that it was only a skirmishing party, and never dreaming ofa general attack. Nevertheless he then dressed rapidly, and, runningdown to the street, mounted his horse, which had been brought around.The three regiments which comprised his brigade and command werealready forming; they were the regiment Rahl, the regiment VonLossburg, and the regiment Von Knyphausen. At this moment the advanceparty and the main guard came running through the streets in greatconfusion, crying that the whole rebel army was down upon them. Theregiment Rahl and the regiment Von Lossburg at once began retreating toan apple orchard back of the town; firing ineffectively in theirexcitement, as they ran, from behind the houses, at the head of thecolumn, which had now appeared in the street; while the regiment VonKnyphausen, under the command of Major Von Dechow, the second incommand of the brigade, separated from the two others and made for thebridge over the Assunpink.

  King and Queen streets run together at the east end of the town. ThereWashington stationed himself, on the left of Forest's battery, whichwas immediately unlimbered and opened up a hot fire. The general'sposition was much exposed, and after his horse had been wounded, hisofficers repeatedly requested him to fall back to a safer point, whichhe peremptorily refused to do. The joy of battle sparkled in his eyes;he had instinctively chosen that position on the field from whence hecould best see and direct the conflict, and nothing but a successfulcharge of the enemy upon them could have moved him to retire.

  A few of the cooler-headed men among the Hessians had rallied some ofthe Lo
ssburg regiment, and two guns had been run out into the streetand pointed up toward the place where Washington stood, to form abattery, which might, could it have been served, have held the Americanarmy in check until such time as the startled Germans could recovertheir wits and make a stand. General Washington pointed them out tothe officer of the advance guard, which had already done such goodservice, with a wave of his sword. The little handful of men, led byCaptain Washington and Lieutenant Monroe, charged down upon the guns,which the party had not had time to load. A scattering volley receivedthem. Captain Washington and Monroe and one of the men were wounded,another fell dead; the men hesitated. Talbot sprang to the head of thecolumn, in obedience to the general's nod, and they rallied, advancedon the run, and the guns were immediately captured.

  Meanwhile the fire of Stark's riflemen could be heard at the other endof the town. St. Clair's brigade held the bridge; the regiment VonKnyphausen lost a few precious moments endeavoring to extricate itsguns, which had become mired in the morass near the bridge, and thencharged upon St. Clair. But it was too late; Von Dechow was seriouslywounded, and when the regiment saw itself taken in the flank bySargeant's brigade, it retired in disorder, though some few men escapedby the fords.

  At this juncture Rahl re-formed his scattered troops in the appleorchard. He seems to have had an idea of retreating toward Princetonat first, with the two regiments still under his command; at any rate,he also lost precious moments by hesitation. It was even then too lateto effect a successful retreat, for Washington, foreseeing thepossibility, had promptly sent Hand's Pennsylvania riflemen along thePennington road back of the town to check any move in that direction.As fast as the other brigades of Greene's column came up, they weresent down through the streets of the town, until Stirling, in the lead,joined Sullivan's men. Rahl's brigade was practically surrounded,though he did not know it. The commander completely lost his head,though he was a courageous man, brave to rashness, and a veteransoldier who had hitherto distinguished himself in this and many otherwars. The town was full of plunder gathered by the troops, theHessians having been looting the country for weeks; and he could notabandon it without a struggle. The idea of flying from a band ofragged rebels whom he had scouted, was intolerable. He had been, henow felt, more than culpable in neglecting many warnings of attack, andhad lamentably failed in his duty as a soldier, in refraining fromtaking the commonest precautions against surprise. He had refused toheed the urgent representations of Von Dechow, and other of his highofficers. Now his honor was at stake; so he rashly made up his mind tocharge.

  "We will retake the town. All who are my grenadiers--forward!" hecried intrepidly.

