Happy Turning Point Day!
While some worry about the War on Christmas, methinks we are remiss to forget the important war that happened on Christmas (in 1776) and the Christmas Day events that were a huge turning point in the birth of our country. It's not forgotten in Philadelphia and Trenton.
Somehow over the last 3 holiday seasons, I've managed to set aside a little time to read some history. This year I read David McCullough's 1776.
Perhaps 229 years seems like a long time to some, but some issues confronting Americans were not so different. On the pages of dailykos recently we've seen the words of Thomas Paine and quotations from the Federalist Papers. Gather round to hear a story.
After encouraging success (based largely on stealth and surprise rather than military might) in early March 1776 in Boston, Washington's army had edured months of repeated missteps and failures. The army then was made up of militia groups--not a regular standing army. Even Washington struggled with bias against some groups (those uncouth Yankees!), though he knew they must be knit together to be successful.
In a proclamation November 30, 1776, King George
offered all who, within sixty days, would come forth and take an oath of allegiance to the King--and pedge their "peaceable obedience--"free and general pardon and that they would "reap the benefit of his Majesty's paternal goodness, in preservation of their property, the restoration of their commerce, and the security of their most valuable rights, under the just and most moderate authority of the crown and Parliament of Britain."
What a deal! Thousands in New Jersey swore allegiance to the King--where Washington's "meager band" were subsisting in the December elements without tents (they abandoned their equipment on escaping New York) and with many lacking shoes. When they marched, the troops left blood stains on the snow. It seemed quite reasonable for the populace to side with the obviously more powerful "winning" side.
Truly Washington didn't have much to work with. His troops were often called "rabble", and that was generous. In August, Washington had an army of 20,000. After a succession losses at November's end, he had only about 3,500 under his personal command. Furthermore, the enlistments of 2,000 of his troops were up on December 1, the men free to go. He assembled them and literally begged them to stay--even for one more month. Fortunately, Pennsylvania sent some militia units, though there was obviously no time for training.
Indeed, this was the moment Thomas Paine began The Crisis with the immortal opening lines:
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 their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.
In the midst of this dark time, Washington coincidentally discovered correspondence between his second and third in command that was blatently insubordinate and mutinous. He knew there was not time for conflict and that he could not replace them. He simply grew stronger and worked to improve his skill in those areas they criticized. And then, his second in command blundered and got himself captured by the British, only to turn around and serve the King.
Washington's plan was to cross the Delaware River from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, a short distance north of Trenton on Christmas day. It was to be a three-pronged attack, with 2,400 troops at the northern crossing with Washington, 700 attacking from directly across the river at Trenton, and 1,500 troops crossing further south at Burlington.
The weather was so horrible, only Washington's group made it across. On Christmas Eve, it was nearly dark when the troops reached the point where they would cross the river. The "heroic efforts" of the New England sailors managed to ferry the troops across with "almost infinite difficulty".
A sixteen-year-old from Boston who had been serving under Washington for one year, John Greenwood, wrote:
Over the river we then went in a flat-bottomed scow [...] and we had to wait for the rest and so began to pull down fences and make fires to warm ourselves, for the storm was increasing rapidly. After a while it rained, hailed, snowed, and froze, and at the same time blew a perfect hurricane, so much so that I perfectly recollect, after putting the rails on to burn, the wind and fire would cut them in two in a moment, and when I turned my face to the fire, my back would be freezing. However... by turning myself round and round I kept myself from perishing.
They had to then march five miles to Trenton, and indeed, in the course of the night, two men froze to death.
They surely surprised the Hessian troops (led by the commander who had been a major hero in New York) and conducted a battle of extreme savagery (after an arduous night of crossing the river and marching in a storm). Twenty-one Hessians were killed, 900 were taken prisoner and 500 had managed to escape. On the American side, the only deaths were those frozen to death, and four Americans were wounded.
And then they had to march back to the crossing place miles away, and cross the Delaware again.
There was never a more tenuous moment in the American Revolution than December 25, 1776. Failure on that day would have meant victory for the British.
When Washington had personally begged his troops to remain in service just a little bit more, he had gone out on limb and offered each man who would remain a bonus, though he had not received authorization to do so. At first, when he offered the bonus, not one man moved. But then, Washington wheeled around and spoke again:
My brave fellows, you have done all I asked you to do, and more than could be reasonably expected, but your country is at stake, your wives, your houses, and all that you hold dear. You have worn yourselves out with fatigues and hardships, but we know not how to spare you. If you will consent to staying one month longer, you will render that service to the cause of liberty, and to your country, which you can probably never do under other circumstances.
McCoullough writes:
Again, the drums sounded and this time the men began stepping forward. "God Almighty," wrote Nathanael Green, "inclined their hearts to listen to the proposal and engage anew."
Ironically, Washington received written authorization from Congress to make just such an offer to encourage the troops to remain a few days later. As McCullough says:
Indeed, for a period of six months the Congress at Baltimore had made him a virtual dictator.
However, Washington's reply to this grant of extreme power was wise and humble:
Instead of thinking myself freed from all civil obligations by this mark of their confidence, I shall constantly bear in mind that as the sword was the last resort for the preservation of our liberties, so it ought to be the first thing laid aside when those liberties are firmly established.
The great man who was, indeed, the Commander-in-Chief in every respect, understood that role should be subordinate to Congress.
The war was long from over, but it came very close to being lost, and it would have been lost if not for the turning point at Trenton.
All Americans have something to celebrate on December 25.