  The men, with fixed bayonets, advanced bravely, and he led themgallantly forward, sword in hand. The Americans fired a volley;Forest's battery, which enfiladed them, poured in a deadly fire. Rahlin the advance, upon his horse, received a fatal wound and fell to theground. The Continentals, cheering madly, charged forward with fixedbayonets. The Hessians stopped--hesitated--wavered--their chief wasgone--the battle was lost--they broke and fled! Disregarding thecommands and appeals of their officers, they turned quickly to theright, and ran off into the face of Hand's riflemen, who received themwith another volley. Many of them fell. A body of Virginia troops ledby Talbot now gained their left flank, the Philadelphia City Troopencircled their rear. The helpless men stopped, completely bewildered,huddled together in a confused mass. Washington, seeing imperfectly,and thinking they were forming again, ordered the guns from Forest'sbattery, which had been loaded with canister, to be discharged uponthem at once.

  "Sir, they have struck!" cried Seymour the keen-eyed, preventing themen from firing.

  "Struck!" cried the general, in surprise.

  "Yes, sir; their colors are down."

  "So they are," said Washington, clasping his hands and raising his eyesto heaven; then, putting spurs to his horse, he galloped over towardthe men. The firing had ceased in every direction, and the day was hisown; the three regiments were surrendering at discretion, two to himand the other to Lord Stirling. As Major Wilkinson galloped up fromthe lower division for instructions, Colonel Rahl, pale and bleeding,and supported by two sergeants, presented his sword, which Washingtoncourteously declined to receive. The general then gave orders thatevery care and assistance should be afforded the unfortunate soldier,who died the next day in a room in Potts' Tavern.

  "This is indeed a glorious day for our country," said the general toSeymour.

  It was in fact the turning-point in the history of the nation. Thecaptives numbered nearly one thousand men, with twelve hundred stand ofarms, six field-pieces, twelve drums, and four colors, including thegorgeous banner of the Anspachers, the Von Lossburg regiment.

  Of the Continentals, only two were killed and four wounded, whileupward of one hundred of the Hessians were killed and wounded, amongthe killed being Rahl and Von Dechow, the first and second in command.The whole of this brilliant affair scarcely occupied an hour.

  As none of the other divisions had got across, it was scarcely safe forWashington to remain on the east side of the river in the presence ofthe vastly superior forces of the enemy, which would be concentratedupon him without delay. So that, after giving the men a much neededrest, securing their booty, and burying the dead, the evening found thelittle army, with its prisoners, retracing its steps toward the fordand its former camping-ground.

  But with what different feelings the hungry, worn-out, tattered mass ofmen marched along in the bitter night! The contrast between thewell-clothed and well-fed Hessians and their captors was surprising,but not less striking than that between their going out and coming in.Little recked the frozen men of the hardships of the way. They hadshown the world that they possessed other capabilities than facility inretreating, and no American army, however small or feeble, would everagain be despised by any foe.

  The return passage was made without incident, save that just on thecrest of the hills leading down to the Ford, the general, who was inadvance again, noticed a suspicious-looking, snow-covered mound by theroadside. Riding up to it, one of his aids dismounted and uncoveredthe body of a man, a Continental soldier, frozen to death. The coldweapon was grasped tightly in the colder hand. A little farther onthere was another body asleep in the snow,--another soldier! The lastwas that man of the headquarters guard who had spoken of his littlechildren at home on Christmas day. They would wait a long time beforethey saw him again. He had been willing to fight the whole Englisharmy! Ah, well, a sterner foe than any who marched beneath the redflag of Great Britain had grappled with him, and he had beendefeated,--but he had won his freedom!

  For forty hours now that little band of men had marched and fought, andwhen it reached its camp at midnight the whole army was exhausted. Theonly man among them all who preserved his even calmness, and wasapparently unaffected by the hardships of the day, was the commanderhimself,--the iron man. Late into the night he dictated and wroteletters and orders, to be despatched in every direction in the morning.The successful issue of his daring adventure entailed yet furtherresponsibilities, and the campaign was only just begun. As forhimself, the world now knew him for a soldier. And a withered old manin the palace of the Sans Souci in Berlin, who had himself knownvictories and defeats, who had himself stood at bay, facing a world inarms so successfully that men called him "The Great," called this andthe subsequent campaign the finest military exploit of the age!